What is community solar?
Community solar (also known as community renewables) is a state program established by the California legislature and administered by Southern California Edison (SCE) to provide the benefits of local, renewable energy without any installation of solar or cost. Instead of installing any solar on your property, you subscribe to a piece of a large shared solar farm located elsewhere in SCE (in this case, Inyokern, CA). It costs you nothing to join and you will be guaranteed savings every month. And that’s all while you are supporting the critical growth of our transition towards cleaner energy solutions.
Feel free to read more about the community solar program on
SCE’s website.
What does it cost?
It costs nothing to join, and no penalties if you need to cancel. You’ll save money on your energy costs as a participant every month, guaranteed.
Do I pay anything?
Yes. You pay for the value of the clean energy applied to your account, but at a discount. It is like getting a SCE gift card every month, but only paying 90% the value for it. For example, if we lower your SCE bill by $100, you will pay our team $90 for the value of that $100 reduction, saving you $10 that month, if the credit lowered your bill by $200, you’d pay $180, saving $20, but the same 10% discount on the value of the credit.
Do we need to install or maintain anything on my property?
No! The community solar projects are being built in Inyokern, CA. You will never have to install or maintain any equipment. That’s done by the owner of the project, Dimension Energy.
By joining, will anything change to my SCE rate schedule or tariff?
No, nothing will change to your current rate schedule. You will remain on your existing rate schedule, whether that is D (Domestic Service), TOU-D (Time Of Use Domestic), TOU-EV-1 (Domestic TOU EV Charging), or whatever schedule you are on. The only difference is that you will have your new community solar credit applied to your bill, reducing your billed amount each month.
If I live hours away from the solar project, can I still join?
Yes. As long as you live in SCE territory, you may be eligible to participate.
How do my savings work?
When you sign up for a community solar project, you’ll be assigned a share of a big project's expected energy generation to match your ongoing energy needs, based on your typical usage. As your share produces electricity each month, the value of that electricity is placed on your utility bill in the form of a credit, reducing the amount owed to your utility.
Go
here to learn more about how we calculate the best assignment for your needs.
Why should I join a community solar project?
You should join a community solar project if you like saving money, love making a positive
environmental impact, and want to participate in our transition to a sustainable energy system,
without worry or hassle.
Why should I trust PowerMarket?
With over 75,000 members to date and having provided nearly $9 million in savings to date, we are a highly trusted leader in the community solar space.
Who can join?
Renters, homeowners, and small business owners that are SCE customers are all eligible to join.
If I have rooftop solar, can I still participate?
Unfortunately, no. This program is intended to enable those that couldn’t otherwise install solar on their roof (old roof, new tiles, renter, don’t own roof, etc.) to reap the benefits of clean energy. If you have rooftop solar, but think this is an awesome program, share this website with any of your friends and family in SCE and tell them to join!
Will I receive the renewable energy credits (RECs)?
Yes, the RECs your portion of the project generates will be assigned to your name and retired on your behalf by SCE. Owning the RECs as a participant is how you can say you’re ‘powered by solar energy’. As one of the only community solar projects in the country to support this, we’re proud our members can make this claim.
What’s the catch?
There is no catch. I know it’s hard to believe and we don’t fault you for being skeptical. But just go to SCE’s Community Renewables
website and you can see SCE’s promotion of this program. When you scroll down, you will see the Inyokern 1203 project - That’s us! The program is real. The savings are real. The only ‘catch’ is that there is limited space on these projects, and they’re all first come, first serve.
Can I still sign up if I am part of a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program?
Only bundled supply customers with SCE are eligible to participate in this community solar program.
What if I need to leave?
There are no fees or penalties to cancel. We simply ask for 60 days’ notice, which is the time
the utility needs to stop applying your discount to your bill. Just call us at
661-443-0452 or email us at
dimension@powermarket.io.