How It Works

Energy that’s good for your wallet and your community.

Keep it local. Keep it clean. Keep it affordable.

With community solar, your electricity can do more than just power your home.

It benefits
you.

It benefits
the planet.

It benefits
your community.

How does community solar work?

Join a local solar farm.

We connect you with a local solar farm in your community so you can get a designated share of the clean energy it produces (based on your average monthly energy usage).

nature cartoon

Receive clean energy.

Your utility continues to deliver your electricity, including your new community solar energy credits, which appear on your monthly electric bill before you are charged for them each month.

home cartoon

Enjoy lower electric bills.

You pay Neighborhood Sun for your share of community solar energy at a discounted rate (up to 30% savings) via a separate bill each month.

Start saving money and the planet each time you pay your monthly electric bill.

Step 1
First, you’ll enter basic info to help us connect you with a local solar facility. This info includes zip code, utility territory, and income range to see if you quality for our SHARE Program dedicated to equitable access.
Step 2

Just provide your utility account number, and we’ll handle the rest! Solar energy credits from your local farm will show up on your electric utility bill at a discounted rate each month, so you don’t need to change anything.

Step 3

Our goal is to provide everyone with affordable and clean energy. We want you to understand what you’re signing up for and how it benefits not only you, but also your planet and community. We’re more than happy to answer any questions about the details of your solar subscription.

Step 4

Provide details to automatically pay for your local solar energy at a discounted rate each month.

Step 5

Once you sign up, use the MySolar portal as a one-stop-shop to update your information, make payments, see your savings, and track your positive environmental impact.

It's easy to get started.

If you pay an electric bill, you can take advantage of a local community solar project and save money every month. You benefit by reducing utility costs while the planet benefits from a greener grid. 

In 2021 alone, Neighborhood Sun customers saved over $256,000 on their electricity bills while preventing nearly 200 Million pounds of CO2 emissions. Sounds like a win-win.

Commonly Asked Questions

Did you know only 20% of Americans can access rooftop solar? Community solar eliminates the traditional barriers to solar, such as cost, location, and homeownership. 

Community solar enables local residents and businesses to access clean energy by subscribing to a share of the clean energy produced by nearby solar projects that are local to your very own community. Utilities make sure you receive your share of clean energy through the grid at a discounted rate. All you have to do is subscribe for your share of the solar farm through Neighborhood Sun, and you can start saving on each monthly electric bill.

Neighborhood Sun is ranked in the top 5% of all B Corps globally, earning the title Best for the World: Environment in 2021, and Best for the World: Governance in 2018 and 2019. In concerted efforts to address energy equity, our Solar Helps Advance Resident Equality (S.H.A.R.E.™) Program and Neighborhood Benefit Fund provide support for Low- and Moderate-Income residents who want to access affordable clean energy.

Fortunately, it’s not! Hey, we get it, community solar does sound too good to be true. But, there is still some good in the world, and we’re going to help shed a bit of light on the beauty that is community solar.
 
Since 2018, Neighborhood Sun has generated more than 214 Million kWh of clean energy, the equivalent of 167 Million pounds of coal NOT burned. Neighborhood Sun has also saved 13,000+ community solar subscribers over $500,000 on electric bills by connecting them with a local solar farm.

Nope! There are zero fees or additional costs– only money saved.

There are no fees to join, no fees to cancel, no paying for solar panels or repairs –nothing except real dollar credits on your utility bill for the clean energy that was produced by your share of the solar farm. You will continue to receive a bill from your utility, though it will be lowered. You can cancel your subscription at any time, but it may take up to 90 days to process.

Harnessing energy from the sun is much cheaper than fracking for fossil fuels, and community solar is financially supported by state programs.

You pay Neighborhood sun for the credit applied to your bill at the discounted rate your local solar farm offers. This payment is made about one to two months after you have received your solar energy credits, so you are always ahead of the game and you only pay for what you have already used.

 

This is 100% local energy – not Pennsylvania, Kentucky, or West Virginia. Your Energy is made HERE and supports green jobs HERE.

It depends on the status of your community solar farm.

If the 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 most cases, the community solar farm still needs to finish construction, so it can be six-to-eight months until you start to see your community solar credits. Keep an eye on our newsletters for monthly updates, or visit our website to see the status here

The amount of solar energy you receive is based on a couple of things, but we do all the hard work to figure that out for you!

First, we look at your historical electricity usage per month to know how much of the solar will be covering your electricity needs. That need is represented as a percentage of community solar farm’s production, which is around 0.5% of the farm on average. Second, the amount of electricity the solar farm produces changes with the seasons. During the long, sunny days of the summer months, the solar farm is generating more electricity, so your 0.5% share will mean more solar credits on your summer electricity bills than you see on your winter bills.  We can’t see your monthly usage, so if something changes in your energy usage be sure to let us know and we can adjust accordingly!

We keep it easy so you can see more green in your pocket.

Every month on your electricity bill, you will see a credit for the amount of solar energy used to power your home (at full retail value). Following your normal electricity bill, you will receive a bill from Neighborhood Sun for the solar energy you used, but it’s at a cost 5-30% less than what you would normally pay for dirty energy. The payments for your solar energy are automatic for your convenience, and the invoices are sent online to save on paper.

Once your subscription is initialized, your utility bill (BGE, Pepco, etc.) will show a credit each month, based on the amount of electricity (kWh) you consume and the utility’s going price of supplying and distributing that electricity. 

So, you will pay less to BGE. But you will get a separate bill from Neighborhood Sun, for that credited amount, minus a fixed percentage discount (generally 5% to 10% depending on the solar farm you joined.) 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. 

Community Solar Customer Login

If you are getting solar from:

If you are getting solar from: