It is no coincidence that renewable industries have evolved in tandem with the digital economy. They share many qualities that have helped define their success, including an innovative and socially conscious form of inclusiveness that empowers even the most marginalized among us.


Community-shared solar is a unique concept that brings the benefits of solar power to those who would be unable to acquire it through conventional means. The concept is catching on.


According to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), community-shared solar could represent a sizeable portion of the market in the right regulatory environment. 


“Shared Solar: Current Landscape, Market Potential, and the Impact of Federal Securities Regulation,” published in April 2015, provides what the NREL describes as a “high-level view” of the current shared U.S. solar landscape.


According to the report, shared solar represents an area of “tremendous growth potential” for the industry. That potential is dependent on supportive government policies at all levels. If policymakers created such an environment, the report projects that shared solar could allow for 100 percent of homes and business to enjoy the benefits of solar power. 


While solar-panel installations are popping up on rooftops across the nation, the NREL report estimates that 49 percent of homes and 48 percent of businesses are unable to install solar due to the limitations of their buildings. Community-shared solar allows them to benefit from solar power generated by a third party at another location.


Many states have recognized the benefits of community-shared solar and have enacted regulations to allow homes and businesses to benefit from it. For example, Maryland recently adopted legislation that supports shared solar. The legislation, signed by Gov. Larry Hogan in May, makes it possible for the state to initiate a community-shared solar program. It allows for a three-year pilot in which the state’s first community-shared solar projects will be built. The legislation allows utilities to own community-shared solar projects, but also requires them to buy electricity from privately developed arrays at the avoided electricity market price, otherwise known as net metering.