Community SolarSeptember 13, 2018

Community Solar 101What is community solar? Community solar refers to local solar arrays shared by individual community members, who receive credits on their electricity bills for their portion of the power produced.

What is and what isn’t community solar

● Projects < 20 MW, but typically 2-5 MW, connected to the distribution system

● Locally sited projects in your community● Multiple subscribers receive the energy output from a single generating

facility● Participants receive a credit on their electric utility bill for a portion of the

power produced

What is and what isn’t community solar

Utility-Scale Projects, typically 50+ MW connected to transmission system, help utilities diversify their energy portfolio but do not provide individuals and business direct access to the solar facility

Community Group Purchasing, sometimes called “Solarize” programs, utilize group purchasing power to provide rooftop solar solutions at lower costs.

Green Tariff Programs only provide subscribers the environmental attributes from solar facilities at a premium cost --they do not share the energy output from the solar facility and do not save subscribers money.

Why Is community solar important?

• Customers can choose how much solar they want, when they want it• Community solar allows individuals to choose how much solar energy they receive.• It provides individuals the ability to make the decision to access solar energy, even if their utility

isn’t supportive.• It expands access to all customers• Onsite solar isn’t an option for a lot of people. Community solar expands that ability to choose

solar to anyone or organization with an electric bill.• Underserved communities often bare the brunt of the least reliable and highest polluting parts of

the electricity system. Community solar enables these communities to make the choice to go solar themselves.

• It provides local economic benefits• Individual subscribers save money on their electricity bills.• Projects spur private investment in the local economy.• Projects generate ongoing tax revenue.

The problem: A majority of customers do not have access to rooftop solar

Source: Greentech Media U.S. Community Solar Market Outlook, October 2016

Source: GTM Research Wood Mackenzie, GTM Research/SEIA, NREL, EIA, U.S. Census

Community Solar Can Reach All Potential U.S. Customers

Low and Moderate Income Customer Access

Why community solar is the key to unlocking 50 million low-to-moderate income (LMI) households’ access to clean, affordable energy solutions…

–The LMI subscriber opportunity is massive, accounting for approximately 43% of U.S. households.

–Community solar provides the flexibility to deliver clean energy access to all LMI customers, including renters and multifamily housing – of which LMI households are more likely to occupy.

–Community solar also offers significant benefits to low-income customers,

–with the right combination of policy solutions, incentives, consumer protections, business model innovations, financing and programmatic support, there’s an opportunity for community solar to play a critical role in creating an equitable clean energy future.

Source: NREL, 2018

Share of U.S. Households: Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) vs. Non-LMI

57%67

16%19

27%31

0 20 40 60 80

>80% AMI

50%-80% AMI:Moderate

Income

0%-50% AMI:Low Income

Total Number of Households (Millions)

Poudre Valley Electric Association

•Project Location: Colorado•Project Summary:

–1.95 MW DC–Low-income PVREA members save 30% on their electricity bills–Subscribers include low-income households, affordable housing, nonprofits and local businesses–Developed as part of the Colorado Energy Office Low-income Community Solar Demonstration project

•Developer: GRID Alternatives

Community solar case study: Minnesota

•Enacted in 2013•Uncapped program that uses value of solar credit rate as opposed to retail rate.•Systems have a 1 MW size limit.•Over 300 MW deployed so far and continues to grow.•Offered by all utility types.

– In Xcel Energy territory, solar garden subscription can cover up to 120% of your annual electricity usage.

•First state to establish nation’s first statewide standard for vegetation on solar sites.

Why isn’t community solar everywhere?

One-Off Programs (1-5)

Policy-Enabled Market

One-Off Programs (5+)

364.0

263.2

66.150.749.235.724.520.920.315.115.012.512.311.00

100

200

300

400

MN MA CO GA AZ FL OK NY UT NV TX WI NE VT

Community Solar Capacity by State

Why isn’t community solar everywhere?

2 Ways to Enable Community Solar:

ONE:Utility-Led: IOU program approved by Public Utility Commission, or approved by town council or Board of Muni or Coop

TWO:State Wide REQUIRING Enabling Legislation

Important Policy Design Issues

•Program size•Project size•Bill credit for customer•Where projects and subscribers can be located•Who is eligible to participate•LMI provisions

Resources: Community Solar Policy Decision Matrix

• Community Solar Policy Decision Matrix, released November 2016 and updated in December 2017

• Offer policymakers, community leaders, utilities, and stakeholders a a guide to navigate key decision points and offer recommendations on how to best develop successful community solar programs state-by-state

• How to use? Step 1: Establish policy goals Step 2: Use the Matrix to engage local

stakeholders in process to develop programs that best achieve policy goals

Step 3: Past two years – working with a number states to develop programs with Matrix, and updated the Matrix with input from policymakers, utilities, local stakeholders, etc.

Resources: model legislation

Resources: NREL research