Why Partnering with Community Solar Companies Provides Significant Benefits for HOAs without the Risk or Investment.
Homeowners’ Association (HOA) boards in Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, and across the Northeast have a simple way to help residents save on electricity while supporting clean energy—without installing a single solar panel on any rooftop.
Community solar makes it possible for HOA communities to access the benefits of solar energy by subscribing to a shared local solar project. In this guide, the experts at PureSky break down how community solar works, what it means for HOA boards, and how partnering with a trusted provider can benefit residents. Our goal is to give HOA leaders clear, practical information to help determine whether community solar is a good fit for their community.
Community Solar Basics for HOA Board Members
What is Community Solar?
It’s a program that allows multiple people to share the financial benefits of solar – even if they can’t or prefer not to put panels on their own homes. Residents (and organizations) subscribe to a portion of a solar farm in their service area, and in return receive credits on their electric utility bills for the energy generated by their share. They continue to receive power from the utility as normal – there’s no change in the utility provider or service reliability. The only difference is a new line item on the bill showing a credit for solar production, which reduces the amount due. The community solar company typically gives a discount on those credits as an incentive to participate.
How the Billing and Savings Work
When the solar farm produces electricity, the local utility measures it and applies monetary bill credits to each subscriber’s account for their share (often at a rate tied to the utility’s per kWh supply price). The community solar provider then charges the subscriber for those credits, but importantly at a discount – e.g. the subscriber might pay 90¢ for every $1.00 of credit, netting a 10% savings.
In many states, this transaction is seamless: thanks to “net crediting” or utility consolidated billing, the utility will apply the credit minus the discount directly on the normal utility bill and forward the payment to the solar provider. The subscriber effectively receives one bill with built-in savings. (In states without consolidated billing, the subscriber gets one bill from the utility with credits applied and a second bill from the provider for the discounted credit charge. Either way, net savings are guaranteed – programs require that credit value > cost to subscribers.)
No Equipment or Property Changes Needed
Because the solar panels are located off-site (often on farmland or warehouses), homeowners don’t need to install anything on their own roofs or properties. This means no architectural approvals, no maintenance, and no impact on community aesthetics or HOA design rules. For HOAs that have traditionally been wary of onsite solar panels due to roof warranties or visual uniformity, community solar offers a win-win: residents enjoy solar benefits with zero physical changes to buildings or common areas.
Who Can Participate in Community Solar
Any electricity customer can subscribe – homeowners, condo owners, renters, even the HOA itself or area businesses, as long as they are in the same utility territory as the solar project. There’s no requirement to be a property owner (just having an electric bill in your name), which makes it accessible to condo dwellers and tenants in HOA communities too.
Most projects allow partial subscriptions sized to a percentage of your annual usage (you don’t have to cover 100% of your usage). If a resident moves within the area, they can usually transfer their subscription to their new address; if they leave the utility territory, they can cancel without penalty in most programs.
Simple Enrollment, Flexible Terms
Typically, signing up is done via a short contract or online form with the community solar provider. Enrollment is free or low-cost – most providers have no upfront fees or deposits. Cancellation policies are generally consumer-friendly: in leading programs, there are no exit fees or long-term lock-ins for residential subscribers. Many subscriptions are month-to-month or allow leaving with a 30–60 day notice. (For example, in Illinois and New York, regulators ensure that residential subscribers can cancel anytime with no termination fee, provided proper notice is given.) This flexibility makes community solar a low-risk proposition – subscribers can “try it out” and leave if it doesn’t suit them, without financial pain.
What You Can Takeaway from Community Solar and HOAs
Community solar offers a no-hassle way for groups of homeowners to enjoy solar energy savings together. HOA board members don’t need specialized energy expertise to grasp the concept – it’s essentially a subscription to a local solar farm that lowers participants’ electric bills and supports clean energy development in the community.
