Community solar lets households and organizations receive value from shared solar projects rather than an individual rooftop system. In the United States, the market reached 8.6 GW-DC of cumulative capacity at the end of 2024 according to SEIA/Wood Mackenzie, while DOE/NREL reported more than 10 GW-AC by December 2024; the different figures use different capacity bases and reporting methods.
Key Community Solar Statistics
These figures summarize the market’s scale, concentration, affordability, policy reach and outlook:
- In June 2024, U.S. community solar operating capacity was approximately 7.87 GW-AC.
- In December 2024, community solar projects represented more than 10 GW-AC in the United States.
- During calendar year 2024, the U.S. community solar segment installed 1,745 MW-DC.
- In 2024, community solar installations increased 35% year over year in the United States.
- In Q4 2024, the U.S. community solar segment installed 749 MW-DC.
- At the end of 2024, cumulative U.S. community solar capacity reached 8.6 GW-DC.
- In December 2024, community solar projects were located in 44 states and the District of Columbia.
- In December 2024, Florida had 3,873 MW-AC of community solar capacity.
- In December 2024, New York had 2,110 MW-AC of community solar capacity.
- In December 2024, the four largest states accounted for about 75% of the U.S. community solar market.
- Through mid-2024, the median capacity-weighted subscription NPV was about +$0.27 per W-AC for U.S. residential community solar subscriptions.
- In an NREL analysis reported in 2023, about 83% of analyzed projects produced a positive residential-subscriber NPV.
- In 2023, DOE estimated $187.4 million in achievable community-solar bill savings for the United States.
- In a 2024 technical-potential study, 42% of U.S. households could not access behind-the-meter solar.
- As of August 2024, 20 of 24 jurisdictions with enabling legislation had low-income participation provisions.
- By August 2024, 24 states and localities, including the District of Columbia, had enacted community-solar enabling legislation.
- In a 2023 survey, 50% of 28 NCSP respondents said technical assistance helped them deploy a project or program.
- In a 2024 update, Community Power Accelerator projects were seeking more than $382 million in financing.
- SEIA/Wood Mackenzie forecast more than 15 GW-DC of cumulative U.S. community-solar capacity by 2030.
- In an Ohio pilot model, three community-solar projects were estimated to support 32,430 job-years.
Contents
- Key Community Solar Statistics
- Community Solar Capacity and Market Growth
- Community Solar State Deployment and Market Concentration
- Community Solar Subscription Savings and Affordability
- Low-Income Access and Household Outcomes
- Community Solar Policy, Participation and Financing
- Community Solar Forecasts and Economic Impacts
Community Solar Capacity and Market Growth
Capacity figures show a rapidly expanding U.S. segment, but they should not be merged casually. DOE/NREL reports AC capacity for operating or market-status tracking, while SEIA/Wood Mackenzie reports DC additions and cumulative capacity for its formal subscription-program definition.
| Measure | Period | U.S. result |
|---|---|---|
| Operating capacity | June 2024 | 7.87 GW-AC |
| Market-status capacity | December 2024 | More than 10 GW-AC |
| Capacity installed | Calendar year 2024 | 1,745 MW-DC |
| Fourth-quarter additions | Q4 2024 | 749 MW-DC |
| Cumulative capacity | End of 2024 | 8.6 GW-DC |
The DOE/NREL operating figure and market-status figure come from Community Solar Market Trends. The SEIA/Wood Mackenzie annual and cumulative figures come from US Solar Market Insight 2024 Year in Review Executive Summary.
SEIA/Wood Mackenzie measured 35% year-over-year growth in 2024. Because the reports use AC and DC conventions, different dates and somewhat different market definitions, the figures indicate scale and momentum rather than a single reconciled total.
Community Solar State Deployment and Market Concentration
Community solar projects operated across 44 states and the District of Columbia in both June and December 2024. That jurisdiction count describes where projects were located, not where enabling laws existed or how much capacity each state had.
| State | Community solar capacity, December 2024 |
|---|---|
| Florida | 3,873 MW-AC |
| New York | 2,110 MW-AC |
| Massachusetts | 1,049 MW-AC |
| Minnesota | 939 MW-AC |
According to Community Solar Market Trends, the four largest states represented about 75% of the U.S. installed market in December 2024. The NREL project-list totals may contain errors, duplicates or missing information because the catalog notes that project data are reviewed but not perfect.
Annual additions were also concentrated, although the leaders differed from the installed-capacity ranking. US Solar Market Insight 2024 Year in Review Executive Summary reported:
- New York installed 861 MW-DC in 2024.
- Maine installed 370 MW-DC in 2024.
- New York and Maine together represented 71% of national community-solar additions in 2024.
- Illinois added 213 MW-DC in 2024, an 82% increase from 2023.
- Massachusetts additions in 2024 were 16% below 2023.
Community Solar Subscription Savings and Affordability
Subscription economics depend on payment terms, utility rates, discounting, degradation and the structure used to credit customers. The reported NPV results are modeled financial estimates, not universal measurements of realized household bills.
NREL’s analysis reported in Community Solar Program Designs and Subscription Models found that about 83% of analyzed projects produced a positive residential-subscriber NPV. Its sensitivity range was 74% to 86%, and the median project-level NPV was about +$0.37 per W, with a sensitivity range of +$0.20/W to +$0.46/W.
For capacity-weighted residential subscriptions, Community Solar Market Trends reported a median NPV of about +$0.27 per W-AC through mid-2024. About 8% of analyzed projects used a fixed discount on the customer’s electricity rate instead of a payment structure.
DOE’s modeled baseline in the 2023 National Community Solar Partnership Annual Update estimated the following achievable annual bill savings:
| Period or status | Modeled bill savings |
|---|---|
| 2023 baseline | $187.4 million per year |
| 2024 baseline | $287.4 million per year |
| 2025 illustrative estimate | Roughly $260 million per year |
| 2021–2025 partnership target | $1 billion cumulative |
The 2025 amount is a forecast-style illustrative baseline, and the $1 billion figure is a program target rather than an achieved total. DOE also estimated that the market needed to grow almost threefold from the 2023 baseline to reach its 20 GW-AC 2025 target.
Low-Income Access and Household Outcomes
Community solar can address barriers to rooftop ownership, but technical access and actual enrollment are different measures. NREL’s 2024 technical-potential study estimated that 42% of U.S. households and 44% of U.S. businesses could not access behind-the-meter solar because of factors such as roofs, tenancy or suitability; those percentages are not community-solar participation rates.
Policy provisions also do not equal realized enrollment. As of August 2024, 20 of the 24 states and localities with community-solar enabling legislation had low-income participation provisions, according to Community Solar Market Trends.
The same source counted 24 states and localities, including DC, with enacted legislation enabling or requiring community solar.
The 2023 National Community Solar Partnership Annual Update reported that low-income households represented 23% of U.S. solar adopters in 2022, a broad residential-solar measure rather than a community-solar-subscriber statistic. Five 2023 Sunny Awards grand-prize projects reported $30 million in savings and served 2,520 low- to moderate-income households; those are award-winner results, not national totals.
The Connector pilot had expanded to six states or regions by December 2024. Under its stated savings definition, qualified households must receive at least a 20% bill-credit discount, which is a program requirement rather than an average realized saving.
Community Solar Policy, Participation and Financing
Policy infrastructure and technical assistance help explain how projects move from legislation to deployment. NREL’s program-design analysis found that 70% of the 25 states plus DC with renewable portfolio standard mandates also had community-solar policies; this cross-tabulation does not establish causation.
The 2023 National Community Solar Partnership Annual Update reported these NCSP activity measures:
- Through the 2023 update, NCSP had provided 144 direct technical-assistance engagements totaling more than 2,507 hours.
- Those engagements reached recipients in 35 states, DC, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- During calendar year 2023, NCSP completed 57 direct engagements totaling 385.5 hours.
- In a 2023 survey of 28 respondents, 50% said NCSP assistance helped them deploy a community-solar project or program.
- More than 60% of those respondents said the assistance was essential or important to advancing their work.
The survey percentages come from a small, self-reported respondent sample and should not be generalized to all community-solar stakeholders. Financing data likewise describe pipeline activity rather than completed investment: in a 2024 update, Community Power Accelerator projects were seeking more than $382 million, while the marketplace reported more than $947 million in funds committed.
Community Solar Forecasts and Economic Impacts
The forward-looking numbers combine targets, base-case forecasts and project-specific models. Each has a different meaning and should be read with its stated scope.
| Outlook or study | Result | Type and scope |
|---|---|---|
| DOE/NREL December 2023 pipeline | 6.9 GW-AC | Awarded or under construction; excludes wait-listed, under-review and withdrawn projects |
| DOE/NREL 2025 target | 20 GW-AC | Partnership target |
| SEIA/Wood Mackenzie 2030 outlook | More than 15 GW-DC | Base-case U.S. forecast |
| SEIA/Wood Mackenzie 2025–2029 outlook | 8% average annual contraction | Base-case addition trend |
The pipeline and target figures are reported in the 2023 National Community Solar Partnership Annual Update. The 2030 forecast and expected 8% average annual contraction through 2029 are from US Solar Market Insight 2024 Year in Review Executive Summary, whose base case includes active state programs and excludes proposed legislation.
A peer-reviewed study, Assessing the Economic Impacts of Sustainable Energy: An Analysis of Ohio’s Community Solar Program, modeled three Ohio pilot projects at 32,430 job-years, $3.03 billion in total earnings, $4.37 billion in gross state product and $7.72 billion in gross output. These are model estimates for a specific Ohio pilot, not national community-solar employment or economic outcomes.
For one modeled 5 MW-AC Ohio project, the study estimated 23.0 direct construction job-years and 54 total construction job-years, including direct, indirect, induced and land-lease effects. It estimated 0.97 annual operating job-years and annual operations and maintenance costs of $127,297; these are study-specific model outputs, not observed payroll or universal project costs.