Community solar is one of the easiest ways for Illinois residents to support clean energy and save money on their electricity bills—without installing solar panels or changing how they receive power. Whether you rent your home, live in a condo, or simply don’t want rooftop solar, community solar offers a practical alternative.
If you’re wondering how to get started, the good news is that signing up is straightforward. Below is a step-by-step guide to enrolling in community solar in Illinois, including what to expect, what you’ll need, and how long it takes to start seeing savings.
What Is Community Solar?
Community solar allows you to subscribe to a portion of a local solar farm and receive savings. That solar energy is fed into the grid, and your share of the power generates credits that appear directly on your regular utility bill. You continue to receive electricity from ComEd or Ameren Illinois—community solar simply helps offset part of your bill with clean energy credits.
There’s no installation, no maintenance, and typically no upfront cost. You can cancel if your circumstances change, making it one of the most flexible solar options available today.
Step 1: Check Your Eligibility
To participate in community solar in Illinois, you must have an active electricity account with one of the state’s two main utilities:
- ComEd
- Ameren Illinois
Most households and small businesses with these utilities are eligible.
If you’re interested in Illinois Solar for All (ILSFA)—a program designed to expand access to solar for income-qualified households—there is an additional requirement. Your household income must be at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for your county. This program offers enhanced savings for qualifying participants.
Step 2: Find an Available Community Solar Farm
Next, you’ll want to locate an approved community solar farm in your utility territory. Illinois has strong consumer protections, and all community solar farms must be vetted through state programs.
You can search for available community solar farms through:
- Illinois Shines, the state’s flagship community solar program
- Illinois Solar for All, if you are income-qualified
Alternatively, you can simply fill out a form with PureSky Energy and we will find an available spot on one of our Illinois community solar farms. Get started now
Many community solar providers, such as PureSky Energy, also allow you to check availability by ZIP code. If a solar farm near you is full, you can often join a waitlist and be notified when space opens or when new solar farms come online.
Step 3: Review Offers and Consumer Protections
Before enrolling, Illinois requires providers to give you a standardized Disclosure Form. This document is designed to make comparing community solar offers easy and transparent.
The Disclosure Form clearly outlines:
- Your guaranteed savings rate
- How bill credits work
- Any fees (most programs have none)
- Cancellation terms and timelines
Illinois law includes strong consumer protections. For community solar subscriptions, you have a 3-day cancellation window after signing. These safeguards ensure you can enroll with confidence.
Most companies also offer free cancellation at any time, but with a notice period. PureSky offers free cancellation to residential and small business accounts but ask for 90-day notice. This notice period allows us to process your cancellation with the utility, which can take up to 90 days.
Step 4: Provide Your Utility Information
To determine the right subscription size for you, the provider will need to understand your electricity usage. This typically requires one of the following:
- Uploading a recent utility bill, or
- Authorizing the provider to securely access your usage data
This step helps ensure your community solar allocation matches your annual electricity needs. You won’t receive more solar credits than you can use in a year. Check our facts below about seasonality and solar credits.
Step 5: Complete Income Verification
If you are enrolling for an income eligible program, you’ll need to complete an additional income verification step.
This process involves:
- Completing the Recipient Verification Process
- Receiving a verification ID
- Sharing that ID with your community solar provider
Once verified, you may qualify for significantly higher savings—up to 50% off the value of your solar credits, compared to typical savings of 10%.
PureSky Customer Care team has helped many subscribers navigate the Recipient Verification process – if you need help, simply give us a call at 1-877-267-8727 or send us an email at customercare@pureskyenergy.com.
Step 6: Sign the Disclosure Form and Contract
After eligibility and verification are complete, you’ll receive instructions to sign your Disclosure Form and subscription agreement, usually online. In most cases, the program does require that you sign your Disclosure Form first, and then your contract.
Most community solar subscriptions in Illinois include:
- No upfront costs
- No equipment installation
- No changes to your utility service
- Flexible or free cancellation options
You remain a customer of ComEd or Ameren Illinois, with community solar working seamlessly in the background.
Step 7: Start Receiving Solar Bill Credits
Once your subscription is active and your solar farm is operational, credits will begin appearing on your electricity bill. These credits reduce the amount you owe each month, and your savings are guaranteed by the contract terms.
For most participants, savings are 10% annually. For Illinois Solar for All subscribers, savings can be significantly higher, making clean energy more affordable for households that need it most.
A Simple Way to Support Clean Energy
Community solar makes it possible for more Illinois residents to take part in the state’s clean energy transition—without barriers like cost, home ownership, or rooftop access. With strong consumer protections, guaranteed savings, and a simple enrollment process, it’s one of the most accessible ways to go solar.
If you’re ready to start saving and support locally generated renewable energy, community solar could be the right fit for your home or business.
Sign Up for Savings Today
Join our community of over 10,000 community solar subscribers, enjoying clean energy savings and powering change within their local communities!
WE ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS
Get the Facts on Community Solar
How does it lower my energy costs?
In short, we give you a discount of up to 50% on your solar credits.
Here’s where it gets a little complicated. When you sign up, we assign you a share of the community solar program. Your share earns you solar credits as the solar panels generate electricity.
For example, let’s say your portion of the farm generates $100 worth of electricity. If your discount rate is 50%, you would pay us $50 for the $100 solar credits received, reducing your overall cost significantly, all while supporting renewable energy.
How much does it cost to sign up?
No cost to sign up, this is purely a savings program!
You will still have to pay your utility bill each month, but you will see significant savings. Your savings from your solar credits + your fees = electricity savings!
How is my subscription size determined and what if my usage changes?
Our Community Solar Specialists analyze your annual electricity usage and use this to determine the appropriate subscription rate. We understand your electricity needs may change and can adjust your subscription to maximize your savings at any time.
How does seasonality affect solar and the credits I receive?
The sun plays a big role in your savings!
In the summer, when the solar panels generate the most, you will receive more savings from your community solar credits. That’s because the dollar amount of your credits is proportionally more.
As we move into the winter months, the solar panels will start to produce less. Meaning any extra community solar credits received in the summer, will be banked to use in the winter. Think of this as pre-paying for your electricity (at a discounted rate) in the summer to use in the winter.
How does billing work?
You will continue to receive a bill from your current utility provider. Your community solar credits generated by the solar farm will be applied directly on your utility bill. You will receive savings equal to 50% of the value of your solar credits, and pay PureSky for the remaining 50%.
Please note, this will not increase the cost of your electricity, instead, you will receive significant savings with community solar.
What if I move or need to cancel?
Oftentimes, your solar subscription can move with you, we want you to continue to save money in your new home!
If for any reason we can’t move your subscription to your new home, you can still take advantage of our referral program and recommend a new customer to take your place.
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