Community & shared solar

Community solar subscription savings calculator

Enter your usage, your bill credit rate, and your subscription terms. Get your real first-year savings and total savings over your full contract.

Your numbers

1 Project details Optional
Shown on your exported report. Leave blank to skip.
2 Your usage and location
Find this on a recent utility bill.
Sets your default utility rate estimate below. Adjust it if you know your actual rate.
3 Subscription terms
The rate your utility credits per kWh from your subscription share. Check your community solar contract or your utility's community solar tariff page.
The percentage below the credit value you pay the provider. Typical offers run 5% to 20%.
Share of your usage the subscription covers. 100% matches your full usage.
Some providers charge a flat monthly fee on top of the subscription cost. Enter 0 if none.
4 Contract length and rate growth For multi-year totals
Most community solar contracts run 1 to 25 years. Use 1 for a no-term or month-to-month plan.
Annual increase to your subscription cost, if your contract has one. Enter 0 if fixed.
US utility rates have risen roughly 2.5% to 4% a year on average over the last decade.

How it works

Three steps to your real savings number

Step 1

Find your usage and credit rate

Pull your monthly kWh from a recent bill, and find your bill credit rate from your community solar contract. If you don't have a contract yet, use the provider comparison tool to see typical rates in your area.

Step 2

Enter your subscription discount and offset

The discount is the percentage you save off the credit value, and the offset is how much of your usage the subscription covers. If you're not sure how large a subscription you need, run the subscription size calculator first.

Step 3

Check your total against the contract length

Add your contract length and expected utility rate growth to see your full savings over time, not just year one. Compare the result against rooftop solar if you're weighing both options.

Understanding your subscription savings

Where the savings actually come from

Your utility credits your bill for every kWh your subscription share produces at the community solar farm, at the credit rate. You pay the provider a subscription cost that's discounted below that credit value. The gap between what you're credited and what you pay is your savings. A 900 kWh household paying a 10% discount on a $0.14 credit rate saves about $151 in the first year.

Why the credit rate usually beats a flat subscription price

Some providers charge a flat rate per kWh instead of a percentage discount off the current credit rate. A percentage discount grows in dollar terms as your utility rate rises, while a flat rate doesn't. Check your contract closely, since this difference compounds over a 10 or 20 year term. The credit rate vs utility rate tool breaks down which structure your contract actually uses. A rooftop system's savings depend on your starting utility rate in the same way, covered by the savings calculator by utility rate.

How escalators change your long-term total

A subscription price escalator raises your subscription cost every year, usually 0% to 2%. As long as your utility rate rises faster than your escalator, your net savings keep growing over the contract. If the two rates are close, your savings can flatten out or shrink in later years. Run the escalator rate calculator to see the crossover point for your own contract. A rooftop PPA has a comparable escalator built into its own pricing, covered by the PPA escalator rate calculator.

What offset percentage means for your bill

A 100% offset subscription is sized to match your full annual usage, while a 50% offset only covers half. Choosing a lower offset lowers your subscription cost but also lowers your total savings, since you're only getting credited for part of your usage. See the 100% offset calculator or 50% offset calculator for a side-by-side on a specific offset level. Check the DSIRE database for your state's specific offset caps, since some states limit how large a single subscription can be.

What to check before you sign

Ask the provider whether the discount is guaranteed for the full contract term, what the cancellation fee looks like, and whether credits roll over or expire monthly. The cancellation fee calculator and credit expiration calculator cover both of these before you commit. The Department of Energy's community solar basics guide lists exactly these terms as core consumer protections worth confirming before you sign.

Questions

Frequently asked

Most subscribers save 5% to 15% off their electricity bill each year, since the bill credit rate is usually discounted below the retail utility rate. A household using 900 kWh a month with a $0.14 per kWh credit rate and a 10% subscription discount saves roughly $151 in the first year.

The bill credit rate is the dollar value your utility applies to your bill for every kWh your subscription share produces, usually close to but not always equal to your retail electric rate. You pay the community solar provider a subscription cost that's a percentage below this credit value, and the difference is your savings.

Usually yes, the discount percentage is fixed in the contract, but the dollar value of your savings still grows if your utility rate rises over time, since the credit value is tied to the current utility rate. Many contracts also include their own separate escalator on the subscription price itself.

No. Savings depend on the shared array's actual output, which varies by weather and season, and on your utility's future rate changes, which no contract can lock in. Most providers guarantee a minimum discount off the credit rate rather than a guaranteed dollar amount.

Related tools

Keep exploring community solar

Quick savings estimator Credit allocation estimator Subscription size kWh calculator Credit rate vs utility rate Ownership vs subscription Community vs rooftop solar Escalator rate calculator All community & shared solar tools