Photo: Clean Energy Collective
A guide for consumers interested in community solar released today provides an overview of the industry, tips on being an informed buyer and questions consumers should ask of a solar company before signing contracts.
The Residential Consumer Guide to Community Solar also provides the fast-growing community solar industry, which requires the endorsement of skeptical regulators and officials to work, with evidence that it is a legitimate and safe investment for consumers.
For example, the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), which co-authored the guide with SEIA, will use the document during a session at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners conference in Nashville later this month, said Hannah Masterjohn, board chair of CCSA and director of policy and new markets at Clean Energy Collective.
She said solar companies who want to develop community solar projects can use the guide in their own discussions with regulators, AHJs and other officials throughout the country.
“You’ve got a dozen states that are going through the process every year of enacting community solar legislation or developing a program at the commission level, and, having talked with a lot them, they all try to reinvent the wheel,” Masterjohn said.
The guide comes at a time of great expansion for the community solar industry. As of 2015, there were 94 MW of community solar in operation throughout the U.S. and another 173 MW expected to be installed this year alone, according to GTM Research.
Masterjohn said she is not concerned about the quality of community solar agreements or the companies developing projects.
“It’s still a relatively new business model, and we’ve got a number of different community solar products out there, so we want consumers to be well educated on what they’re buying, and what the benefits are over time,” Masterjohn said.
Community solar projects are local solar facilities shared by individual community members.
The guide is one of the first major productions of CCSA, the first-ever national trade association for community solar. Masterjohn said CCSA is comprised of 26 member companies, and growing.
“One of the big reasons we [created CCSA] was to establish high industry standards for consumer protection and responsible operations and maintenance of community solar projects, and other best practices,” Masterjohn said. “To ensure we have a successful market for a long time.”
SEIA co-authored the guide, which echoes the trade organization’s Residential Consumer Guide to Solar Power, which was unveiled in June.
“This guide empowers consumers so they have the utmost confidence in their decision to choose community solar,” said Tom Kimbis, interim president of SEIA. “America was built on freedom and community solar embodies that principle by providing thousands of Americans with a new power choice, while our consumer guide delivers the key information to make that choice.”