Aside from the obvious environmental and job benefits, community solar properly structured, can offer significant benefits for low- and middle-income participants.

Community solar provides the opportunity to benefit from clean, sustainable power that is not subject to global price pressures that affect fossil fuels and electricity provided by the grid. It also affects public buy-in. Unlike large-scale projects where NIMBY often occurs, community solar directly benefits the local population, resulting in far less opposition. In Bristol, our community solar project, located on a preferred site, drew no opposition whatsoever.

But not everyone can install solar panels, because their residences aren’t properly oriented, are in poor repair, have too much tree cover, or they live in apartments or condominiums. And there are countless trailer parks in Vermont where the structures do not support installation of solar panels.

Community solar can be a solution if there is the right funding process.

A barrier to participation in community solar for low- and middle-income folks is that they generally do not have the upfront capacity to buy in. In Bristol we are not aware of any lower income residents or renters having participated because the numbers just didn’t work out for them, and the available 6% financing did not allow for a reasonable payout period. So what to do?

If costs prevent low- and middle-income folks from participating, then the solution could be the establishment of a zero-interest loan fund with a payout period that will allow those folks to buy in, and see immediate reductions in their monthly bill. And, of course, their power will be almost zero cost when the loans are paid off.

How could such a fund be set up? With all the federal money coming into the state, why not use some of that money to set up regional zero-interest loan banks, administered by the Regional Planning Commissions? Once established, these banks would distribute funds that would re-charge over time, creating a never-ending stream of funding as loans are repaid.

Renters could have a guaranteed buy-back if they move out of the area served by the power company where they bought in. Otherwise, if they move within that region they could take their accounts with them.

A program such as this, coupled with weatherization and the installation of heat pumps could dramatically reduce fossil fuel use in Vermont and result in more comfortable and affordable living for its residents. We already have programs to incentivize weatherization and heat pumps, could a zero-interest loan fund for community solar complete the picture?

Richard Butz

Bristol