Perspectives on community solar policy adoption across the United States

Highlights

• Community shared solar can be a key strategy to broadening market access.

• Community shared solar mandates work best when pursued through state legislatures.

• Interviews show lobbying and lack of attention have hindered policy adoption.

• Increased participation and attention may augment community shared solar adoption.

• Policy design should be flexible about models to accommodate diverse investors.

This paper focuses on community shared solar photovoltaics (PV), an innovative solar energy program design that allows multiple consumers to share the costs and benefits of ownership in an off-site solar PV facility, opening market access to a wider variety of individuals. Community shared solar has been shown in prior literature to achieve cost reductions through economies of scale, as well as ideal project locations, collaborative emissions goals, and enhanced community cohesion, among other positive attributes. However, only 16 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia currently allow community shared solar implementation via formal legislation. Using a punctuated equilibrium framework and semi-structured telephone interviews with policy experts across the U.S. from the solar industry, environmental groups, government, and electric utilities, this research discovers that electric utility lobbying and an overall lack of attention have hindered community solar enabling legislation. However, opportunities exist for future development via increased participation, collaboration, and key events that may alter the policy equilibrium. Such research is useful in understanding how historically laggard energy policy states may adopt community shared solar legislation in the future.

Introduction

Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems offer a renewable and cleaner source of electricity that has been an increasing part of new generation capacity in the United States (U.S.) over the past few decades. Public policies and other incentive programs have contributed to these increasing solar PV deployment figures, which have helped facilitate energy transitions and decarbonization efforts [1]. One innovative policy approach has been the passage of community net energy metering (NEM) or shared solar legislation, which allows multiple electric utility customers to share the costs and benefits of ownership in a local solar PV facility. This is particularly compelling since it allows renters, condominium owners, business owners, low-income individuals, and homeowners with obstructed roofs, among many others, to purchase shares in an off-site solar energy facility. This is also important considering only between 25%–50% of U.S. households actually have the structural ability to install solar panels on their roofs [2], [3].

At the time of this writing, 16 states in the U.S., plus the District of Columbia, have enabled some form of community shared solar policy, while a number of others are considering (or have previously considered) adopting such policy [4]. However, community shared solar policies have also faced considerable scrutiny, such as concerns about electricity price increases due to infrastructural improvements that increased PV penetration via community solar projects may cause [5]. Nonetheless, community shared solar policies continue to be implemented throughout the country, with five states (i.e., Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, and Oregon) adopting such policy in the year 2015 alone [6], and others following suit.

This paper aims to shed light on the perspectives and adoption of community shared solar policies throughout the U.S. Better understanding the perspectives both for and against community shared solar, as well as the political processes and forces that shape such policies, can uncover how energy policy change can occur in intricate social and political systems (i.e., state legislatures). To accomplish this task, this paper uses Baumgartner and Jones’ Baumgartner and Jones [7] Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) to investigate the policy adoption of state community shared solar policy, as the PET framework illuminates the determinants of policy change and stability. This paper aims to answer two specific research questions: (1) What are policy experts’ arguments on the factors that influence the adoption of community shared solar throughout the U.S? ; and (2) What are the key barriers and opportunities for community shared solar legislation to be adopted by other U.S. states? In answering these questions, this paper aims to bring together the many different perspectives, narratives, and intricacies on community shared solar to create a balanced analysis that discerns how states have adopted such policies thus far. Having a better understanding of these arguments and policy drivers can, in turn, help other states with best practices and paths forward for their own potential community shared solar policy adoption efforts.

This paper utilizes the definition of community shared solar brought forth in a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report by Coughlin et al. [8], who defined it as “a solar-electric system that provides power and/or financial benefit to multiple community members” (p. 3). Further, the focus of this research is on off-site shared solar, often called ‘solar gardens,’ which “allow customers to enjoy advantages of solar energy without having to install their own solar energy system” on site (Ref. [4], para. 1). This focus is to specifically differentiate from other quasi shared solar approaches such as community group purchasing, on-site shared solar (e.g., PV on a multi-unit building), or various community-driven financial models (e.g., ‘Solarize’ programs).