Community Solar
Energy
Solar energy can be harnessed to generate electricity using Photovoltaics (PV), to heat
water and to heat building spaces. Solar energy technologies come in all sizes. Some utilities are investing in large-scale solar power plants (many multiple MW projects can be found in California, Arizona, Nevada), but solar is often used as the smallest-scale of renewable energy
applications.
As well as being a clean, renewable energy source, solar energy has unique values as a form of Distributed Generation. Benefits
include:
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Energy
security and Load reduction.
Elimination of transmission losses by generating energy close to the load.
Ability to net meter.
Strengthening of the transmission/distribution system (potentially holding
off capacity upgrades).
Peak power production correlating with the hours of peak consumption
(for summer-peaking loads).
Ease of siting and permitting.
Reducing the amount of money exported from a community for energy
needs, while strengthening a local economy.
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When thinking of other renewable technologies for community energy applications (wind, biomass,
etc.) we think predominately of utility-scale technologies used to benefit the community. However, solar energy's ability to be utilized on-site allows for smaller systems that provide cumulative results in a community. Community solar is less defined by the size of a single installation than by the cumulative benefits that go beyond any one private business or citizen.
Examples of Community Solar Energy include:
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As a community pursues solar energy use, the following will all need to be carefully evaluated in order to determine project scope and
technology:
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Energy
consumption (how much and for what)
Resource availability
Technology appropriateness
Estimated cost of the system(s)
Estimated
energy production
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Additional
community benefits (i.e. educational use)
Utility guidelines
Incentive eligibility
Ability to leverage individual investments
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Introduction
