Does North Carolina Have Community Solar Laws?

North Carolina has developed a regulatory framework that explicitly supports community solar. In 2017, the state legislature passed House Bill 589 (H.B. 589), also known as the Competitive Energy Solutions for North Carolina Act, which established the legal foundation for North Carolina community solar. This law directed Duke Energy, the state’s largest utility, to offer community solar programs to customers in both Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress territories.

H.B. 589 required Duke Energy to file community solar program plans with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC). These plans included the development of shared solar facilities and tariffs for customer subscriptions. The law called for multiple community solar projects, with each designed to serve a wide customer base. The legislation also tasked the NCUC with overseeing program fairness, ensuring that subscribers would not be unfairly burdened with costs.

North Carolina also benefits from other policies that indirectly strengthen the case for community solar. The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) makes utilities procure renewable generation, and while community solar doesn’t have its own carve-out, it helps meet these obligations. Net metering frameworks, though primarily used for rooftop residential solar, create a culture of distributed generation that supports shared solar as well.

Unlike Nevada, which mandates income-based carve-outs, North Carolina’s law did not initially require that a fixed percentage of capacity be reserved for low-income households. However, consumer advocates and nonprofit organizations have encouraged Duke Energy and other providers to incorporate equity-focused tiers. NC GreenPower, a nonprofit initiative, has also stepped in with programs designed to broaden access to solar, particularly in schools and underserved communities.

What is Community Solar?

Community solar allows households and businesses to share the output of a single solar installation. A community solar project is typically a solar farm built and operated by a utility, cooperative, or nonprofit developer. Instead of owning panels, participants subscribe to a share of the project’s capacity and receive credits on their utility bills that reflect the value of the energy produced.

North Carolina is the second-largest solar state in the U.S. by installed capacity, but most of this development has been large utility-scale projects. Rooftop residential solar penetration remains modest due to financial barriers and policy hurdles. For many residents, particularly renters and those in multi-family housing, rooftop solar is not an option. North Carolina community solar bridges this gap, spreading the benefits of community solar to households that otherwise would be left out.

Compared with residential solar, community solar provides several advantages. Renters and condo dwellers can participate. Additionally, subscriptions replace the need for large capital outlays, and utilities handle installation, insurance, and maintenance. Customers can scale subscriptions to their energy needs, and they benefit environmentally by supporting renewable generation that reduces reliance on fossil fuels statewide.

Why Community Solar?

The benefits of community solar in North Carolina extend across households and businesses. For households, subscribers can reduce electricity bills without having to install rooftop panels. Savings vary, but most subscriptions are structured so credits offset subscription costs over time. This makes clean energy accessible to families who cannot adopt residential solar due to shading, roof conditions, or financial barriers.

Small businesses also gain access to renewable energy without needing to install equipment on their premises. Subscriptions allow them to demonstrate sustainability commitments and stabilize energy costs, which is increasingly important in a competitive corporate landscape. For businesses in North Carolina’s growing technology and service sectors, participating in community solar energy also enhances reputational value.

At the community level, shared solar development creates jobs in construction and operations, boosts local tax revenues, and provides income to rural landowners who lease property for community solar farms. Public health benefits are significant as well: cleaner energy reduces emissions from coal and natural gas plants, improving air quality in communities.

Are there Community Solar Projects in North Carolina?

Yes. North Carolina is home to several community solar projects, including both utility-led programs and nonprofit initiatives. Duke Energy’s Shared Solar Program was launched in response to H.B. 589. It allows residential and small business customers to subscribe to solar energy from Duke-owned facilities. Participants pay a monthly subscription fee per kilowatt of capacity and receive bill credits tied to actual production.

Another significant initiative is the NC GreenPower Solar Schools Program, which installs small-scale solar arrays at K–12 schools across the state. While not structured like a classic utility program, it delivers similar community benefits by broadening access to renewable energy and offering visible, local solar installations that communities can take pride in.

Rural electric cooperatives, including Blue Ridge Energy and Fayetteville PWC, have also launched subscription-based solar programs. These cooperative-led community solar farms let local members subscribe to panels, with credits applied monthly to bills based on panel production. In addition, municipal utilities in cities like Asheville and Raleigh have pursued solar-sharing projects tied to climate action plans, helping expand North Carolina community solar outside investor-owned utility territories.

Participation in these programs is limited to customers of the sponsoring utility or cooperative. To enroll, customers choose a subscription size, sign an agreement, and begin receiving monthly credits. Because programs often have capacity limits, some customers are placed on waitlists until new projects are added.

How Does Community Solar Work in North Carolina?

The operation of North Carolina community solar follows the same shared-solar model seen elsewhere in the country. Utilities or cooperatives build solar facilities in sunny, grid-accessible locations. The energy produced is fed into the utility grid and distributed as part of the overall electricity supply. Customers subscribe to a portion of the project’s capacity, usually measured in 1 kW blocks or in panels, and each month they receive credits on their bill reflecting their share of the facility’s generation.

Unlike rooftop residential solar, where homeowners directly offset their consumption with panels on their roofs, community solar works at the utility level. A subscriber’s home still receives power from the grid, but their bill is reduced by credits that correspond to their share of the community array’s output. This means that even renters or households with shaded rooftops can access clean power without installing a system.

Projects also benefit from the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which reduces upfront costs for developers and utilities. Although subscribers do not directly claim these tax credits, they see indirect benefits because lower project costs make subscriptions more affordable. Duke Energy’s program passes along the production value of shared solar facilities as monthly bill credits, while cooperative programs often use panel-based subscriptions to calculate customer savings.

To illustrate how programs function, here’s a comparison of models currently operating in North Carolina:

This range of models shows how community solar energy is being adapted to suit urban, rural, and educational contexts in North Carolina. Regardless of the program, customers avoid maintenance obligations and receive predictable bill credits, which makes the model highly accessible.

How Much Does Community Solar Cost in North Carolina?

The community solar cost in North Carolina varies by program but is designed to be affordable and competitive with standard electricity rates. Duke Energy’s program typically charges a monthly fee per subscribed kilowatt, often in the $8 to $10 range. A 1 kW subscription might cost $9 per month but generate credits worth $10 to $15, depending on solar production and seasonal conditions. Over time, customers net small but meaningful savings.

Cooperative programs sometimes use upfront buy-in models. A member might pay $300 to $400 for a panel subscription, entitling them to decades of output from that panel. Each month, the cooperative calculates how much electricity the panel produced and applies credits to the member’s bill. This approach is particularly attractive for long-term residents who want stable savings without ongoing monthly fees. For households that prefer flexibility, some co-ops also offer monthly fee options.

NC GreenPower’s Solar Schools Program relies heavily on donations, but its installations provide indirect community benefits by lowering energy costs for schools and spreading clean energy literacy. Families benefit because local schools save money on electricity, freeing up resources for education.

North Carolina Community Solar Cost and Savings Averages:

This table shows that even modest subscriptions can generate reliable savings. For larger households, subscribing to 3 to 5 kW of capacity can offset a significant portion of monthly electricity use.

Savings vary with season and solar production, but across the year, subscribers typically see 5 to 12% reductions in electricity costs. More importantly, subscriptions shield households from rising utility rates. By locking in access to solar output, customers benefit as fossil fuel prices fluctuate, a key advantage in North Carolina, where natural gas still supplies a large share of electricity.

While H.B. 589 did not mandate low-income carve-outs, some cooperatives have piloted discounted subscriptions for income-qualified households. This ensures that vulnerable families are not excluded from the benefits of community solar. If equity provisions expand, North Carolina could bring shared solar access to thousands of households that otherwise would face high-energy burdens.