Community Solar

Community solar lets people benefit from solar power without installing panels on their own roofs. The solar panels are placed somewhere in the community, and you subscribe to a share of that system. It is a more flexible, lower-barrier way to participate in solar without full ownership or installation.

• No rooftop or property constraints If your roof isn’t suitable for solar or you are a renter, community solar gives you access to solar without having to install it directly on the property you reside in.
• Lower upfront cost You don’t buy, install, or maintain panels yourself. You just subscribe.
• Flexibility You can often subscribe for only a portion of your power needs, you can combine with rooftop solar, and you may be able to transfer or cancel under certain condition

1. Subscribe: You subscribe to a community shared solar project through a community solar subscription manager. This subscription defines how much capacity from the solar system is allocated to you.
2. Panels generate energy: The panels then generate electricity, which goes into the broader grid, not directly to your home.
3. You get credits: The utility tracks your share of what the community solar system is producing in kWh. That share is then applied to your electric bill in the form of credits as if you had produced it yourself.
4. You pay your share: You pay the subscription fee (either monthly or sometimes upfront) to the community solar subscription manager. The subscription cost is typically lower than or

Massachusetts requires a dual billing system. This means that you will receive two separate bills: one from your utility (for the electricity you consume) and another from the community solar project subscription manager (for your share of purchased solar energy). For example, if a community solar project has a discount of 20% and $100 worth of credits through your subscription is provided on your electric bill that is a total of $200, you would pay your utility $100 (for the remainder of the bill that is not covered by the credits) and you would pay the subscription manager $80 for your share of the credits. Thus, you would pay $180 in total, compared to $200.

Some subscription manager entities will not send you a bill for your portion of the credits until after you see those credits reflected on your utility bill, that way you can see the direct benefit before paying for the subscription service.

Interested in participating in community solar? The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has a helpful webpage about community shared solar, including a list of providers.