Community Solar FAQs
WHAT IS COMMUNITY SOLAR? Community solar refers to common solar electricity generation on solar “farms,” from which multiple users get their electricity. The solar farms are owned and operated by several companies independent of our local electrical utility, ComEd.
HOW? The electricity generated on a solar farm is fed into the common electric “grid” from which ComEd currently delivers your electricity.
While ComEd will continue to bill you for delivery, line maintenance, taxes and fees, your community solar provider bills you for the electricity you use. The cost of that electricity is discounted by 10-20% from what ComEd would have charged for the same amount of electricity. So you save money while increasing the grid’s percentage of renewably generated electricity in proportion to your consumption.
For another explanation of how community solar works, check out this short video from Citizens Utility Board (CUB), the Chicago not-for-profit that advocates for utility customers.
WHO CAN SIGN UP? Anyone with a ComEd electricity account can subscribe to community solar—no rooftop solar panels needed. Community solar makes renewably generated electricity available to renters, condo owners, and condo associations, as well as single-family homeowners who can’t do rooftop solar because of shade, roof materials or condition, or financial constraints. It’s also available to businesses, houses of worship, and not-for-profits—in short, any entity with its own electric account, whether it rents or owns its premises.
WHY SIGN UP—WHAT’S THE BENEFIT?
Community solar is an easy way for anyone to get energy from the sun.
Community solar empowers everyone to fight climate change in our community, where energy use in homes and other buildings generates 2/3 of our climate-heating emissions.
Community solar can also improve the power grid’s reliability, and adding solar power to the grid lessens the need for expensive power plants, lowering market prices for all.
Community solar is not only free, it saves you money.
HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR COMMUNITY SOLAR? It’s easier than applying for a credit card.
1. Pick a provider (see below).
2. The provider looks at your most recent ComEd bill to decide how many panels you need to cover your typical electricity use.
3. Some providers require you to undergo a so-called soft credit check (which does not affect your credit score) and to have a credit card on file for billing.
4. Sign the contract. There’s never an application fee.
5. Wait to be connected to a solar farm. Because providers build them as they accumulate applications, you may have to wait 1 to 3 months before your share of solar energy is feeding the grid. The sooner you apply, the sooner that happens. You won’t be billed by the community solar provider until it’s generating electricity in your name.
HOW DO I PICK A COMMUNITY SOLAR PROVIDER? The various community solar providers in our area differ in such features as the discount they offer on the electricity cost, whether they allow automatic billing, whether they require a credit check (if any) for applications, and their contract terms. Compare the offerings in this handy chart from CUB, which includes providers’ contact info to get an application started, and check out CUB’s list of questions to ask when comparing community solar offers. Want someone else to do the vetting for you? Join the Village of Oak Park’s own community solar program with provider MC2.
HOW RELIABLE IS ELECTRICITY FROM COMMUNITY SOLAR? Because your electricity continues to be delivered by ComEd from the grid, your service is as reliable as it is for any of the utility’s customers. Solar farms may go out of service temporarily due to routine maintenance or repair needs. During those periods, you’ll get electricity from the grid regardless, and the community solar provider won’t charge you--you’ll simply pay ComEd for your electricity, at their usual rate.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT SNOWS ON THE SOLAR PANELS? Snow cover will reduce the amount of electricity generated by solar panels, just as cloudy skies and nighttime do. But because the panels are black and are warmed by the energy they absorb from sunlight, snow quickly melts and slides off. If the panels generate less electricity than you need from low light conditions, you’ll draw more from conventional sources. Your supply of electricity will only be impacted by the same supply shortages that affect the entire grid for our area.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I MOVE? If you’ll be staying within ComEd’s service area (northern Illinois), you can take your subscription with you. If you move outside the area, you must cancel your subscription, or you can transfer it to another account holder who qualifies for your program.
WHAT IF I WANT TO CANCEL? Currently, none of the community solar providers available in our area charge a termination fee. Some require 90 days’ notice.
HOW ELSE CAN I REDUCE MY ELECTRICITY COST WITH COMMUNITY SOLAR? Households earning 80% or less of the area median income can take advantage of discounted community solar rates through the State of Illinois’s Illinois Solar for All.
GOT MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMUNITY SOLAR, OR WANT HELP PICKING A PROVIDER AND SIGNING UP? Oak Park Climate Action Network’s Climate Coaches can help! Get free coaching by phone by clicking here. You can also watch a recording of OPCAN’s webinar about community solar, originally presented on September 21, 2025.