"Community Solar" could Help Clear Last Remaining Renewable Energy Hurdles

In many respects, solar power is already cost-competitive with traditional energy source – or the gap is closing, at least – but not everyone wants to take the plunge with solar panels, and I can’t blame them.

Whether for aesthetic reasons – even proponents admit that photovoltaic panels aren’t the prettiest home renovation – or fiscal ones (or even if their neighborhood or house isn’t geographically conducive to the sun’s rays), not everyone wants a huge upfront expense like that.

For them, a possible alternative is “community solar.”

The U.S. Department of Energy defines “community solar” as “any solar project or purchasing program, within a geographic area, in which the benefits of a solar project flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups,” and while beneficiaries might not enjoy the long-term financial benefits of owning solar panels (and tax incentives may not apply), it’s an extremely viable substitute for fossil fuel energy.

Forbes has an interesting take on the subject, and as the title suggests, “Community Solar Could Fill A Market Void — But Regulatory And Technical Gaps Remain.”

As of now, 21 states and the District of Columbia offer community solar, with more on the way, and according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, community solar is outpacing projections, with 4.5 gigawatts on track for installation, nationwide, in the next five years.

And the industry is shooting for a total of 20 gigawatts of capacity by 2025, enough to power 5 million homes.

Still, as with any novel technology or broad technical concept, regulatory and technical hurdles pose significant challenges for state and federal agencies and industry partners that want to move forward on community solar.

“One of the challenges is we have the patchwork of state laws, which allows us to determine what works and what does not,” said Garrett Nilsen, acting director, Solar Energy Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of Energy. “We recognize there should be local autonomy but more universal information needs to be deployed.”

If proponents can eliminate those political and technical roadblocks, community solar could help us clear one of the final obstacles to full-scale deployment of renewable energy.