Historically, community solar has been the most popular–and most accessible–in four key states: Minnesota, Colorado, Massachusetts, and New York. But excitingly, more and more states are jumping on the community solar bandwagon, and new projects continue to pop up each year.
So, what markets are heating up for community solar? And which states can we expect to take the plunge next?
Continue reading
If you’re considering installing solar in Washington D.C., the most important solar incentive to be aware of are solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs). D.C. is one of the few governments that offers this performance-based incentive to people generating solar electricity. Even better, the District’s program is the most lucrative one in the country: when you buy and install a solar panel system in D.C., you can earn thousands of dollars each year just from selling the certificates your system generates.
This article describes how the District’s SREC program works, explores current prices for SRECs, and discusses the future of the SREC program so that you can make a well-informed decision about going solar.
Continue reading
Mission Solar is a U.S. based solar panel manufacturer headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Though newer to the market than other panel manufacturers, Mission Solar panels are becoming an increasingly popular option with shoppers on the EnergySage Marketplace.
Continue reading
Earlier this year, Boston rolled out their new community choice electricity (CCE) program, the largest community choice aggregation (CCA), or municipal aggregation, initiative in New England. Given the availability of local community solar projects in the Greater Boston area–and given that Boston is EnergySage’s home city!–we get a lot of questions about how some of these subscription options compare to this new program. In this article, we’ll discuss the major differences and similarities between the two options.
Continue reading
So you have a few quotes, sit down to evaluate them, and notice something right off the bat: installer A and installer B have proposed different sizes for your solar panel system. Why is this? And how can you truly compare apples-to-apples in this scenario?
In this article, we’ll review why this might happen – and what you can do about it!
Continue reading
Want to finance your solar panel installation? Cash purchases and solar leases (or PPAs) aren’t your only options. If you don’t have–or aren’t willing to spend–the capital for a cash purchase but want to maximize the financial benefits of a solar energy system, the solar loan offers the best of both worlds.
Continue reading
Of all the incentives for installing solar panel systems, solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) are some of the most beneficial, yet most complicated to understand. However, SRECs can provide sizable income to owners of solar power systems that live in eligible markets.
Continue reading
So you know you want to finance your solar panel system, but one big question remains: should you lease your system from a company, or own your system and finance it with a solar loan? The answer here depends on a few factors, including your preferences, needs, and financial goals.
Continue reading
Whether you buy a system or lease it, going solar is one of the best ways to save on electricity bills. That said, the financing option you choose influences a number of factors, including the costs, maintenance responsibilities, terms, savings, and the return on investment (ROI) of your solar panel system.
Continue reading
So far, there are only a small number of community solar-friendly states that have markets we’d consider competitive. Consumer choice is still limited, and most shoppers have only one community solar program offering available to them, if any.
Continue reading
