Examining community solar programs to understand accessibility and investment: Evidence from the U.S.

Abstract

This paper examines barriers and drivers to investment in community solar programs in the U.S. The paper addresses two key questions: (i) What barriers and drivers influence community solar adoption, including in low- and middle-income households? (ii) How can the market potential for community solar be further unlocked beyond the group of early adopter utilities and developers? The research team used a three-phased methodology consisting of stakeholder interviews, a survey, and a stakeholder engagement workshop. The main findings of the paper are: First, leading barriers to adoption are the absence of state and federal policies and standards, difficulties in subscribing customers, and lack of education, financial viability and suitable location sites; Second, the major drivers for adoption are enhancing community benefits and resiliency and grid modernization efforts. Improving financial viability is possible through, for example, the use of anchor tenants to mitigate financial risk and improve value-stack and sustainability efforts. To unlock the market potential for community solar programs requires addressing six categories of issues: (i) increasing community solar programs’ generation limits and use of a portfolio approach to development and financing to achieve economies of scale through multiple projects, (ii) community education, project coordination and site selection, (iii) incorporating community solar programs in grid modernization and resiliency efforts, (iv) standardizing community solar programs policies, (v) mitigating interconnection financial burden, and (vi) designing dynamic contracts with anchor tenants that mitigate subscription issues.