ComEd community solar projects begin sending $1,000 in credits per year on electricity bills

Starting this week, income-eligible subscribers to three community solar projects run by ComEd in Illinois will begin receiving credits providing approximately $1,000 a year in savings on electricity bills for up to three years.

Each of these projects was developed in conjunction with ComEd’s Give-A-Ray program, a state initiative enabled by Illinois Solar for All, which seeks to increase solar energy’s affordability for income-eligible households. Community solar allows customers to gain the benefits of solar energy without installing panels in their homes. By subscribing to a solar project, like the three here – one in Rockford, Ill., and one in Kankakee, Ill., – participants can earn credits on monthly utility bills for their portion of the energy produced by the project.

“We are encouraged to see ComEd customers taking advantage of Give-A-Ray as we continue to increase access to solar energy across northern Illinois, with a focus on our neighbors in under-resourced communities,” Scott Vogt, vice president of strategy and energy policy at ComEd, said. “We are closely monitoring these projects and engaging subscribers through this three-year demonstration phase with an eye toward expanding the program. The future is bright for solar in Illinois, and we want everyone to be able to participate regardless of their income.”

The Give-A-Ray projects serve more than 560 customers, with ComEd paying their monthly subscription fees. Subscribers to the Rockford project began receiving monthly bill credits in August, followed by Kankakee participants this month. All three projects are fully subscribed at present, but there may be future openings.

“Community solar is unique as it offers customers access to the benefits of clean, solar energy by providing them with meaningful savings on their energy bill,” Nathaniel Dick, director of energy, Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., said. “ComEd’s Give-A-Ray program is the best program we have seen to help reduce the energy burden at sites for low-to-moderate income families, some of whom will have zero-dollar energy bills in the coming months.”

ComEd intends to up its community solar project offerings interconnected to the grid to more than 80 by year’s end and open them up to approximately 30,000 residential customers.