Municipals + Community Solar

Intro: Unlocking Community Solar

We’ve been running back-to-back meetings with municipal organizations across multiple states regarding clean energy opportunities.

Local governments have the opportunity to leverage community solar, a surging industry, as a sustainable growth initiative at a municipal level.

This article is going to cover some opportunities we review with our municipal clients in the community solar space including:

• enhancing sustainability practices as an organization
• engaging residents to generate benefits for themselves
• add value-add passive income with municipal solar leasing
• local policy and solar developer collaboration

Community Solar Authority leverages our experience in working with large organizations for over half a decade to bring real solutions and execute community solar initiatives.

Enhancing Sustainability Practices

“Dakota, I still can’t wrap my head around community solar so I’m hoping you can explain it better today; but we’re definitely interested in the savings.”

This was how my most recent municipal meeting started with the head of purchasing for the city.

I responded, “Let me make this as easy as possible. Any given state will make a renewable energy commitment, and then they need to do something to reach them. Community solar is one of many driving initiatives towards these commitments, and you have the opportunity to participate in this legislation.”

I continued, “You can join a local solar project with a solar developer, and you unlock shared incentives in exchange for helping clean the greater energy grid. Your share of panels on a project generates any given amount of power, and that translates into a bill credit designed to offset electricity costs. You can think of it like a coupon on electricity; just for participating.”

We walk through large users of electricity the execution of community solar as an anchor tenant because they are, in our opinion, the most important piece to the puzzle.

If you’d like to understand the importance of anchor tenants you can check out previous articles we’ve written on the subject.

We help municipalities unlock these shared incentives as a way to access operating cost reductions from lowering electricity costs, on a $0 investment, without having to install solar on-site.

Subscribing to community solar assets as a municipal organization is a wise move and a business sustainability practice.

It’s a simple way to generate energy savings on a set-it-and-forget-it basis without needing grandiose resources to do so.

Residents Can Do This Too

When we’re discussing a subscription opportunity with municipalities, most of our solar developers are very open to offering the ability for the residents of the municipality to participate too.

Mass-market capacity (small biz & residential) is much more widely available in the community solar space, so they could technically enroll with a quick search.

However, when our municipal clients offer the opportunity to engage the residents in partnership with the developers; the response is highly positive.

The solar developer can deploy collaboration campaigns including direct-mail and other initiatives to provide full-support enrollments making it very easy for all residents to participate.

A note on social sustainability: many community solar projects are prioritizing access for low-to-moderate income communities. This ensures equitable access to clean energy benefits. Community Solar Authority does lots of work in this space including collaborations with Housing Authorities, community outreach- and more!

Solar Leasing

Many municipalities have available rooftop space or land that is otherwise unused for development.

When we think about working with our clients, we always visit the opportunity to build community solar assets within a local municipality as a way to generate additional income and promote community solar.

Our solar leasing opportunities work the same way as our community solar rollout; with an internal RFP. We can easily support the initiative, collect the necessary number of bids, and come back with a winning proposal.

This ensures our clients are following their procurement process, but also maximizing the available revenue they can generate at a local level.

When it comes to solar leasing, we’ll review all opportunities:

A. Rooftops, Ground Mounts, & Carports

• Identify potential space within the community for solar installations.
• Explore leasing agreements with developers for rooftop and ground-mounted solar panels.
• Leasing available space generates municipal income while promoting renewable energy.

B. Difficult Sites: Brownfields & Landfills

• Transform challenging sites (e.g., brownfields, landfills) into solar installations.
• Enhance community pride by repurposing previously unused land for clean energy production.

Policy & Partnerships

Local governments play a pivotal role in advancing community solar initiatives. By crafting supportive policies and fostering strategic partnerships, municipalities can unlock the full potential of community solar.

When we think about unlocking community solar access and helping regions receive the full benefits, we discuss the following with our clients as a way for them to participate further:

A. Local Policies

• Update zoning and permitting regulations to streamline solar installation processes.
• Reduce installation costs and create a favorable market environment for solar developers.

B. Collaborate with Developers

• Partner with reputable solar developers to implement community solar projects.
• Leverage federal and state incentives to attract private investment.

Conclusion

Community solar is key legislation that is helping drive a more sustainable future.

For municipalities, there is a massive opportunity to participate in this legislation at the greatest levels to lead the way.

Our municipal clients can:

• unlock available incentives to improve operating profit
• unlock available savings for residents and bring equitable access
• unlock value-add passive income with solar leasing to promote the program
• collaborate with Community Solar Authority to use synergy in making the program more widespread at a local level

If you’re seeking to dive even further into community solar, you can check out this resource from energy.gov on the subject.

If you’re ready to get started in your opportunity as a municipality, you can visit our website and book a complimentary strategy call today over at communitysolarauthority.com

Thanks for reading! Questions? Email [email protected]