Tag: community solar

The Economics of Community Solar in US

The Economics of Community Solar in US

May 18, 2026 |

Utilities often oppose customer-driven, third-party owned energy projects like community solar because they threaten shareholder profits. And because utility ratemaking is complicated and often happens in a black box, it’s hard for legislators to know the truth. In reality, extensive research and real-world data show that the benefits of community solar and other distributed generation reduce long-term costs for all ratepayers. That’s because small projects placed on the distribution system closer to customers make more efficient use of existing infrastructure, leverage private capital to upgrade the system, and allow utilities to reduce and avoid certain costs that ratepayers would otherwise incur.

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New York launches a new onshore renewable energy tender

New York launches a new onshore renewable energy tender

May 5, 2026 | , , ,

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has launched the 10th annual Renewable Energy Standard solicitation, RESRFP26-1, to accelerate clean energy deployment across New York. The solicitation, issued on April 24, 2026, seeks Tier 1-eligible renewable energy certificates (RECs) from projects with a near-term path to commercial operation. The procurement process will follow a two-step structure comprising a step one eligibility application and a step two competitive bid proposal process.

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Dimension Energy secures $650 million for US community solar portfolio 

Dimension Energy secures $650 million for US community solar portfolio 

April 6, 2026 | , ,

Dimension Energy has secured $650 million in construction and term financing to support a 132 MW portfolio of 25 community solar projects across Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. The funding consists of $415 million in debt financing provided by First Citizens Bank, MUFG, ING Capital LLC, and National Bank of Canada. Franklin Park contributed $235 million in tax equity for the project.

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Redefining Rooftop Solar Through Community Action: Case Study From Dominican Republic

Redefining Rooftop Solar Through Community Action: Case Study From Dominican Republic

April 6, 2026 |

Currently, rooftop solar systems in the Dominican Republic are primarily concentrated in wealthier households that can afford to purchase solar and battery storage systems outright. For this reason, a tiny share of high-income customers control nearly all rooftop solar capacity, with roughly 4.5% of the population accounting for nearly 97% of the installed rooftop solar capacity. This has created an unequal energy transition. The challenge, then, is how to make solar affordable and accessible to the LMI households. The answer lies in community-led solar.

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US installs 7.5 GWdc of Solar Capacity in Q2 2025: Report

US installs 7.5 GWdc of Solar Capacity in Q2 2025: Report

September 18, 2025 | , ,

The US solar industry installed 7.5 GWdc of capacity in the second quarter of 2025, a 24 per cent decline from Q2 2024 and a 28 per cent decrease compared with Q1 2025. Every segment saw declining volumes except for commercial solar, where a strong pipeline of projects under California’s former net metering regime continues to come online. Second quarter residential solar installations landed just over 1 GWdc as high interest rates and economic uncertainty continue to suppress demand. Several bankruptcies of major residential solar companies also contributed to lower installation volumes.

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Nautilus Solar secures financing to develop community solar projects in US

Nautilus Solar secures financing to develop community solar projects in US

September 9, 2025 | , ,

Nautilus Solar Energy has closed a $275 million long-term debt facility. The financing will support the development of more than 25 community solar projects expected to become operational within the next year across Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island. These projects will reportedly add over 130 MW of capacity to local grids. Additionally, they will expand Nautilus’s total operating and managed portfolio to 700 MW. 

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Enhancing the Local Environment Through Renewables

Enhancing the Local Environment Through Renewables

December 27, 2024 |

This event convened experts and stakeholders from the energy sector and the conservation community to discuss solutions to harnessing local environmental benefits from renewables, challenges to further adoption and policies to address them. IUCN will presented the latest findings related to local environmental benefits of renewable energy. A panel session with energy/environmental protection/biodiversity conservation experts from selected renewable energy markets shared their insights and best practices.

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Walmart and Nexamp collaborate for community solar development in US

Walmart and Nexamp collaborate for community solar development in US

December 19, 2024 | , ,

Nexamp has announced a partnership with Walmart to establish 31 community solar projects across US. These projects are anticipated to produce over 120 MW (DC) of renewable energy. They will also generate significant savings for local businesses and residential subscribers. This is their second collaboration for community solar development. They earlier collaborated in 2021 for community solar developments in New York.

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Mapping Clean Energy in the US West

Mapping Clean Energy in the US West

September 15, 2023 |

The Southwest has an enormous opportunity to accelerate the shift from fossil to clean power. Tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act make clean energy projects more feasible than ever. The Energy Community Tax Credit Bonus aims to revitalize the economies of coal-powered communities by providing a 10 percent bonus on top of Production Tax Credits and Investment Tax Credits for clean energy projects.

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Community Solar for US Communities: Report

Community Solar for US Communities: Report

August 3, 2023 | ,

This document offers insights into how states can design and launch community solar programs that benefit disadvantaged communities and low- and moderate-income (LMI) households using the $7 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) Solar for All competition (Solar for All) and take advantage of new tax credits features available under the Inflation Reduction Act.

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A Michigan Community Solar Pilot: Case Study

A Michigan Community Solar Pilot: Case Study

June 22, 2023 | ,

The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) prepared this case study to describe how Michigan’s energy office collaborated with local community action agencies and utilities to develop three separate community solar pilots aimed at reducing the energy burden of low-income Michiganders. Residents that participated in the pilots enrolled in community solar programs and received free weatherization services.

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Inflation Reduction Act to boost US solar deployment by 62 GW

Inflation Reduction Act to boost US solar deployment by 62 GW

September 18, 2022 |

The US solar industry installed 4.6 gigawatts-direct current (GWdc) of capacity in the second quarter of 2022, a 12% decrease from Q2 2021 and a 12% increase from Q1 2022. Across the solar industry, second quarter volumes would have been higher if not for supply chain constraints and the industry-wide slowdown from March through June, caused by the initiation of the anticircumvention investigation.

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Innovative Partnerships Bring Community Solar to Low-income Households in the US

Innovative Partnerships Bring Community Solar to Low-income Households in the US

August 10, 2022 |

Over the last 15 years, community solar in the United States has grown dramatically: Installed community solar capacity increased almost 700% between 2006 and 2019. To support LMI participation in the clean energy economy and broader uptake of community solar, the development of catalytic partnerships — dynamic relationships that link utilities, non-profits, financial institutions, developers and other stakeholders to ease financial impediments — will be critical.

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NY Solar Milestone Proves Policies Work

NY Solar Milestone Proves Policies Work

April 18, 2022 |

New York has become the top community solar market in the U.S., with more than one gigawatt (GW) of community solar installed and operational—enough to provide clean energy to more than 200,000 homes across the state. And much more is on the way: New York also has the largest pipeline in the nation with over 700 projects totaling 2.3 GW, enough to power an additional 400,000 homes.

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RMI’s Report on Community Solar in US

RMI’s Report on Community Solar in US

April 12, 2022 | ,

The first generation of community solar — typically midsize, grid-connected solar projects that community members or organizations can subscribe to — enabled greater access to solar energy in many US states. This report outlines the concept of community solar+: community solar projects that are strategically deployed to maximize local value streams and advance community-wide sustainability and equity goals.

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Community Solar Project Siting in US

Community Solar Project Siting in US

March 2, 2022 | ,

To help meet aggressive US state and federal clean energy goals, many more community solar projects must be built across the country. This paper proposes a siting framework for community solar projects, which can produce much needed zero-carbon electricity, while serving important ecosystem enhancement and conservation roles. Responsible siting such as that proposed here can help preserve community character while protecting individual property rights.

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US community solar market will bring 4.5 GWdc online over the next five years

US community solar market will bring 4.5 GWdc online over the next five years

February 16, 2022 |

US community solar is set to get a boost from expanded state-level programs enacted in the last six months. Community solar refers to local facilities shared by multiple community subscribers, such as homeowners, renters and businesses. Each subscriber receives credits on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced. We expect a peak in installations over the next few years. Volumes decrease after 2023 once pipelines under current incentive regimes begin to dwindle and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) drops down to 10%.

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Best practices for broadening the ownership of renewables

Best practices for broadening the ownership of renewables

November 30, 2021 | ,

Using a case study approach, the white paper highlights the different ways in which communities actively participate in energy decision making around the world and harness renewable energy’s potential to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits for a just transition. The paper also provides a checklist and additional resources that energy communities could consider when developing a renewable energy initiative. 

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