Community Solar - How it Works:
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You sign up for a share based on your usage / or project availability
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Your contract states your benefits: Lower Cost Green Electricity, Local Investment, and Environmental Impact
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Your Share produces a certain amount of kWh Monthly
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It is credited to your monthly bill with CMP or Versant, and deducted as if it was on your roof or site.
How it Works
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So how does community solar really work?
We want to not only provide details about how it functions, but also how it benefits Mainers and the community.
Most of us inherently know how solar works. Solar energy is the transforming of light and energy from the sun into electricity that can be used to power our home. Many people probably envision this occurring in the solar panels on top of someone’s house, providing that home with clean electricity.
With Community Solar there is never the need to install solar panels on a roof of a home. It’s like taking panels off of roofs and putting them in a field. The fields of solar panels are called community solar farms or gardens and are built on land near existing electricity grid infrastructure with good sun exposure. The solar farm then generates clean, renewable electricity and feeds it into the utility grid, displacing fossil fuels.
What makes this “community”? Community solar is a program for the community! Instead of the solar farm creating revenue by selling the energy to the utility, local residents and businesses buy the energy through a subscription. People subscribe to the energy created in the solar farm that offsets the brown power used at their home. The utility recognizes each subscriber as providing clean power to the grid and rewards them by giving them community solar credits on their bill. In many cases, the credits zero out the existing utility bill.
Subscribers pay the community solar company for the electricity produced by their subscription at a cheaper rate than the credit. The net of both electricity bills is less than a bill without solar credits.
It is not just the savings that matter. Not only is community solar smart, simple, and a cost savings, it is also green.
More Solar Energy = Less Brown Energy = Better Air, Water, and Healthy Planet
So, not only does community solar save you and your neighbours’ money every single month, but municipalities, businesses, and citizens like you are creating a cleaner and better future for the next generation. Now you and everyone have the power to save money and the planet!
Our Projects are or will be National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat
Net Energy Billing (NEB) Disclosure Form
Entities marketing projects to residential and small commercial customers must provide those customers with an NEB Disclosure Form that includes information on the costs and benefits of the project to the customer.
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