By the end of next year, the U.S. Department of Energy intends to have 5 million households signed up for community solar programs. These subscription or investment initiatives can help residents realize impressive savings on their power bills.
If the government hits its mark, the folks involved will save a combined billion dollars, according to a federal report.
It's part of the goal to provide "accessible, affordable community solar for every American household," DOE official Jeff Marootian said in a press release.
What is community solar?
The money-saving programs are a great option for renters, folks who can't afford home-based systems, or for homes that aren't suited for them, according to the DOE.
When electricity is generated on large solar farms, it is sold to the grid. Community solar subscribers pay for a share of the renewable electricity, "receiving a portion of the dollar value generated by the project as a credit," as the DOE described.
Participants can typically save on average $150 a year on their electricity bills.
Why is the program important?
About 3.4% of the country's electricity comes from the sun. The government's push to expand community solar is, in part, intended to make solar power available to more people, regardless of income.
Enterprise, a nonprofit that monitors household costs, reported last year that there were 2,500 community solar projects in the country in 43 states, according to 2022 statistics. About 2% of the work was dedicated to low-income communities, per the article.
Part of the DOE's solution is an investment of $75,000 to five organizations that will work to "identify resource gaps, support the development and dissemination of best practices and resources, and identify pathways to scale equitable solar practices," per the government. Focus points include solar-related jobs, grid resilience, and ensuring all households and renters have access to community solar.
It's all part of the Inflation Reduction Act's approximately $370 billion investment in clean energy programs meant to lower your power bill. If the effort is successful, it would be a 700% increase in deployment since 2020.
"The opportunity to decarbonize more of our energy sector is a huge societal benefit," Luke Ilderton, deputy director at Energy Outreach Colorado, said in the Enterprise article. The nonprofit works, in part, to help Coloradans lower their energy bills.
The benefits go beyond pocketbooks. Solar energy reduces the amount of harmful, heat-trapping pollution hitting the atmosphere, linked by medical experts to numerous health problems.
"But the true reason many of our participants are signing up for community solar gardens is mostly driven by the urgent need to have more affordable energy," Ilderton added.
How can you participate?
Perhaps the best way to ensure savings is to use a free, reliable tool like EnergySage. The service provides cost estimates and product recommendations as well as can help you find an installer if you want a home-based system.
EnergySage has a robust community solar section with more information on how the programs work, how to find a farm, and how to sign up.
"Super excited to save $ and have … greener electricity," a reviewer, named Matthieu, posted on EnergySage's website.
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