Community Solar Savings — How Solar Bill Credits Work

If you’re looking into community solar, you’re likely curious how bill credits work. When you enroll in a community solar project, you earn solar bill credits each month for the energy generated by your piece of the array. The energy generated by the solar project is purchased by your electric utility, and as a subscriber, you’re left with a guaranteed discount on your electric costs for the lifetime of your subscription. Sustainable energy and savings? A true win-win.

Let’s look at how the bill credit process works.

Understanding the community solar billing process

After you enroll in a community solar project, you’ll start to receive bill credits for the energy generated by your assigned portion of the array. (Your community solar provider figures out how much of the project to subscribe your account to based on your annual electric usage.) Each month, you’ll see guaranteed savings reflected on your bill.

If you’re an IGS Energy customer, you’ll pay IGS 90 percent of the value of those solar credits generated — saving you 10 percent on your subscription's production each month.

Why do I have two bills?

Remember: When you enroll in community solar, you’ll be connected to two different energy partners — your utility and your community solar provider. As a subscriber to a community solar array, you’ll continue to receive a bill from your utility — but now also receive a bill from your community solar provider.

Utility bills include energy supply charges, distribution charges, and any taxes and fees. Your utility charges its customers for the power supply and distribution of energy to their property. Your community solar provider, meanwhile, will send you a bill that represents the solar bill credits you’re receiving through your participation in the program. Once your community solar project starts generating energy, you receive solar credits on your utility bill that help cover your payment.

For more information about the process, check out our community solar FAQs.

How community solar helps you save on your energy costs

Let’s review how community solar works:

1. Step 1: As part of a state incentive program, a company builds a large solar array that produces solar power.
2. Step 2: The solar power generated by that array flows to a community’s local electricity grid.
3. Step 3: Community members like you sign up to reserve a portion of the energy produced by that solar array.
4. Step 4: Members receive a credit from their utility for the electricity produced by their portion — and earn guaranteed savings on their energy supply costs each month.