Solar energy accessibility

What does equitable access to solar mean?

Increasing equitable access to solar means ensuring solar energy is available and affordable for all U.S. consumers.

Can community solar make solar more accessible?

Rooftop and community solar are alternative product classes for residential solar in the United States. Community solar, where multiple households buy solar from shared systems, could make solar more accessible by reducing initial costs and removing adoption barriers for renters and multifamily building occupants.

What barriers keep low- and moderate-income people from accessing solar?

Numerous barriers keep low- and moderate-income individuals from being able to access solar for their homes (Table 1); we categorize these barriers as finance and funding barriers, community engagement barriers, site suitability barriers, policy and regulatory barriers, and resilience and recovery barriers.

Do community solar projects promote more equitable adoption?

The impact of community solar on clean energy access has not been empirically evaluated. In this study, we fill this research gap by analysing the demographic profiles of rooftop and community solar adopters to determine whether existing community solar projects have promoted more equitable adoption.

Are you unable to get affordable solar electricity?

Despite decreases in system costs, many U.S. households still lack access to affordable solar electricity, especially renters, homeowners who can’t access affordable financing, and those without suitable roof conditions or adequate sun exposure.

What barriers restrict solar access?

Various barriers restrict solar access for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households (for example, high up-front costs to purchase solar systems outright), for renters (for example, split incentives) and for multifamily building occupants (for example, shared ownership of rooftop spaces) 7.