In this model, a large, utility-scale solar installation is built relatively near a selected low-to-moderate-income (LMI) community. Community members sign up to either own part of the solar installation or pay a monthly electricity bill to receive electricity from the solar installation as they would from a traditional power provider.
Community solar is a promising model to expand the benefits of solar to households that do not have access to rooftop solar, either because they rent their home, live in a multi-unit apartment complex, or have a roof that is not suitable for solar. The model can also be more inclusive of low- and moderate-income (LMI) households that lack the capital or access to finance to afford the upfront cost of rooftop solar, even if their current homes may have been otherwise suitable for rooftop solar. Community solar has taken on several different forms in Texas, but continues to be structured around building an off-site solar array that benefits a groups of households that would not have otherwise had access to solar.
In Texas, community solar has only been developed on a small-scale in a few parts of the state. There continue to be policy, fiscal, regulatory, and market barriers to expanding the development of community solar across the state. The expansion of community solar has been somewhat challenging in the Texas Competitive Energy Market (CEM), where customers are offered many choices for electricity consumption and are especially price sensitive. Community solar installations in the CEM also require the use of a retail electric provider, which can also add additional expense and regulatory hurdles.
Big Sun Community Solar - CPS Energy chose Big Sun Solar to develop, sell, build and manage 5 megawatts of community-owned solar power. Through this partnership, approximately 2,500 solar-panel covered parking spaces were constructed throughout San Antonio. Through CPS Energy, this power is sent to the grid, sending energy to 450 families - none of which were required to build rooftop solar installations at their residences.
Disclaimer: The VEIC is still in its developmental stages! In the future, we will be able to provide you with a full Toolkit of resources to explore how you may be able to utilize the Community Solar model.
