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Community Renewables and Other DER Ownership Structures

MCLI Recommendation: “States legislatures or state agencies should facilitate the deployment of solar installations through third-party ownership models, through maintaining net metering rate structures, and excluding third-party owners from the definition of regulated utilities.”

LPDD Recommendation: “State legislatures and PUCs should expand community solar ownership legislation, such as virtual net metering, for all customers.”

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35 resources

Resource Local Governments

Community Solar Policy Decision Matrix

The Coalition for Community Solar Access has authored a matrix intended to lead policymakers through important questions in the community solar development process, with factors grouped into five cate...
Example Private Entities

Maine’s Distributed Generation Procurement Program

Maine’s P.L. 2019 c. 478 and Chapter 312 of the PUC rules require the PUC to undertake a series of procurements of DG projects to meet statutory targets for distributed renewable projects. Customers m...
Example Public Utilities

Colorado Energy Office Low-Income Community Solar Demonstration Project

Colorado’s Low-Income Community Solar Demonstration Project saw the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) administer a $1.2 million grant to implement the development of eight demonstration models throughout C...
Model Law States and State Governments

LPDD Model Law: State Legislation to Promote Community Solar Facilities

This model legislation is intended to accelerate the development of community solar projects nationwide by providing a common-sense statutory framework that can be adopted by states that currently hav...
Resource States and State Governments

Model Community Solar Legislation

The Coalition for Community Solar Access has authored two sets of model community solar legislation for vertically integrated states and restructured states.
Example States and State Governments

New Mexico’s Community Solar Act

In March 2021, New Mexico passed SB84, the Community Solar Act. The Act outlines the requirements for qualifications, ownership, administration, and rulemaking around community solar projects. Under t...
Example States and State Governments

Virginia’s HB 1184 (2020)

Virginia’s HB 1184 (2020) promotes the establishment of distributed renewable solar and other renewable energy by, among other measures, requiring the State Corporation Commission to establish by regu...
Example States and State Governments

Connecticut Shared Clean Energy Facility Pilot Program

Connecticut’s Shared Clean Energy Facility Pilot Program was established in response to Public Act 15-113, as amended by Public Act 16-116, as a two-year initiative to support the development of SCEFs...
Example States and State Governments

Delaware Bill Expanding Community Renewables

In September 2021, Delaware enacted a law expanding eligibility for community-based solar photovoltaic systems in the State. The bill allows for multiple types of ownership models to exist and compete...
Example Local Governments

DC’s Solar for All Program

The Renewable Portfolio Standard Expansion Amendment Act of 2016 (D.C. Law 21-154) established the District of Columbia’s Solar for All program. Pursuant to the Act, Solar for All is funded by the Ren...
Example States and State Governments

New Jersey Community Solar Energy Pilot

New Jersey’s A3723/S2314 (2018) mandates the creation of the Community Solar Energy Pilot Program. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities adopted rules establishing the Community Solar Energy Pilot ...
Example States and State Governments

Pennsylvania’s Solar for Schools Program

In July, Pennsylvania passed HB 1032, establishing the Solar for Schools Program. This program will cover the costs of the purchase and installation of solar equipment, permit fees, energy storage, ut...
Resource States and State Governments

NREL report: State Considerations for Designing Community Solar Policy

The National Renewable Energy Lab published a 2018 report on State Considerations for Designing Community Solar Policy analyzing the impacts of program caps, project size caps, subscriber location req...
Example Public Utilities

FPL SolarTogether

In March 2020, Florida Power & Light Company got approval from the Florida Public Service Commission to launch FPL SolarTogether, the largest community solar program in the country at the time of laun...
Example States and State Governments

California Community Solar Law (2022)

In September 2022, California enacted a new community solar law designed to avoid the pitfalls that past legislative attempts on this issue had fallen into. AB 2316 adds a new focus on grid reliabilit...
Example States and State Governments

New Hampshire’s Group Net Metering program

New Hampshire’s Group Net Metering program (2013) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, non-utility owned DG system up to 1 MW, using solar, wind, or certain other renewables defined by l...
Resource States and State Governments

IREC Shared Renewables Resources

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council hosts a variety of resources related to shared renewables, including Model Rules for Shared Renewable Energy Programs, a National Shared Renewables Energy Score...
Example Public Utilities

New York’s Community Distributed Generation program

New York’s Community Distributed Generation program (2015) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, non-utility-owned DG system up to 5 MW, using solar, wind, or certain other renewables def...
Resource Private Entities

ELPC handbook on Community Wind Financing

The Environmental Law and Policy Center has prepared a handbook on Community Wind Financing, guiding project champions and developers through best practices on financing community wind projects, inclu...
Example States and State Governments

Colorado’s Community Solar program

Colorado’s Community Solar program (2011) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, utility- or non-utility-owned solar system up to 2 MW. Crediting is based on a total aggregate retail rate,...
Resource States and State Governments

NREL Report, Focusing the Sun: State Considerations for Designing Community Solar Policy

This 2018 NREL report summarizes outcomes from the NCSP State Best Practices working group by identifying key differences in state policies that enable community solar and illustrating how various pol...
Resource Private Entities

Coalition for Community Solar Access

The Coalition for Community Solar Access is a national coalition of businesses and non-profits working to expand community solar. They work with customers, utilities, local stakeholders, and policymak...
Resource Private Entities

Windustry and Midwest Wind Energy Center

Windustry is a nonprofit organization working to advance community wind projects across the Midwest, developing information and tools for evaluating wind energy easement contracts, landowner options, ...
Resource Private Entities

Grid Alternatives

Grid Alternatives is a nonprofit organization that brings together community partners, volunteers, and job-trainees to install solar power and energy efficiency improvements for low income families. T...
Example States and State Governments

Minnesota’s Community Solar Garden program

Minnesota’s Community Solar Garden program (2014) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, utility- or non-utility owned solar system up to 1 MW. Crediting is based on a Value of Solar analy...
Example Public Utilities

Arizona Public Service Company’s Solar Communities Program

In 2017, the Arizona Corporation Commission approved Arizona Public Service Company’s (APS) Solar Communities Program, a $45 million program that funds utility-owned PV system installations on low- to...
Example States and State Governments

Hawaii’s Community-Based Renewable Energy Program

Act 100 (2015) established the Hawaii community-based renewable energy (CBRE) program, which generally envisioned electric utility customers participating with qualified projects in exchange for bill ...
Example States and State Governments

Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program

The Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program incorporates an Energy Shared Storage Adder to a more traditional renewable incentive program. Solar projects that participate are eligible to ...
Example Public Utilities

Con Edison’s Commercial Battery Storage Project

In New York, Con Edison’s Commercial Battery Storage Project seeks a new ownership model whereby the utility sites batteries at customer sites which it is free to draw on during peak periods, but whic...
Example Public Utilities

Con Edison’s Shared Solar Pilot

In 2017, New York’s Public Service Commission approved Consolidated Edison’s Shared Solar Pilot, allowing the utility to procure and install 3 MW of community solar generation on Con Edison’s property...
Example Public Utilities

Vermont’s Group Net Metering program

Vermont’s Group Net Metering program (2009) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, non-utility owned DG system up to 500 kW, using solar, wind, or certain other renewables defined by law. ...
Resource Executive Branch

DOE’s National Community Solar Partnership

The National Community Solar Partnership is a DOE-convened coalition of community solar stakeholders — state, local, and tribal governments, utilities, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and others ...
Example States and State Governments

California’s Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing Program

The SOMAH program will provide up to $100 million in rebates annually for the next decade to put solar on multifamily affordable housing in California, while allowing tenants to access the benefits. E...
Example States and State Governments

Massachusetts’ Neighborhood Net Metering and Community Shared Solar programs

Massachusetts’ Neighborhood Net Metering and Community Shared Solar programs (originally passed as part of An Act Relating to Green Communities, 2009) allows multiple customers to engage with a common...
Example Public Utilities

National Grid’s Fruit Belt Community Solar Pilot in Buffalo, NY

National Grid’s Fruit Belt Neighborhood Solar Demonstration Project consisted of installing 74 rooftop solar PV systems totaling 500 kW of generation capacity within a single low- and moderate-income ...