A community solar project — sometimes referred to as a solar garden or shared renewable energy plant — is a solar power plant whose electricity is shared by more than one entity.

In its most basic form, community solar allows you to generate solar power in one location and use it in a different one. Electricity is produced at an off-site solar array and then purchased and consumed by multiple shareholders in that community.

While the mechanics and technology behind community solar may be complex, the concept is really very simple. We’ve broken it down for you in four easy steps, illustrated below.

Sunlight hits the solar panels in the community solar field, generating electricity. The electricity generated flows through an on-site meter to the electrical utility grid. The utility company measures the electricity generated, calculates a dollar value for the power, and distributes this dollar value proportionately to the members of the community solar program (residents, businesses, municipalities and institutions). The value of the solar electricity produced from the array is applied as a monetary credit to each member’s electric bill.

Who can participate in Community Solar?

Virtually anyone can participate in community solar, provided the property consuming the energy is located in the same part of the electric grid (load zone) as the community solar array.

What are the benefits of Community Solar?

Community Solar allows people to take advantage of reduced electricity rates and clean energy without having to install or own a solar array on their property. It also allows people who may not own property to save money on their electric bill and support renewable energy. Community solar is great for cities or towns who wish to power buildings such as a school, town hall, police station or other facilities, and is also beneficial to individual homeowners, renters and businesses who wish to offset their existing electric bill with solar energy.

If I join a Community Solar program, do I have to buy solar panels?

No; the great thing about community solar is that members can take advantage of reduced cost, clean energy without purchasing solar panels. Typically, the solar array is owned by a solar company or third party investor who builds the array on a field or on a large commercial rooftop. The owner of the array then sells the electricity to members of a community who want to buy renewable solar energy.

How does Community Solar effect my electric bill?

Community solar will usually lower your electric bill, and allows you to enjoy renewable solar energy. Each billing cycle, your utility company will deduct the assigned value of your percentage of the electricity generated from your bill, charging you only for the electricity consumed beyond that level. If there is a remaining balance on your utility bill after the value of the solar credit has been applied, you would remain obligated to pay the remaining balance on the Utility bill.

So how do I pay for my solar electricity?

As a community solar member, you will also get a bill from the owner of the community solar project (in our case Assetron Energy on behalf of the investors), charging you for the credit they have applied to your electric bill. The benefit of community solar is that you purchase a dollar credit at a discounted rate. For example, you would pay for electricity generated by the community solar project at a discounted rate of $0.85 for $1.00 worth of energy — ultimately saving 15% off your electric bill. Think of it like a Groupon for solar — where you might pay $10 for a $20 gift certificate.

During particularly sunny months, your solar credits might exceed your electricity consumption. In that case, you remain obligated to pay the solar company for the credit assigned to your account. Any unused credits will roll over month to month, and they never expire.

What community solar is not

Community solar is similar to but distinct from a number of other vehicles that allow individual investors, households and businesses to get involved in the quickly expanding clean energy economy.

Below are some of the approaches that are sometimes confused with community solar.

Group Purchasing : Group purchasing deals allow a large number of households or businesses to purchase their own individual solar systems at bulk rates through negotiations with a solar installation company. As such, group purchasing does not result in a communal project whose benefits are shared — once completed, each participant benefits separately from a separate system. In contrast, in a community solar project, all participants benefit from the same system, which is usually located on a piece of land not necessarily owned by any of the participants.

: Group purchasing deals allow a large number of households or businesses to purchase their own individual solar systems at bulk rates through negotiations with a solar installation company. As such, group purchasing does not result in a communal project whose benefits are shared — once completed, each participant benefits separately from a separate system. In contrast, in a community solar project, all participants benefit from the same system, which is usually located on a piece of land not necessarily owned by any of the participants. Green Power : Green Power arrangements allow a utility’s customers to purchase electricity sources from renewable energy generation plants — mainly hydro and wind. Those who sign up for Green Power generally do so not in order to save money on their power bills, but instead to ‘do the right thing’; for this privilege, they pay a premium price for electricity generated by solar or wind farms. Participation in a Green Power plan does not necessarily result in the build-out of additional renewable power plants, as electricity may be sourced from preexisting facilities. Most community solar gardens, on the other hand, are developed with a primary aim of saving participants money on their power bills.

: Green Power arrangements allow a utility’s customers to purchase electricity sources from renewable energy generation plants — mainly hydro and wind. Those who sign up for Green Power generally do so not in order to save money on their power bills, but instead to ‘do the right thing’; for this privilege, they pay a premium price for electricity generated by solar or wind farms. Participation in a Green Power plan does not necessarily result in the build-out of additional renewable power plants, as electricity may be sourced from preexisting facilities. Most community solar gardens, on the other hand, are developed with a primary aim of saving participants money on their power bills. Crowdfunding / Online Solar Investment Platforms: Firms like us, Assetron Energy, have opened up renewable energy investment to the masses with online platforms that allow virtually anyone to invest into new solar power system installations. Under such arrangements, buy-in is set up purely as an investment, and the power that such a system generates is not associated with the participant’s electricity bill in any way — and indeed may not be located in the same utility region, state or possibly even country. Returns from these projects may be taxable, whereas the benefits from a community solar plant are not. — BUT, our platform will be used to finance community solar installations, making the investors joined owners of the power plant, and the community paying their energy bills to the investors.

How do I get into a community solar scheme?

Finding existing community solar plants in your area and joining the group Arrange with your neighbours, suburb, street to become a community solar group. Organise funding and facilitation of your project

The above steps sound complicated? Well that is why we are doing what we are doing — building a simple platform, to allow anyone be part of a community solar group. Once you have organised a group of people (roughly around 10k AUD per quarter energy bill combined) — you simply fill a request on our platform, and we will do the rest — get investors, facilitate the project and set up a structure that will become your powered community solar group.

Follow us on facebook or twitter to see what we are upto.

Our project is about to be in its ICO stage, so keep your calendars locked for the 20th November 2017 (or you can buy some Tokens now during our limited 75 million Token presale)

Community Solar through cryptocurrency — the future is near.

References: ClearSky, Solect