Hello. My name is Simon Zimmer. Recently, my wife and I, were fortunate to buy our first home. As the Solar Program Manager at Civic Works, the obvious next step is to get solar on our home. Unfortunately, our roof needs to be replaced in the next 5 years, therefore, it is not an ideal time to get solar on our roof.
For those of you in a similar situation like me, or maybe you have a shaded roof, or are a renter, there still is an option for you to get the benefits of solar and receive credits on your utility bill. The answer is community solar.
What is community solar?
Community solar is when solar is built on a public space, either on a farm or on a large rooftop. This large system is offsite, which means, it is not installed on your roof, and you become a subscriber of this system. Therefore, the first step when you join with Neighborhood Sun through our special link, is that you must select your solar farm. Next, you reserve your share. The share depends on your electric usage for a year. Neighborhood Sun will help you size your subscription for the system to match your electric usage. Therefore, if you have a smaller amount of usage, you will subscribe to a smaller share. If you have a bigger usage, you will subscribe to a larger share. Once setup, you will receive your solar. This means you will begin to receive credits on your utility bill just as if solar was on your own roof. This is where you see your savings.
For the last few years, Civic Works has partnered with Neighborhood Sun. Neighborhood Sun’s mission is to provide everyone with affordable and clean community solar. A few days ago, I signed up via the Civic Works’ portal to Neighborhood Sun. And now I am a subscriber to the Henryton Solar Farm located in Marriottsville, MD. It takes 5 minutes to sign up and going forward I will save 10% on my monthly BGE bill every month.
Lastly, for every supporter that signs up for community solar, Civic Works receives a donation of $100 from Neighborhood Sun to support our mission!
It is a win-win for everyone! Come join the go solar movement today with community solar.
