Going solar is a great way to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels – while saving money! But what about the almost 80 percent of Americans who aren’t able to install solar on their properties? Whether you’re a renter, have a heavily shaded roof, or don’t want to invest in a solar system, there’s an alternative solution that can still allow you to reap the benefits of solar energy: community solar. The Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) is an organization dedicated to expanding community solar and making it more accessible across the U.S. In this article, we’ll explain the importance of this coalition and what you need to know about them.
Key takeaways
- The CCSA’s primary goal is to make it easier for more people to go solar.
- Community solar is a great alternative to rooftop solar and allows you to save anywhere from 5-15 percent annually on your electricity costs.
- Local Solar for All is a coalition of organizations – including CCSA – who want to expand local solar (which includes community solar and rooftop solar) and storage because it’s the most cost-effective solution to reduce electricity costs for everyone.
- To explore community solar projects near you, check out our Community Solar Marketplace.
What is the Coalition for Community Solar Access?
In CCSA’s own words, they’re a “national Coalition of businesses and non-profits working to expand customer choice and access to solar for all American households and businesses through community solar.” While community solar is a great alternative to solar on your property, the sign-up and billing process can be confusing – and community solar is not yet available in every state! Just like EnergySage, CCSA has a consumer-first mindset: their mission is to “empower every American energy consumer with the option to choose local, clean, and affordable community solar.” This entails working closely with their members, policymakers, and utilities to make signing up for community solar as easy as possible.
Why sign up for community solar?
A community solar project is a large, central power plant whose electricity is shared by multiple properties. Community Solar provides many of the benefits of rooftop solar, but there’s no upfront cost and less commitment required. By subscribing to a local community solar farm, you’ll still reduce your electric bill and climate impact without installing a single solar panel!
Who are the CCSA’s partners?
CCSA currently has two main partner organizations, both of which are key stakeholders in the solar industry: the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Vote Solar.
SEIA
SEIA is the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry. They’re an extremely influential and critical organization, from advancing solar technology, spreading social awareness, and advocating for solar policy.SEIA serves as CCSA’s industry partner, helping drive the expansion and adoption of community solar throughout the industry.
Vote Solar
Vote Solar is a non-profit policy advocacy organization; in their own words, they have a mission of “making solar more accessible and affordable across the United States.” They advocate for solar policies at the state, local, and federal level and serve as CCSA’s advocacy partner, working to make community solar more inclusive and accessible to everyone.
Local Solar for All
In the summer of 2021, the Biden administration released ambitious plans for the solar industry: solar could power 40 percent of U.S. electricity by 2035 and 45 percent by 2050, representing an over 1,000 percent increase from today. While utility-scale solar needs to expand and is an important part of the equation, local solar – meaning a combination of rooftop and community solar – is the key to reaching this goal most cost-effectively. CCSA and Vote Solar, along with a number of other major solar companies, built a coalition to create a roadmap for expanding local solar: Local Solar for All.
What are CCSA’s goals?
CCSA has several core principles, which seem to center around a few key goals: making solar more widely adopted, making it easier to go solar, and making solar more equitable. Not surprisingly, these goals align closely with Local Solar for All’s roadmap.
Expanding solar
According to Local Solar for All’s roadmap, there are currently 24 gigawatts (GW) of installed local solar. Local Solar for All built a model to optimize solar and storage deployment to be most cost-effective for the grid and the average person paying an electric bill each month! Their model found that by 2030, local solar needs to increase by between 70 and 140 GW from where it stands today, and by 2050, it needs to reach between 171 and 247 GW.
As shown below in SEIA’s U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) forecast, community solar helped drive solar expansion over the past five years and needs to continue playing a substantial role in the future.
U.S. photovoltaic (PV) installation historical data and forecast, 2010-2026
Simplifying the process
While signing up for community solar is typically an easier process than getting solar installed on your property, it’s still not without challenges. In most cases, if you subscribe to a community solar project, you’ll receive two bills each month: one from your utility company and another from your community solar provider.
CCSA advocates for consolidated billing, which would not only make it easier to pay your utility company and community solar provider with one single bill, but it would also make it easier to sign up. Many community solar projects currently require minimum credit scores to sign up but this would no longer be necessary with consolidated billing.
Making solar more equitable
Community solar is generally more accessible to low-and-moderate income (LMI) families than rooftop solar, but barriers still exist (such as credit score requirements). According to a 2021 survey conducted by Uplight, over 32 percent of LMI customers stated that they struggled to pay an electric bill over the past year, which was approximately three times greater than higher-income customers. So, the very people who could benefit the most from a lower electric bill might not even be eligible for some community solar projects. Check out this article to learn more about LMI community solar.
In addition to supporting lower credit score requirements and promoting consolidated billing, deploying local solar on a wider scale can help LMI customers by lowering electric bills for everyone. In fact, Local Solar for All estimates that a national 95 percent clean electricity target with expanded local solar and storage would save ratepayers $473 billion by 2050 compared to a clean electricity grid without expanded local solar and storage.
Members of CCSA
If you’re looking to sign up for a community solar project and want to see if your solar provider is a member of CCSA, you can check out their list of current members. They have four categories of members, including leadership members, general members, utility-affiliate members, and non-profit members, who are all working together to shape and strengthen the community solar industry.
Frequently asked questions about community solar
For most people, community solar is a great deal! Depending on your subscription structure, bill credit discount, energy consumption, and the amount of energy generated by your project, you’ll likely save anywhere from 5-15 percent annually on your electricity costs.
Community solar is very legitimate. Community solar projects work by generating and distributing renewable electricity for the grid; then subscribers purchase a share of this energy – typically at a discount – to offset their electric bill. As a subscriber, you’d receive credits towards your monthly electric bill for any energy you buy from the project, reducing what you owe your utility company.
According to SEIA, as of the end of 2021, there were 4.6 GW of community solar installed in the U.S.
Find a community solar project near you
Similar to CCSA, EnergySage wants to expand solar, make it easier for everyone to go solar, and make solar more equitable. Our Community Solar Marketplace is designed to allow you to explore, compare, and sign up for projects near you. Don’t see any projects available in your area yet? The community solar industry is constantly growing, and more and more states are introducing policies to support development – so be sure to check back soon!
