Community solar development is a feature of the Future Energy Jobs Act. Community renewable projects are designed to provide access to renewables, particularly solar to customers who want to share in the benefits of renewables, but for whom a private solar unit may not be feasible.
By subscribing to a community-scale project, customers can reap the environmental and any financial benefits renewables have to offer without the investment required by private solar projects.
Owners or operators of a Community Supply project would produce and provide energy to the grid, while subscribers to the project would receive credits based on their share of the total energy produced.
"ComEd's community solar plan expands choice for consumers by giving ComEd customers a new option in their energy menu,” said Anne Pramaggiore, ComEd President and CEO. "ComEd's plan is an important step to Illinois' energy future both because it expands consumer choice and because it animates Illinois' new energy economy."
FEJA pivots Illinois to the new clean energy economy, saving and creating thousands of clean energy jobs and providing job training for the future workforce, while also creating significant consumer and environmental benefits. This comprehensive, bipartisan legislation jumpstarts renewables in Illinois, setting the stage to grow enough solar and wind energy to power one million homes. It also nearly doubles energy efficiency programs, creating more than $4 billion in consumer savings and reducing the amount CO2 in the air equivalent to removing 18 million cars from the road. Further, the Act contains significant programs for low-income communities and extends ComEd’s customer assistance programs through 2021.