Subscribing to community solar does not require you to install solar panels on your roof.  Anyone who pays an electric bill is eligible. The community solar company simply connects you with a local solar farm so you can share a portion of the clean energy it produces. The size of your allotment is based on your average monthly energy usage.  BGE continues to deliver your electricity and the solar energy credit automatically appears on your monthly electric bill.  The discount applies to the electric supply portion, not the distribution charges. 

If you want to learn more about community solar, see the Neighborhood Sun website and the Q&A's and links below.  

If you're still unsure, please visit the Solar United Neighbors website to learn more about community solar, and then decide for yourself.

How it works

You subscribe online to a local community solar farm- without any fees or installations.

There are no costs, fees, or installations to subscribe, making clean energy available to renters and homeowners alike. They will match you with a solar farm that may already be active or still under construction. Just provide a sample utility bill to estimate your share size.

Your share of the solar farm generates clean energy for you each month.

You continue receiving power through your current utility. Each month, your share of the solar farm adds clean energy to the grid, directly displacing the equivalent amount of dirty energy derived from fossil fuels. This improves local air and water quality and allows you to directly combat fossil fuels just by paying your electric bill.

Your guaranteed savings are reflected as clean energy credits on your current utility bill.

Clean energy is cheaper (and safer) than fossil fuels. That means you pay for your share of solar energy at a guaranteed discount (between 5%-30%) compared to your current utility rate. These cost savings will be reflected as clean energy credits reflected on your current electricity bill each month. 

Why Sign-up for Community Solar?

• Saves money on your electric bill

• Promotes clean, renewable energy

• Does not require solar panels on your roof

• Requires zero upfront costs

Rapid growth of renewable energy sources is essential to fighting climate change and driving energy independence. Before the community solar idea gained traction, the only way a household could go solar would be to install panels on rooftops or in large backyards. Even with federal and state tax credits, residential solar installations sometimes require a large upfront investment by the homeowner and, just as important, are available only to homeowners. Community solar offers the benefits of solar to all households, both renters and owners, by allowing utility customers to subscribe to a share of a local solar farm’s output. The State of Maryland has committed to community solar with a program that allows electric utilities in Maryland to connect with solar farms participating in the program. 

Why Neighborhood Sun?

• Neighborhood Sun is one of the participating providers in the State of Maryland’s program;

• It's based in Maryland (Silver Spring);

• Registered as “B” Corporation (allowed to have a community service goal as well as a profit goal);

• Neighborhood Sun’s discounts to ALL subscribers are competitive in the industry. 

• The percentage discount is guaranteed for the life of the contract with Neighborhood Sun, so if BGE’s rate per kWh increases, your discount in dollar terms increases, too.

• It has a flexible cancellation policy (with a 90-day notice) with no fees to cancel;

• Higher discounts are available for Low/Medium Income (LMI) subscribers and offers online and phone help for clients eligible for those discounts.

Does community solar cost me anything?

No. There are zero fees or additional costs– only money saved.

How quickly will I see the benefits of subscribing?

It depends on the availability of a community solar farm. If a community solar farm is already generating power, you could see your solar credits on your electricity bill as soon as the next billing cycle. However, in some cases, the community solar farm still needs to finish construction, so it can be a few months until you start to see your community solar credits. 

If I sign up with Neighborhood Sun, what will happen to my regular utility bill?

Nothing changes except once your subscription is activated, your BGE bill will show a solar credit each month. 

What if I want to cancel? Do I have to pay a cancellation charge?

No. You may cancel your plan at any time, with a 90-day notice. Under the Maryland program, the solar farm you are subscribed to through Neighborhood Sun must honor your contract for 20 or more years.

What information will I need to sign up?

You will need a recent copy of your utility bill to register for the program.

I already have an alternative electric supplier that bills through BGE. Can I still sign up for Neighborhood Sun?

Third-party suppliers and community solar are compatible, so you can have both and using both can save you money. There is no need to cancel your electric supplier to subscribe to Community Solar.

What are the benefits for customers with moderate or low incomes?

Some solar farms represented by Neighborhood Sun offer higher discounts to customers with low to moderate incomes.  The LMI discounts range from 15% to 20% depending on the farm. To qualify as a moderate-income customer, a household’s gross income must be under $72,000 per year.   To qualify as a low-income customer, the household income is based on 175% of the federal poverty guidelines, which range by family size up to about $90,000 per year.   

How does billing work?

Solar credits are automatic once everything is set up.  Here's how it works behind the scenes:

1.  Your solar energy is generated & delivered to the electric grid:  At the end of every month, your utility company reads the meter at the solar farm to see how much electricity was generated.
2.  Your solar energy credit is reflected on your electric bill:  your utility company applies your share of the solar energy to your electric bill in the form of "solar credits." You'll only pay your utility company for the electricity used minus your solar credits.

Are there other community solar companies?

Yes, there are other community solar providers in the State of Maryland’s program. You can always do your own research and decide for yourself which company to use.  

How can I be sure the community solar project is legitimate? 

Community solar projects are subject to consumer protection laws that prohibit misleading marketing practices, but you should still read the terms of your subscription contract and the required contract disclosure form closely. A legitimate community solar project is required to provide a subscriber organization number in any marketing materials or contracts it uses to sell subscriptions to residential customers.  Click here for more information.

Natalia Franco Bio:  Natalia Franco has been working with Neighborhood Sun since 2020 and to this day she has helped almost 500 households subscribe to the Community Solar Program. Through her work, she has helped residents generate over 6 Million Kilowatt/hr of solar energy. This is preventing the emissions of 4.7 Million pounds of coal burned or 900 gasoline-powered vehicles driven for one year. She's passionate about living a sustainable lifestyle, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping communities be a part of the clean energy transition.

Links

Neighborhood Sun February 22, 2024 Presentation (PDF)

Community Solar / Neighborhood Sun Brochure (PDF)

Solar United Neighbors:  independent and nonprofit resource 

Sea level rise video

Article about the difference between energy suppliers and community solar

Energy.gov Community Solar Basics

Office of People's Counsel

Legislation making community solar in Maryland a permanent program (it’s no longer a pilot program) 

Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis promoting community solar and Neighborhood Sun

Johns Hopkins endorsement of Neighborhood Sun

Maryland Public Service Commission

BGE 

Department of Energy - A Guide to Community Solar

A Personal Note

A little about my solar experience: In 2009, we had solar panels installed on our house in Davidsonville. After I retired in 2012, I worked for a small solar company for a few years, so I became educated on the subject.  I could always show at least a 6-8 year ROI of around 15% for homeowners who were looking into installing solar panels.  When we moved to Heritage Harbour in 2019, the house already had solar panels. The previous owners had entered into a lease agreement with Solar City (later bought out by Tesla). I never liked lease agreements because it never made financial sense.  But we liked the house and the neighborhood, so we decided to buy it and as a condition of sale, together with the seller, we paid off the Power Purchase Agreement to avoid having future lease payments. 

What I learned over the years is owning your solar panels always shows a positive ROI.  In other words, it quickly pays for itself and then becomes free electricity. That is true even now after the tax credits expired because solar panel costs have been dropping steadily and electric rates continue to climb, which increases the value of the electricity your panels produce and accelerates your savings over time.  The Heritage Harbour management must have realized the value of owning solar because they are having solar panels installed on the entire roof that will save a lot of money on energy costs, which will save all HH residents money.

However, many aren't interested in going through an installation project like this, so community solar is a simple way to benefit from solar without having to install your own.  It's a simple process to enroll and saving 10% on your electric bill may not seem like much, but it quickly adds up and the cost of electricity is steadily climbing. It also helps the environment and our health by reducing fossil fuel emissions.

Jerry Klinken

CAHHH Membership Chair