CCSA issues best-in-class policy guidance based on years of state program innovation and industry experience
WASHINGTON — The Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) is excited to publish its newly developed, comprehensive Policy Roadmap, which includes a guidebook, model legislation, inclusive solar access solutions for low-to-moderate income subscribers, and consumer protection best practices. The documents aim to bolster the industry’s strong momentum and ensure future programmatic and policy decisions are successful in bringing economic and social benefits to all Americans seeking out local, clean community solar energy.
Together, the Policy Roadmap documents can guide legislators, regulators, advocates, and other stakeholders through the entire community solar policy development process — from formulation of program priorities and legislative drafting, through regulatory implementation.
The Roadmap’s release is timely as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to deploy $7 billion to state applicants through its Solar for All program to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollution, deliver cost savings on electric bills for overburdened households, and unlock new markets for distributed solar in 25 states and territories that have never had a statewide low-income solar program before.”
The Policy Roadmap provides a blueprint for states without competitive community solar programs to pass enabling legislation and an implementation framework that would maximize this transformative federal funding.
“Our Roadmap boils down nearly a decade of the best lessons we’ve learned from creating community solar markets across the country into a succinct set of documents,” says Molly Knoll, Vice President of Policy, CCSA. “With many states exploring the development of new, or revamped, community solar programming and federal funds ready to deploy, this felt like the perfect time to release this helpful guide for all our advocates.”
“After working hand-in-hand with policymakers for more than a decade, our team of policy experts has tried to capture all aspects that make community solar such a versatile form of clean energy that can be tailored to fit many different policy priorities,” said Laurel Passera, Senior Policy Director, CCSA. “I often refer to community solar as the Swiss Army knife of energy policy, because it can help states achieve their clean energy goals in so many ways and these documents reflect that capability.”
As recently shown in community solar programs and research reports from Wood Mackenzie and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, community solar is a proven way to provide equitable clean energy access, save ratepayers money on their bills, keep grid costs down, and infuse private capital into the clean energy landscape.
“The data speaks for itself: when states implement thoughtful policy programs that simplify income verification, billing, and expand access, we see immense growth in community solar adoption by low-to-moderate income households,” said Stephanie Burgos-Veras, Senior Manager of Equity Programs, CCSA. “We hope our Policy Solutions for Inclusive Solar Access primer can lead to more community solar programming being implemented — so that ultimately, more LMI households can benefit.”
Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have policies in place that permit third-party, competitive community solar, while multiple states are advancing legislation to enable new programs. Nearly a dozen other states are considering laws to create programs. This, plus the one-time funding windfall from the EPA’s Solar For All program, creates the perfect opportunity for policymakers to revisit the idea of bringing community solar to their state.
Find all the documents in the Policy Roadmap here under the “CCSA & Other Resources” tab.
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About CCSA
CCSA is a national trade association representing over 125 community solar developers, businesses, and nonprofits. Together, we are building the electric grid of the future where every customer has the freedom to support the generation of clean, local solar energy to power their lives. Through legislative and regulatory advocacy, and the support of a diverse coalition — including advocates for competition, clean energy, ratepayers, landowners, farmers, and environmental justice — we enable policies that unlock the potential of distributed energy resources, starting with community solar. For more information, visit https://www.communitysolaraccess.org and follow the group on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Youtube.