This 2018 NREL report summarizes outcomes from the NCSP State Best Practices working group by identifying key differences in state policies that enable community solar and illustrating how various policy design approaches may impact the market. The authors conducted interviews with 19 subject matter experts, including project developers, regulators, and utilities to better understand how various policy design approaches may impact community solar markets. These perspectives, along with those gleaned from the working group and relevant literature were synthesized to identify key considerations for policymakers designing community solar programs.
Though state community solar policies vary in numerous ways, this report focuses on the
following critical elements:
- Program cap is the overall capacity limit established for a statewide community solar program.
- Project size cap is the limitation on individual project size.
- Subscriber location requirements identify which subscribers can participate in a community solar project based on where customers are located.
- Subscriber eligibility requirements clarify the quantity of subscribers required and how much capacity individual customers can purchase.
- Low- and moderate-income (LMI) stipulations establish certain thresholds for lower income customer participation in community solar projects.
- Subscriber compensation determines the value that customers are paid for the generation from their subscription in a project.