Municipal Utility Collaborative

The Municipal Utility Collaborative, which launched in 2020 and wrapped up in December 2021, leveraged support from technical experts and learned from their peers in order to create or scale programs that expand affordable community solar access to low-income and other communities. Collaborative members worked together to address common barriers to community solar development such as identifying siting locations, procurement, contracting, navigating unique energy systems, and program design and finance. Through this collaborative, members co-created the Municipal Utility Community Solar Workbook, which provides guidance and resources to any municipal utility considering implementing community solar.  

The work of the Municipal Utility Collaborative also informed a continuing education course led by the American Public Power Association in the summer of 2023. Due to its popularity, the course materials have been made publicly available:

Given their connection to their local government, municipal utilities are uniquely positioned to pilot new energy models such as community solar. Municipal utilities were some of the first entities in the nation to pioneer community solar development in 2011. Despite those early successes, persistent challenges have limited the diffusion of these models to municipal utilities across the country. The sector shows great potential to grow as solutions are implemented and replicated. NCSP’s Municipal Utility Collaborative convened stakeholders to address critical aspects that influence the development and implementation of a successful community solar program. The collaborative  addressed a variety of barriers that municipal utilities face when deploying community solar for their customers including:

  • Utility Systems:
    • The interplay between community solar programs, other renewable energy programs and new rate tariff structures that may already be implemented or are planned for in the near future (e.g. time of use rates).
    • Determining the appropriate program design, including demand, desired mix of subscribers, income qualification, the most appropriate ownership models, and payment options in addition to the system requirements related to accounting and billing.
  • Siting Locations: Siting considerations, including the economical use of large rooftops, brownfields, parking lots, and other locations, to host community solar projects.
  • Procurement and Contracting: Streamlining the procurement and contracting processes, whether through a design-build contract (Energy Performance Contracts) or a partnership with a solar developer through a power purchase agreement (PPA).
  • Joint Action: Address unique structures related to Joint Action Agency (JAA) requirement contracts and the opportunities created by leveraging economies of scale under joint action agreements.
  • Project Finance and Structure: Municipal utilities are considered non-profit, public entities and like other public entities that don’t pay federal taxes, these utilities are unable to take advantage of the tax incentives available to tax-paying entities.

The goal of the Municipal Utility Collaborative was to create or scale programs that expand affordable community solar access to low-income and other communities. Through DOE partnership and peer learning, the NCSP’s Municipal Utility Collaborative  concentrated on the following objectives:

  • Program Design: Identify and implement best practices and lessons learned on customer engagement and outreach, including pre-qualification of income status and navigating the third-party support ecosystem (e.g. community solar subscription companies, developers, etc.);
  • Financing: Demonstrate customer financing options, such as on-bill financing and monthly subscription products as well as subsidy options for low income residents;
  • Service Integration: Develop models to integrate community solar with other utility programs and technology offerings, for example with demand response, energy efficiency, weatherization, electric vehicle charging, utility rate assistance programs or other low income programs; 
  • Additional Customer Benefits: Assess and quantify supplementary benefits of community solar, such as potential resilience benefits  to both the subscriber and the utility through the incorporation of battery energy storage systems  into community solar projects.

Additional Information