When you tap into solar to power your home, you earn credits. In this Community Solar Q&A, Kyle from the Community Solar team explains how credits work for community solar and rooftop panels.
What are credits?
Hi, my name is Kyle and I’m on the Community Solar team over here at Nexamp.
If you’re new to solar, you may be unfamiliar with credits, which is why we created this video. I’m going to help you get a better understanding on what credits are, and how they work. Let’s dive in. It’s commonly known that residents with solar panels on their roof receive net metering credits for the electricity their panels generate, which helps offset the charges on their electricity bills. But there is another way to receive credits to reduce your electricity bill without installing rooftop solar. It’s called community solar. Here’s how it works:
1. You subscribe to a solar project that is located within your community. Based on your annual usage, you will receive a share of the farm.
2. Your share of the farm will generate electricity, which in turn generates virtual net metering credits.
3. These credits are applied to your monthly electric bill, offsetting other charges. You then receive a bill from Nexamp for the credits that have been applied to your bill.
You might have heard me say “virtual net metering credits” back there and thought “huh, that’s a little different”. Virtual net metering credits are what makes community solar possible.
Just like Net Metering credits produced from a home with solar panels, consumers can receive virtual net metering credits associated with their share of the solar farm, which offset their electricity charges.
These credits then offset a subscriber’s electricity usage and are worth equal or nearly equal to what subscribers pay their electrical utility.
Community solar providers like Nexamp bill subscribers for the credits generated by their solar farm share. At Nexamp, we discount the credits up to 15% so our subscribers can save while also supporting solar energy. Now, because Community Solar subscribers are tapping into the sun for energy, many ask if their credits will vary seasonally. It’s a great question!
Due to state regulations, some of our subscribers, pay only for credits that exactly match their monthly electricity usage. The majority of our subscribers, however, pay for credits based on
how much their solar farm share generates.
So, what does that mean? It means, that in the summer months, you may receive more credits than you need. In the winter, you may receive fewer credits than you need. The credits belong to you and you can use the extra credits you earned from the summer when you need them in the winter.
At the end of the year, we’ve generated the right amount of power for the grid based on what our subscribers use to power their homes and businesses. And your credits offset your annual eligible electricity cost while saving you up to 15%! At Nexamp, we’re building the future of energy so that it is sustainable, simple, and accessible to everyone. If you’re interested in learning more about community solar, leave your questions in the comments section below, or visit us at www.nexamp.com.
Thanks for watching!