What’s the deal with Community Solar? An introduction to Maryland’s new solar program and why you don’t need panels on your roof.

There is a lot of buzz in Maryland right now about a new program called “Community Solar”, and it may be confusing to understand. You might have questions like: How is it different from installing solar on my roof? Do I have to pay to join? Is it like a choosing a competitive retail electricity supplier?

In this short article, we’ll walk you through the program and answer these questions.

What is Community Solar?

Community Solar is a program that allows households to receive a portion of their electricity needs from a solar farm. The solar farms, or rows of solar panels, are located in your area (such as the Eastern Shore outside Preston and Snow Hill) and deliver clean power directly to the utility on your behalf. This all means that there is no need to install solar panels on your home or on your property.

The Maryland Public Service Commission adopted this program with the goal of extending solar benefits, including a lower electricity bill, to households that either couldn’t or didn’t want to put solar on their roof. Plus, there are additional benefits for low- and moderate-income customers so that additional savings go to the people who could use it most.

Even if you already have a competitive retail electricity supplier, you can still join and save money on your bill.

“Community solar customers are expected to see some savings on their electric bills and all Marylanders will benefit from more clean energy options.” – Maryland Public Service Commission

How does it actually work?

Enrollment

Under this program, you can enroll in a local solar farm through a project developer like ForeFront Power to pay a lower price for electricity while a credit is applied to your Delmarva Power bill.

When you formally sign up, you provide your utility account number to ForeFront Power and the connection is made behind the scenes each month to make sure that you are billed and credited properly – so you don’t have to do a thing.

“Once the subscription is purchased, the customer will receive a credit (called a CNM Credit) on their DPL bill for their share of the CSEGS [Community Solar Energy Generating System] energy production.” – Delmarva Power

Saving Money

Instead of a set price per kilowatt-hour of electricity from Community Solar, you just pay ForeFront Power at fixed percentage discount below the credit that you receive from Delmarva Power. As the price for Delmarva Power’s electricity goes up or down, the price for solar is locked at a fixed discount, guaranteeing your savings.

The graphic below shows how this could happen over time. Due to the fixed percentage discount, there is no chance that you would pay more for solar.

What does it cost to join?

There is no cost to join a Community Solar farm with ForeFront Power. Plus, there are no hidden or monthly fees. You would simply pay for your portion of the solar farm’s electricity (in kilowatt-hours) while you get credited for that same amount of electricity onto your Delmarva Power bill.

What’s the catch?

There really is no catch. We have worked very hard to make this as easy as possible for households like yours. ForeFront Power is working through Maryland’s Community Solar program in cooperation with Delmarva Power. The program was designed to spread the energy benefits of solar to those who are not able to or do not want to participate in traditional roof-mounted solar systems.

If you want to check out Community Solar on other websites, you can read more from the Maryland Public Service Commission and Delmarva Power.

How do I join?

You can reserve your spot in one of ForeFront Power’s Community Solar farms by following the link below to review the various plans available to you. Our team will follow up with more details on next steps and what to expect.

Questions? Feel free to reach us via email at MDCustomerCare@forefrontpower.com or by phone at (410) 442-6127.