What is Community Solar? (HB 1842) 

Do you want to go solar, but home or rooftop solar isn’t the right option for you? Community solar may be the solution! Community solar can be a great choice for those who are unable to install solar panels on their roofs because they are renters, can’t afford solar, or because their roofs or electrical systems aren’t suited to solar.

The U.S. Department of Energy defines community solar as any solar project or purchasing program within a geographic area in which the benefits flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups. In most cases, customers benefit from energy generated by solar panels at an off-site array.

Community solar customers typically subscribe to—or in some cases own—a portion of the energy generated by a solar array and receive an electric bill credit for electricity generated by their share of the system. 

Advancing clean community solar in Pennsylvania is critical to defending our children’s health by cutting harmful air pollution and climate-warming carbon emissions. It would also energize and diversify Pennsylvania’s electric grid while strengthening our state economy and household budgets by creating new, family-sustaining careers in clean energy and lowering energy bills with affordable energy. 

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, there are federal incentives to support new community solar projects in Pennsylvania, but if we don’t act now, these incentives may go untapped and be allocated to other states instead. Already, 22 other states and the District of Columbia have authorized community solar and begun reaping its benefits. Pennsylvania, however, has yet to take action to access these incredible opportunities. A new bill (HB 1842),  passed by the PA House of Representatives in March 2024, would change that, but it’s stalled in the Senate. 

Join us in telling our Senate leaders that the time to act is now.

How Will Community Solar Benefit Pennsylvanians? 

The expansion of community solar can and will defend the health and lives of Pennsylvanian children by making clean, renewable energy accessible to all Pennsylvanians. Families who are renters or whose homes are shaded by trees would finally be able to benefit from solar. A new community solar bill, HB 1842, would give lower and middle-income families more access to choose clean energy through community solar and save money on their energy bills. Community solar would benefit all ratepayers by supplying extra energy to the grid during peak demand on hot days when prices are highest, safeguarding against price spikes and blackouts, and lowering the overall energy burden of families across the commonwealth. 

Community solar will also increase the amount of clean, pollution-free energy coming onto the grid. This would allow us to defend the health of our children by making Pennsylvania less reliant on fossil fuel power generation, which is a primary source for many harmful pollutants like soot, smog-forming precursors, and other air toxics, as well as climate-warming carbon and methane pollution. Pollution from carbon-based energy is linked to asthma attacks, other respiratory issues, cancer, and more. Additionally, a warmer climate increases the occurrences of vector-borne illnesses like Lyme disease, which is already spreading at rapid rates across the commonwealth. 

Pennsylvania has historically been an energy leader, but we’re falling behind other states in advancing the latest innovations in clean energy. Community solar would help us reap the economic benefits of solar for ratepayers, communities, and workers while creating energy in ways that defends the hearts, minds, lungs, and lives of our children by cutting harmful carbon pollution.