Illinois’ Community Solar program has been a bright spot for one CUB supporter from LaGrange who enjoys supporting clean energy and saving money.
In June 2023, Donna signed up for a Community Solar offer that was 20 percent cheaper than ComEd’s price.
“Signing up for community solar was so simple and is going really well,” said Donna, who also has a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. “It’s a great option for residents to support green power for their homes without installing panels.”
Community solar is designed for people who can’t currently put solar on their own homes for a number of reasons–maybe they live in an apartment or their home has too much shade. The program allows consumers to save money on their electric bills and at the same time support clean energy being added to the grid by large, offsite community solar farms in Illinois. It’s similar to how you would save on your electric bill if you installed panels on your own property.
Under the program, you subscribe to a portion of the farm, and each month you’ll pay your community solar provider for the amount of electricity generated by your subscription. The provider then reports the output of your subscription to the utility, and the utility company adds credits to your electric bill equal to that output.
“Community solar is such a great option for renters, apartment dwellers, condo owners– generally people who aren’t able or ready to install solar panels on their roof,” said Marina Minic, CUB’s solar programs coordinator. “We’re always happy to hear consumer success stories with community solar, it’s an awesome program for the environment and for people’s electric bills.”
Donna agrees: “It has been a great experience.”
If you would like to learn more about community solar, visit CUB’s special Solar In the Community website.
