Solar Energy

Shared Solar


Community Solar, sometimes called Shared Solar in Virginia, is a solar project in a specific utility territory shared by multiple subscribers, who receive credits on their utility bills for their share of power generated. Shared solar allows individuals, businesses, schools, and other customers to access clean solar power when it is impractical, too expensive, or otherwise unfeasible to install solar panels on their property. As a shared solar subscriber, nothing changes about the electricity flowing into your house from the utility grid, but you earn monetary credits from the shared solar system that offsets the cost of your electricity bill. You are also supporting the development of clean, renewable energy in Virginia.


How Does Shared Solar Work?

Shared solar is essentially subscribing to a set portion of an off-site solar facility to receive savings on for own electric bill. Subscribers of a shared solar facility do not have to be directly connected to the facility to participate in the program but must be in the same utility service territory. With shared solar projects, customers will pay a subscription fee, either via a separate bill or included within their utility bill. However, many shared and community solar programs are premium programs that may cost more to participate than your current electric bill.

1. Shared solar facility delivers electricity to the distribution grid. 2. Utility delivers electricity generated from a mix of resources to the customer. 3. Through a process called virtual net metering, shared solar subscribers receive monthly credits on their electric bill for a share of the total solar energy generated. 4. Subscribers pay the subscriber organization for a portion of the full value of the on-bill credits. Source: https://energy.virginia.gov/renewable-energy/SS_CS.shtml

  • 1. Shared solar facility delivers electricity to the distribution grid.
  • 2. Utility delivers electricity generated from a mix of resources to the customer.
  • 3. Through a process called virtual net metering, shared solar subscribers receive monthly credits on their electric bill for a share of the total solar energy generated.
  • 4. Subscribers pay the subscriber organization for a portion of the full value of the on-bill credits.

In Virginia, customers will likely be subject to pay a minimum bill to the utility to cover the costs of the infrastructure and distribution services. Low-income customers of Dominion Energy are exempt from the minimum bill charges.

Choosing to Participate in Shared Solar

Customers will have a choice between different shared solar subscription offers. It’s important to compare costs and contract terms from shared solar subscription providers. The key requirement for a shared solar subscription is that you must subscribe to a project within your same electric utility service territory. Visit the Shared & Community Solar Programs page to see a list of utility-specific shared solar programs in Virginia.

COMING SOON: VEConnect will soon feature a Contractor Browser. Shared solar subscription providers will be listed.

It’s important to consider a variety of questions before choosing to subscribe to shared solar. Recommended questions can be viewed below.

  • How long is the contract term for the subscription?
  • If your monthly fee is a price per kilowatt-hour basis, how does it compare to the existing rate you pay for electricity?
  • Can maintenance fees change over the contract term? Does your contract include an escalation clause that increases the amounts of payments over time?
  • Will you incur a fee if you wish to leave the contract early, including due to relocation?
  • Will you receive a consolidated utility bill or have two separate utility bills (electricity provider and solar)?
  • What is the size of your subscription or share of the community solar project? Is this the right amount, given how much electricity you typically use? If your contract provides more bill credits than you would use over the course of a year, you may end up paying for credits on your bill that you don’t actually use.
  • Will I pay a minimum bill through my utility? Will you save more through community solar bill credits than you will pay in subscription fees? Compare your subscription’s size and your electricity supply rate (which may change over time) to your subscription’s cost to determine if savings exceed cost.
  • Can I see my consumer disclosure form?

  • Bill Credit: The monetary value of the electricity generated by the shared solar facility, in kilowatt-hours, that is allocated to a subscriber to offset their energy bill.
  • Low-Income Customer: Any person, or household, whose income is no more than 80 percent of the median income in the locality where the customer lives. The median income of the locality is determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  • Minimum Bill: The minimum amount shared solar subscribers are required to pay on their utility bill per month after accounting for any bill credits.
  • Shared Solar Facility: A solar facility that has at least three subscribers and at least 40% of its capacity subscribed by customers with subscriptions of 25 kilowatts or less. Additionally, a shared solar facility cannot exceed 5,000 kilowatts and must be connected to the electric distribution grid. It should be on a single parcel of land.
  • Subscriber: Retail customer that participates in the shared solar program by owning at least one subscription of a shared solar facility.
  • Subscription: Contract between a subscriber and the owner of a shared solar facility. The subscription’s estimated bill credit will not exceed the subscriber’s average annual electric bill.
  • Subscriber organization: Any for-profit or nonprofit entity that owns or operates one or more shared solar facilities. Note: A subscriber organization may use a third-party entity to serve as an enrollment agent to manage customer enrollment and directly interface with subscribers.
  • Visit the Clean Energy Glossary for more commonly used terms in the industry.

Who can participate in the shared solar program?

Any residential, small business, commercial or industrial utility customer in an area where a shared solar program is available. Please see the list of participating utilities, cooperatives, and municipal utilities below.

How does the billing work?

There are two billing mechanisms for shared solar: separate billing and consolidated billing (net crediting). Under separate billing, a subscribing customer will receive two bills - one from the Subscriber Organization and the other from the utility. Under consolidated billing, a subscriber will receive one bill from the utility which includes their standard electricity bill and their shared solar subscription fee from the Subscriber Organization. There may also be a net crediting fee for consolidated billing.

What information should a subscriber organization provide to a potential subscriber?

The State Corporation Commission (SCC) has developed a standardized consumer disclosure form. This form provides all the necessary information to be disclosed and potential subscribers should expect to receive this information in the format provided by the SCC.

What is the difference between the community solar program and the shared solar program?

While shared solar and community solar can usually be used interchangeably, there are small differences. In Virginia, the community solar pilot program is managed by utilities. Customer participation and enrollment is managed by a utility. A community solar facility is either owned by a utility or subject to a power purchase agreement with a utility. Some investor-owned utilities and electric cooperatives offer community solar programs. The shared solar program is not managed directly by utilities. Instead, various subscriber organizations own and operate the solar facilities. Additionally, enrollment is managed by third-party subscriber organizations.

What is the difference between the shared solar program and the multi-family shared solar program?

The multi-family shared solar program is a separate program specifically designed for solar facilities that are located on the premises of a multi-family housing complex. This may include an apartment, condominium or duplex complex. The multi-family shared solar program has different rules and charges that apply to subscribers and subscriber organizations.

Are you interested in learning more about shared and community solar with your electric utility? Visit the Shared & Community Solar Programs page to see if your utility currently offers shared solar.

Additional Shared Solar Resources

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