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Powering Your Home With The Sun

Introduction to Residential and Community Solar

Name

ISEA position

www.illinoissolar.org

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Established in 1975
501(c)3 charitable organization
250+ individual members
Provides public education, such as the Solar Tour, webinars, and newsletters

ISEA’s mission is to educate and advocate for the widespread application of solar and other forms of renewable energy to the people of Illinois

Established in 2020
501(c)6 trade association
~150 business members
Conducts policy work, job fairs, and networking events

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Illinois Electricity Generation

As of Q3 2025, there is 6,557 MW of solar installed in Illinois - 3.67% of the energy mix
State law requires 40% of electricity used in the state to come from renewables by 2030

Source Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration; Solar Energy Industries Association

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But solar capacity is growing, and will continue to grow!

Illinois Electricity Generation

Source Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration; Solar Energy Industries Association

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There is solar installed all over Illinois!

Source: illinoisshines.com/project-map on 12/18/25

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Why Go Solar?

Reduces carbon emissions and environmental concerns

Improves public health

Creates jobs

Saves money on electric bill

Increases home value

Inexhaustible energy supply

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Installing solar will increase my property taxes!

Common Myths

You have to have a South exposure on you roof.

It will be harder to sell my house.

It’s too expensive!

Solar panels will cause my roof to leak, deteriorate or collapse.

The utility will pay you for the extra power you produce

We don’t get enough sun.

It’s too cold here; solar panels can’t withstand snow, hail, winds, & sleet.

We don’t get enough sun – Actually Chicago ranks 3^rd in useable sunlight; with only 20 minutes less so than Miami, during the summer months.
�It’s too cold here…. -
Solar panels are less efficient the hotter they get and produce more power when it gets cooler. While parts of the south may get more hours of sun, the panels produce less voltage per peak hour because of the heat. (quoted from article from website – Solar Asset Mgt North America; Mark Hagerty, founder of Michigan Solar Solutions: http://www.solarplaza.com/pressrelease/usa-growth-in-colder-climates)
The University of Vermont (who receives considerable snow fall) has a system that has proven to be effective and virtually maintenance free, even during winter months
If it snows enough to completely cover your panels, they will not produce electricity while covered. However , snow slides off of panels, and your panels tend to be located where your roof gets the most sun, so the snow on your panels will melt and resume producing electricity. (http://microgrid-solar.com/residential/solar-qa/myths/)
Solar panels are designed to be hail resistant
�It’s too expensive – Solar Energy installations are more affordable than they have ever been. In every state, incentives cover a minimum of 30%;
�It will be harder to sell my house – Research by the Department of Energy finds that “Solar homes sell at up to twice the rate of their conventional counterparts. Their research also found that homeowners consider energy costs an extremely important factor in the decision to buy a home. Solar panels provide a competitive advantage because a home’s owner is not as subject to rising utility prices.
�Solar panels will cause my roof to leak, deteriorate or collapse – Solar panels actually protect and preserve the portion of the roof they cover. Most solar panels are not attached directly to the roof itself, but rather to a mounted railing system. Installers add sealants to fill in any gaps and often the mounts are surrounded by metal “Flashings” or covering that act as a extra barrier for elements. (http://pureenergies.com/us/home-solar/solar-basics/solar-myths/)
�You have to have southern exposure = East/West roof exposure is also effective for photovoltaic systems, Another option is a ground mounted system in which case all you need is a relatively flat, unshaded area. (Many municipalities however do not allow for ground mounts so check with the permitting department first.)
�Taxes – Illinois offers a special assessment of solar energy systems for property-tax purposes. For property owners who register with a chief county assessment officer, solar energy equipment is valued at no more than a conventional energy system. Eligible equipment includes both active and passive solar-energy systems. The exemption is not valid for equipment that is equally usable in a conventional energy system or for components that serve non-solar energy generating (e.g., structural, aesthetic, insulating, etc.) purposes. Application for Solar Assessment Those who wish to have their solar energy property valued in this fashion must file the State of Illinois PTAX-330 property tax form with their local county assessor's office. Forms are available online and through each Illinois county assessor's office. ( Reference:http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=IL01F)
�

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Too Far North?

Not Enough Sun?

Photovoltaic Solar Resource: United States & Germany

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The Electric Grid is Changing

Large power plants;

under centralized control

Distributed generation grid;

a “smart” connected network

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Residential Solar System

Primary Components

1 PV Collectors

2 Inverter/Micro-Inverter

3 Service Panel

4 Household Load

5 Electric Meter

6 Grid & Net Metering

Optional Component:

Energy storage system

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Process to Go Solar

Schedule a Site Evaluation
Choose a Contractor
Sign Interconnection Agreement
Permit Completed by Installer (typ. 30-60 Days)
Material Delivery (typ. 2 Weeks)
Installation (typ. < 1 Week)

TOTAL DURATION: �Approx. 3-4 months to go solar!

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Process to Go Solar

ISEA Resources

ISEA Solar Calculator www.illinoissolar.org/solar-calculator

Find a Professional Tool www.illinoissolar.org/FindAProfessional

FAQs for Homeowners www.illinoissolar.org/Homeowner-Resources

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Financing Options

ISEA Members are eligible for the Clean Energy Credit Union, which focuses exclusively on providing loans for clean energy and energy saving projects

Options where you own the solar array:

Ranges from $0 to large upfront cost
Overall better financial return vs 3rd Party

Pay Cash

Traditional Loan

Bank Loan
Home Equity Loan

Solar Electric System Loan

Customized for a solar array
Secured by the equipment (not your home)
Can get the loan in 2 parts

– 12 to 18-month loan to cover solar tax credit

– 12 to 20-year loan for up to 74% of eligible project cost

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Financing Options

Options where you do not own the solar array �(it’s owned by a 3rd party):

Little to no upfront cost
Understanding the contract is key
Lower financial return compared with ownership

PPA – Power Purchase Agreement

Homeowner pays an agreed-upon price for electricity that is lower than the typical price from your electric company

Solar Lease

Homeowner pays a leasing fee that is lower than your typical electric bill

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Net Metering

How does net metering work?

Please note that different utilities in the state have different net metering policies. For example, a municipal utility or rural cooperative will not have the same policy as Ameren or ComEd.
An important part of the financial equation is receiving credit for the energy you produce if you stay tied to the grid which most people do. This is called Net Metering and is a formal agreement between you and the utility to compensate you for the energy you produce. They do not pay you in dollars but in an equal exchange of a kWh for a kWh. This works much like a cell carrier roll over minute and you can carry from month to month. However, in IL you can only carry for one year and so the utility will review this in either April or October (you chose). If you have generated more than you consumed they will zero out your rollover and you will not be compensated. Therefore, system sizing is important so be sure to compare your energy usage with your solar production before installing a system.
�

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Production & Usage

To illustrate Net Metering another way, lets look at how it might operate over an entire year. We’ll discuss production and usage for a typical home with a properly sized system. Over the course of a year this is what the solar energy production curve will look like. It is simply a function of shorter days in winter and longer days in summer.
�This is what the typical home energy usage curve will look like. In winter with shorter days and cold weather you use much more energy in lighting and heating. As the year progresses and the days get longer and warmer and you are heating less but haven’t started using your AC, come spring you’ll find your usage is low but then as summer kicks in and you turn on your AC your usage shoots up again before things cool down in fall before heading into another winter.
�

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Production & Usage

GOAL: �Have surplus match deficit

You’ll see these curves do not line up most of the year.
�In winter and summer where your usage is greatest you most likely will find you are not producing enough energy to meet your demand and will see a deficit.
�In spring and fall where your production is increasing but without much heating and air conditioning you’ll see your usage is less than your production and likely having a surplus of energy that you will put on the grid, if you are Net Metering. Here you hopefully will be building up energy credits that will rollover into the summer or winter months to make up for the deficits.
�To fully appreciate solar and the importance of Net Metering, look back over a year and see how close you came to meeting all your usage with your production and rolling over your excess energy into those months where you are coming up short. Hopefully if you system is sized correctly you’ll end up producing the same amount of energy as you used. There is no greater benefit for solar owners than Net Metering where our current state policy dictates for every unit of energy you put on the grid you get one unit back with no surcharges or added costs. This is all driven by state policy so it is something to carefully watched and please support ISEA as no other organization is looking at policies like this as closely and actively working on maintaining the best benefits of solar owners.
�

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Net Metering Compensation as of Jan 1, 2025

New solar customers will receive net metering for their supply charges, but NOT for their delivery charges or taxes/fees as they have in the past
Customers will be able to choose between a 1:1 kWh or monetary credit for excess electricity exported to the grid, applied to their next bill if exports exceed consumption. These credits will not expire.

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Net Metering Compensation as of Jan 1, 2025

To offset the initial cost to install solar and/or storage, customers can apply for a one-time “Distributed Generation (DG) Rebate” (also called the “Smart Inverter Rebate”) and/or the “Storage Rebate.” The DG Rebate offers an incentive of $300 per kilowatt of generating capacity and the Storage Rebate offers an incentive of $300 per kilowatt hour of storage. A customer must participate in a peak time rebate program, hourly pricing program or time of use rate program offered by their utility to qualify for the Storage Rebate.

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Net Metering Compensation as of Jan 1, 2025

In sum, new customers will receive

Supply credits

Rebates

State

incentives*

*These incentives will be covered later in the presentation

+

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Legacy Net Metering Customers

Solar customers who installed their system BEFORE January 1, 2025 will receive full retail net metering, which includes for supply charges, delivery charges, and taxes/fees. This is legacy net metering
To qualify, the installation, testing, and final inspections of a customer's system must be completed, and all required paperwork submitted to the utility by 5:00 PM CT on December 31, 2024. This process is typically handled by the installer on behalf of the customer.
Legacy customers will receive legacy net metering for the whole lifetime of the system, but the credits will zero out once a year, in either April or October
Legacy customers in ComEd territory may expand their systems with no cap and still retain legacy net metering
Legacy customers in Ameren territory may expand their systems with a cap at 100% and still retain legacy net metering

In sum, legacy customers will receive

Supply credits

Delivery credits

State & Federal

incentives*

+

*These incentives will be covered later in the presentation

+

Adjustment on

taxes & fees

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Earning Credit on Your Bill

PRE 2025

ComEd Bill – April 2024

Your bill will change, showing: �In Flow �(from grid)

and Out Flow �(to grid) readings

Under Net Metering your bill will look different and the back and forth of energy is recorded as In Flow and Out Flow. The first number is how much energy you took from the grid, and the second is how much energy you sent to the grid. Note that net metering isn’t about money it is about units of energy and all computations are done in kwh.
If you produce more than you take, you get rollover credits – like minutes on a cellphone plan! If you take more than you produce, you are charged for the overage – but as you can see from this bill, if you have enough credit rolled over, it makes up for it.
�ComEd does charge for being hooked up to the grid and part of that charge is a flat rate not tied to any amount of energy. Some additional charges are tied to the amount of energy sent. So even if I offset everything they sent me, I still pay a little to maintain the wires and that is fair…I am using the wires no matter which direction the power Is going and that is about all this bill shows I am paying. There’s a few more pennies under fees and taxes.
�When a ComEd customer produces more energy than they receive they pay no supply cost, they paid a standard delivery flat rate, and little to no fees or taxes…there is always a small bill to pay every month….at least line charges.
�

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Production and Usage

PRE 2025

ComEd Bill –April 2024

If more In �than Out, you pay the difference.

If more Out than In, you rollover the excess to the next month.

Typically rollovers can go month to month but not year to year.

What you are effecting is the Supply part of your bill. You generate some, all, or more of your supply and if you demand more than you supply, you pay the difference. If you supply more than you demand the excess is rolled over to the next month. Once a year your “bank” is set back to zero which means if you have some rollover credits, you will lose them.
�ComEd does charge for being hooked up to the grid and part of that charge is a flat rate not tied to any amount of energy. Some additional charges are tied to the amount of energy sent. So even if I offset everything they sent me, I still pay a little to maintain the wires and that is fair…I am using the wires no matter which direction the power Is going and that is about all this bill shows I am paying. There’s a few more pennies under fees and taxes.
�When a ComEd customer produces more energy than they receive they pay no supply cost, they paid a standard delivery flat rate, and little to no fees or taxes…there is always a small bill to pay every month….at least line charges.

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Earning Credits on the Grid –

Hourly Pricing

PRE 2025

Your bill will change, showing: �In Flow �(from grid)

and Out Flow �(to grid) readings

The price per kWh of energy changes each hour based on the market price for that hour.

ComEd Bill – June 2020

For details on hourly pricing policies:

ComEd: https://.comed.comhourlypricing

Ameren: https://www.powersmartpricing.org

For details on hourly pricing policies:
ComEd: https://hourlypricing.comed.com
Ameren: https://www.powersmartpricing.org

HOURLY MARKET PRICES

ComEd’s Hourly Pricing program gives you access to hourly electricity prices that are based on the Residual ComEd Zone PJM wholesale market prices. These prices vary from hour to hour and day to day according to the actual market price of electricity. You can manage your costs with Hourly Pricing by using appliances that consume a lot of energy during lower-priced hours and conserving energy during hours when prices are higher.

HOURLY PRICING DIFFERENCES

Under supply-related charges, all customers will have an Electricity Supply Charge, a Transmission Services Charge, and a Purchased Electricity Adjustment. However, the rates for these line items are different for Hourly Pricing participants and ComEd’s standard fixed-price rate customers.

Hourly Pricing bills include separate line items for the Capacity Charge and the Miscellaneous Procurement Charge. A standard fixed-price rate bill includes the costs for these two line items in the Electricity Supply Charge.

THE SAME: The Delivery and Taxes & Fees sections use the same rates for Hourly Pricing participants and customers on ComEd’s standard fixed-price rate.

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Earning Credits on the Grid –

Hourly Pricing

PRE 2025

ComEd Bill – June 2020

Capacity Charge – was $11.36 Yr 1; change to $.29 => $132.84 annual savings

It’s based on actual peak after Yr 1

Inflow (kWh) x Ave Hourly Price

Capacity Charge – updated each June; represents reserve for your peak demand

Outflow (kWh) x Ave Hourly Price

My Capacity Charge – updated in June

Yr 1: $11.36

Yr 2: $.49

Yr 3: $.29 – probably lower due to change to heat pump – more efficient with AC

Q. What is the Capacity Charge?

A. The Capacity Charge allows ComEd to reserve generating capacity in advance, ensuring that enough energy will be available when it is needed, even at peak times. All electricity suppliers are required to reserve capacity to cover each customer’s Capacity Obligation. The Capacity Obligation represents your expected level of hourly energy use in the afternoon on a hot summer day.

For residential customers who pay ComEd’s standard fixed-price rate, capacity costs are included in their Electricity Supply Charge. For Hourly Pricing participants, the Electricity Supply Charge does not include these capacity costs, so ComEd lists this as a separate Capacity Charge line item on Hourly Pricing bills.

As the market price of capacity fluctuates, all ComEd customers will see adjustments to their rate. The Capacity Charge item on your bill is adjusted annually in June. For more information on the Capacity Charge and how you can lower it on future bills, visit HourlyPricing.ComEd.com/FAQs.

Q. How is the Capacity Charge calculated?

A. There are two components to this charge: your Capacity Obligation and the Capacity Charge rate. Multiplied together, they make up the Capacity Charge item on your bill.

Your Capacity Obligation reflects how much energy you were using last summer when energy was most in demand. The method used to calculate your individual Capacity Obligation depends on when your smart meter was installed. The Capacity Charge Rate is updated each June based on the market, and your actions won’t affect it.

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Earning Credits on the Grid –

Hourly Pricing

PRE 2025

ComEd Bill – June 2020

Credit this month

Rollover Credit from last month

Amount Due this month

Generation Credit – sum of all net metering credits + tax

Remaining Credit: Rollovers can go month to month but not year to year. You can choose either April or October for your year-end. At that time your credit goes to $0.00.

My Capacity Charge – updated in June

Yr 1: $11.36

Yr 2: $.49

Yr 3: $.29 – probably lower due to change to heat pump – more efficient with AC

Q. What is the Capacity Charge?

A. The Capacity Charge allows ComEd to reserve generating capacity in advance, ensuring that enough energy will be available when it is needed, even at peak times. All electricity suppliers are required to reserve capacity to cover each customer’s Capacity Obligation. The Capacity Obligation represents your expected level of hourly energy use in the afternoon on a hot summer day.

For residential customers who pay ComEd’s standard fixed-price rate, capacity costs are included in their Electricity Supply Charge. For Hourly Pricing participants, the Electricity Supply Charge does not include these capacity costs, so ComEd lists this as a separate Capacity Charge line item on Hourly Pricing bills.

As the market price of capacity fluctuates, all ComEd customers will see adjustments to their rate. The Capacity Charge item on your bill is adjusted annually in June. For more information on the Capacity Charge and how you can lower it on future bills, visit HourlyPricing.ComEd.com/FAQs.

Q. How is the Capacity Charge calculated?

A. There are two components to this charge: your Capacity Obligation and the Capacity Charge rate. Multiplied together, they make up the Capacity Charge item on your bill.

Your Capacity Obligation reflects how much energy you were using last summer when energy was most in demand. The method used to calculate your individual Capacity Obligation depends on when your smart meter was installed. The Capacity Charge Rate is updated each June based on the market, and your actions won’t affect it.

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●On Page 2: Fixed Rates with a Monetary Credit:

●

●METER INFORMATION: A new line item is added reflecting the 2 channel readings from a Smart Meter:

●“kWh From Grid”: this reports how much energy came from the grid

●“kWh To Grid”: this reports how much solar energy was sent to the grid.

●

●SUPPLY: Customers will receive a MONETARY credit under the Supply section of the bill for ALL “kWh To Grid”.

●

●The Net Metering Credit = “kWh To Grid” times the total Supply Rate (add all SUPPLY kWh charges togeher).

●

●If “kWh To Grid” was greater than”kWh From Grid” the Net Metering Credit will exceed the total charges and the total for the Supply section of the bill will be negative.

●The resulting credit is then extended to the full Balance Due, reducing the total billed for the month.

●

●If the Total Billed for the month is negative, then the remaining credit will roll to future months. This is captured in the MISCELANEOUS section of the bill.

●These monatary credits do not expire and continue to roll to the next month until they have been fully spent..

●

●Observation: This option may be easier for consumers to understand and will likely benefit them the most.

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●On Page 2: Monetary Credit with Hourly Pricing

●

●Cutomers with Hourly Billing (Time of Use or TOU) have a very different bill than those with Fixed Rates. The METER INFORMATION, DELIVERY and TAXES & FEES sections are the same.

●

●METER INFORMATION: A new line item is added reflecting the 2 channel readings from a Smart Meter:

●“kWh From Grid”: this reports how much energy came from the grid

●“kWh To Grid”: this reports how much solar energy was sent to the grid.

●

●But the Supply Section is quite different. Going line item by line item:

●Electricty Supply Charge: This shows the total number of kWh billed for the month. But, since the $/kWh changes based on time of day rates, only a total is shown here.

●Transmission Services Charge: This is billed by kWh Inflow.

●Capacity Charge: Thi sis a complicated line item. Capacity is the kW a household needs (think volume (kW) like the size of a pipe versus the amount of water that flows from the pipe over time (kWh). To calculate this amount, ComEd takes the consumers highest kW needed on the 5 hottest days of the prior year. This kW is locked in for the entire billing year. Therefore, if one is on TOU, they should pay careful attention to energy usage on hot days in the summer. For consumers who can not manage their load on these days, they may not want to be on TOU.

●Customers are able to opt out of Hourly Pricing any time. However, if they wanted to got back to this billing plan, they would need to wait a year.

●Purchased Electricity Adjustment:

●Misc. Procurement Components Chg: This is also a kWh charge based on Inflow.

●Net Metering Credit – Hourly Pricing: This is a credit applied to the full “kWh To Grid” and is valued at the rate when the power was backfed. Like the Electricity Supply Charge, this is based on interval pricing.

●Net Metering Credit – Supply: Adding the Supply section variable rates together, this is the amount of the Net Metering Credit and it is multiplied by the full “kWh To Grid”.

●

●Observation: Many alert customers can benefit by using Hourly Pricing but they must be aware of when they are using power. It is best to use less energy during the day and send as much as possible to the grid at high prices and then run appliances or charge EV’s at night and buy power at lower rates.

●For customers who do not manage big loads, particularly HVAC in the summer, they could find themselves with a high Capacity Charge. In the next 2 years, ComEd has warned consumers that Capacity Charges will increase significantly. This could result in hundreds or even over $1,000 in additional costs and could offset the advantage of selling solar energy high while buying energy low.

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Solar Incentives

State Incentives

~20-30% based on SREC $ amount
1 SREC = 1 MWh solar energy
RECs monetize environmental benefits of solar generation
Must secure a contract to sell SRECs to Illinois Power Agency through Approved Vendor

Federal Incentives

Investment Tax Credit (ITC)
Renewed by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022� – Through 2032: 30%� – 2033: 26%

– 2034: 22%

Starting 2035: � – 0% (residential systems)� – 10% (commercial/� utility-scale)

Now Ends December 31, 2025!

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Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)

RECs quantify and monetize the environmental benefit of adding solar to the grid

Systems <25kW AC receive 15-year incentive upfront!

This is in addition to the saving on their bill (net metering) and the rebate(s)

Homeowner installs a solar system

Solar system produces a number of MWh per year �(1 MWh = 1 REC)

IPA purchases RECs for ComEd and Ameren

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ABP – Residential Blocks

Group A (Ameren, MidAmerican, Mt. Carmel, and Rural Co-Ops and Munis in MISO)		Group B (ComEd, and Rural Co-Ops and Munis in PJM)
Size Sub-Category (kW AC)	REC Price ($/REC)	Size Sub-Category (kW AC)	REC Price
<= 10 kW	$66.34	<= 10 kW	$75.48
> 10-25 kW	$57.18	> 10-25 kW	$69.78

*Note: Current block prices released April 18, 2025. Block prices change with each new program year.

Note about why knowing about the Adjustable Block Program is useful for people interested in getting solar installed on their home:
While your installer will often obtain your RECs for you as part of their contract, it is important to note that it is best to get in quickly. The first block will be the first REC prices available, and the best price per REC. A limited number will be available, and once they are all taken, the second block opens up. The price per REC will not be as high as in the first block. Once all of those are taken, the third block will open, which will have a lower price per REC than the second block. It is in your best interests to move quickly!
�“[T]he Agency emphasizes that these prices should be viewed as preliminary in nature and not necessarily the prices that will be offered once the programs launch, and parties should not take actions in reliance on the availability of these preliminary proposed incentive levels.”
– LTRRPP, page 98; 12/4/17
�

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Clean and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA)

Passed September 2021
Builds on previous legislation (FEJA)
Creates path to 100% clean energy by 2050
Sets goal of 100% carbon-free power by 2045 through the closing of coal and fossil gas plants
Provides funding to increase renewable energy from 9% to 40% by 2030 and 50% by 2040
Increases funding for Illinois Solar for All and new inclusive financing mechanisms

Year		Cumulative New Solar
2020		1,350 MW
2025		2,000 MW
2030		2,700 MW*

3.5x more renewable energy

will be built each year!

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Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA)

Passed October 2025
Builds 3 GW of clean energy storage
Establishes a Virtual Power Plant program, which pools energy from already built energy sources like household solar panels paired with battery storage, to deliver rapid savings
Strengthens energy efficiency programs
Empowers state agencies to better plan for future energy demand spikes

Will save Illinois families and businesses more than $13 billion on electricity bills over the next 20 years!

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IPA Plans for REC Distribution

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My Solar Story

Tell us your solar story here! Include a photo of your solar if you can

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What is �Community Solar?

Community solar refers to larger-scale solar facilities to which individual community members can subscribe.

illinoisshines.com/find-a-community-solar-project

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Systems do not have to be located near the entities they service, but they do need to be in the same utility territory

Great for renters, homes with too much shade, etc.

What is Community Solar?

Participating subscribers receive an energy credit from the utility (not the actual electrons)

Most subscriptions promise 10-20% off your regular electric bill

In Illinois, no single entity may off-take more than 40% of a community solar project

Know your electricity usage before subscribing

Stress that the project only needs to be located on the same utility system as the generator. This means a ComEd customer (or Co-Op/Muni customer in northern Illinois) can subscribe to a CS project that’s located almost anywhere north of I-80. An Ameren customer (or Co-Op/Muni customer in central/southern Illinois) can subscribe to a CS project that’s located almost anywhere south of I-80.
�A good analogy for community solar is a community vegetable garden. It’s perfect for people who live in apartments or don’t have space at their house for a garden. But instead of a truck bringing your weekly box of locally-grown vegetables, the CS project delivers its electricity to the grid, your utility serves power to your house and incorporates everything onto your electric bill.
�Some Community Vegetable Gardens are owned and tended by the community members, just like some small Community Solar projects are located in the neighborhood and owned by nearby residents. But the more appropriate analogy is the Community Supported Agriculture model, or CSA. These CSAs are often larger farms located a little further away from the city than a true Community Garden. People are able to subscribe to a CSA and receive a weekly shipment of vegetables without having to participate in the farming itself.
�We’re seeing much more of this CSA parallel in the Community Solar space. Some businesses specialize in Community Solar projects and are able to build these projects at lower cost, meaning they’re able to pass on as savings to the consumer.
�To date, every CS projects in Illinois is offsite shared solar. Onsite shared solar or other models may move forward in the future, but current offerings are all offsite and owned by CS companies
�

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Community Group Purchasing, sometimes called “Solarize” programs, utilize group purchasing power to provide rooftop solar solutions at lower costs.

What Community Solar is NOT

Utility-Scale Projects, typically 50+ MW connected to transmission system, help utilities diversify their energy portfolio but do not provide individuals and business direct access to the solar facility

Municipal Aggregation or Green Power Purchasing programs. These arrangements only provide subscribers the environmental attributes from solar facilities at a premium cost - they do not share the energy output from the solar facility and do not save subscribers money.

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The owner of the community solar project pays the upfront costs to build, maintain and connect the project to the utility’s power grid.

Community Solar Billing

Subscribers pay the owner for their portion of the electricity produced.

The owner then reports the output of each solar subscription to the utility.

The utility company adds credits to the subscriber’s electric bill equal to that output.

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Community Solar Billing

Example Situation

Let’s say your home uses 1,000 (kWh) of electricity in a month, and the portion of community solar you subscribe to produces 950 kWh in that same month.
You would receive a credit on your bill amounting to your supply rate multiplied by 950 kWh, meaning that month you would only need to pay for the remaining 50 kWh.
Then, you receive a separate bill from your community solar provider for that 950 kWh generated by your subscription.

Currently, all community solar companies in Illinois offer savings by charging you lower than what you would have paid ComEd or Ameren.

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How Does Community Solar Save You $$?

Without �Community Solar

Electric Bill

Supply $56

800 kWh x 0.07 $56

Delivery $45

Taxes and Fees $8

Total $109

TOTAL OWED: $109

With Community Solar

Electric Bill

Supply $6

800 kWh x 0.07 $56

Solar Credits

714 kWz x 0.07 – $50

Delivery $45

Taxes and Fees $8

Total $59

Solar Provider Bill

Solar Credits $50

20% Discount – $10

Total Due $40

TOTAL OWED: $99 | TOTAL SAVINGS $10

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Real Community Solar Bill

ComEd; this person also has their own residential solar system

ComEd Bill – August 2021

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Sample Community Solar Provider Bill

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Real Community Solar Bill

Ameren; this person also has their own residential solar system

Ameren Bill – December 2021

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Solar for All: Low Income Program

Solar must produce energy and economic benefits that flow directly to participating low-income households

Priority given to projects that show meaningful involvement of community members in designing proposals

Projects must include job training opportunities if available, and shall endeavor to coordinate with the job training programs

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Next Steps

Find a Professional

Use ISEA’s Find a Professional Tool on the ISEA website to find and contact residential installers in your area!

ISEA recommends that you contact at least 3 different installers to get quotes for your solar system

www.illinoissolar.org/�FindAProfessional

Become a Member

ISEA Membership provides you with numerous benefits. Apart from supporting the future of solar energy through your donation you will receive:

Discounts to ISEA events and classes
Timely updates concerning policy, events, and announcements
ISEA voting rights
Access to credit union

Public Education

Use ISEA’s Educational webpages to learn more about the entire solar process.

From tax credits to policies to the technical elements of solar, the ISEA education page is a great tool to learn more!

www.illinoissolar.org/Homeowner-Resources

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For more information visit www.illinoissolar.org �or email contactisea@illinoissolar.org

To find an installer near you, visit www.illinoissolar.org/FindAProfessional