How to Choose a Project

New York State is home to nearly 1,000 community solar projects. You may have received offers from energy companies promoting solar energy, and it can be challenging to discern which companies are legitimate and what they’re offering to customers.

See the recommended steps below to ensure you’re getting the best community solar product for your needs.

Step 1: Do Your Research and Browse Projects

Community solar providers are required to register with the New York State Department of Public Service (DPS) and abide by DPS regulation and oversight that are designed to prevent exploitive pricing and deceptive marketing practices.

In addition to NYSERDA’s interactive community solar map, interested customers can check the list of registered community solar providers maintained by DPS to verify a project’s legitimacy. It’s also recommended to explore online reviews from customers to learn more about a community solar provider before subscribing to a project.

Step 2: Unpack and Compare Project Terms

Subscription Plan

With a subscription model, community solar providers typically offer customers a discounted rate on electricity through a credit that’s applied to their electric utility bill for the clean power generated on their behalf.

Comparing the estimated savings, or discount rate, is a useful place to start. Subscribing to a community solar project often translates to a 5-20% discount on your electric bill. Savings are usually calculated annually, not monthly, as customers pay for bill credits that reflect how much renewable electricity is generated each month instead of how much is consumed. However, certain income-eligible community solar projects, such as Solar for All, offer participating residential customers a fixed discount.

It’s also important to review and compare the cancellation terms and project status.

The community solar provider should outline the cancellation terms in the contract. Check to see if there are any fees associated with cancellation, as well as the amount of notice you’ll need to provide to cancel without penalties – often between 30-90 days. In some cases, customers may be permitted to transfer a subscription to a new property if they move.

While some community solar projects are active, others may still be in development. Understanding the project status can give you an idea of how long it will take to start receiving electric bill savings. If a project is still being developed, customers may need to wait several months before it starts generating clean electricity.

Purchase Plan

With a purchase plan, it’s important to understand what portion of the project you’ll own – often expressed in wattage (watts or kilowatts) or the number of panels.

This information can inform comparisons between community solar projects. To start, review the contract length, how much you will pay per watt, and how much electricity is expected to be generated by your portion of the solar farm.

Pay attention to any maintenance and administrative costs – as these can vary between providers and impact the long-term savings potential. Also, ask the provider if any IRA tax credits or New York State incentives are available to customers with a purchase plan.

If moving is a possibility, consider whether a plan allows you to continue receiving credits, and if any terms and conditions that apply.

Step 3: Review Your Contract

After doing your due diligence to compare community solar projects, it’s time to do a final review before enrolling in a subscription plan or signing a purchase plan. Providers are required to show all the important terms and conditions on the Standard disclosure on the first page of all community solar contracts.

To enroll, you’ll need to provide your utility account information and previous electric bills (ideally for one year) to determine the size of your share in the community solar project. Customers cannot subscribe to receive more than their annual consumption, so providers typically aim for 85%-90% of annual electricity usage.

Note that it usually takes 1-3 months for customers to start receiving credits on their bills if joining an active project. If you’re a larger commercial customer with a demand of 25 kilowatt or greater, it may take longer to be assigned to a community solar project, since no more than 40% of a project may serve large demand-metered subscribers.