Does Community Solar Really Save Money?

bird's eye view of Poughkeepsie solar farm in New York

Yes, community solar can absolutely save you money. With Clearway, your savings are guaranteed by contract. Depending on your state, you get a guaranteed discount of up to 20% on your solar bill credits, locked in for as long as your agreement runs.

Below, we walk through exactly how those savings show up on your bill, what the guarantee means in your state, and how much you could save. Want a personalized estimate? Try our solar savings calculator.

What Is a Savings Guarantee?

A savings guarantee is a discount, set in your contract, on the cost of the solar bill credits you receive. It doesn’t move with the seasons or with utility rate changes. It’s fixed for the length of your agreement.

Here’s how that guarantee gets built into your pricing:

Your community solar provider isn’t your utility company. Your utility still supplies your power and bills you for it, with credits applied to your account.
Your community solar provider sends a separate invoice for those credits, with your guaranteed discount already subtracted.

Clearway’s current guarantees are 20% in Illinois, 10% in Minnesota and New York, and 7% in Massachusetts. These are fixed for your full agreement term.

How Community Solar Savings Work

When you enroll in a community solar program, you’re assigned a share, or allocation, of a local solar farm’s energy production. Every month, that allocation generates electricity, and the value of that electricity becomes bill credits on your utility bill, just like a subscription model.

That value changes with the seasons. Sunnier months mean more generation, though solar farms work well in winter, too.

Here’s how that energy turns into savings on your bill:

Your utility measures the electricity your share of the community solar farm’s solar panels generate, in kilowatt-hours (kWh).
That amount is multiplied by your utility’s current rate and turned into a dollar figure. This is your solar bill credit, sometimes called an energy credit.
Your utility applies that credit to your bill, lowering what you owe. Depending on where you live, the credit may apply to specific parts of your bill.

That’s how your utility bill goes down, but it’s only half the story. You also get a separate bill from your community solar provider for those same credits, with your guaranteed discount already taken off. That’s where your actual savings, and lower electricity costs, come from.

For example, say Clearway guarantees you a 10% discount. You received $100 in solar bill credits, which knocked $100 off your utility bill. Your Clearway bill for those credits would be $100 minus 10%, or $90. You paid $90 to save $100, for a net savings of $10.

What Clearway’s Savings Looks Like by State

Utility rates vary a lot from state to state, so your savings do too. Here’s what an average Clearway subscriber can expect, based on current state electricity rates and your state’s guarantee:

Illinois: Residential rates average about 24 cents per kWh. Paired with Clearway’s 20% guarantee, Illinois offers one of the largest discounts in our service area. See Illinois community solar options.
Massachusetts: Around 29 cents per kWh, the rates here are among the highest in the country. Even at a 7% guarantee, high rates mean meaningful dollar savings. See Massachusetts community solar options.
Minnesota: Average rates run about 17 cents per kWh, paired with a 10% guarantee. See Minnesota community solar options.
New York: Rates run about 30 cents per kWh, with a 10% guarantee applied to your credits. See New York community solar options.

Rates sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, May 2026 data.

Does Community Solar Save Money Without a Guarantee?

Some community solar providers don’t offer a savings guarantee. That doesn’t mean you won’t save money, it just means the savings work differently.

Community solar providers look at years of utility rate data. They track when rates went up, when they went down, and how much they change by season. That research helps them predict future utility costs. They then price your solar bill credits based on those predictions. The goal is to set a price that saves you money over time, even without a fixed guarantee.

Your savings may vary from month to month. Solar production changes with the seasons, so some months save more than others. But the pricing is designed to add up to real savings over the life of your contract, not every single month. Even without a fixed guarantee, community solar can often stack with other incentives and rebates you may already qualify for through your state or utility.

Think of it like a company studying years of gas prices to build a plan that’s likely to save you money over time, even if some months cost a bit more than others. Community solar pricing works the same way.

Other Ways Community Solar Helps Save Money

Beyond bill credits, most community solar programs come with a few built-in cost advantages:

No cost to join. There are typically no enrollment or membership fees. Most providers don’t bill you until your solar farm is built, inspected, and running, so you’re never paying before you’re saving.
No maintenance costs. A rooftop solar system means covering solar panel installation costs and years of upkeep after. Community solar farms are maintained offsite instead, so maintenance fees are rare for subscribers.
No green power premium. Retail “green energy” plans often charge extra for that label. Community solar skips that markup entirely.

How Community Solar Compares to Rooftop Solar on Tax Breaks

As of 2026, community solar and rooftop solar are on more even ground when it comes to federal tax breaks. The residential federal solar tax credit was extended in 2022, then eliminated starting January 1, 2026. That means homeowners buying rooftop panels no longer get that credit either, which closes a gap that used to favor rooftop solar. See our community solar vs. rooftop solar comparison for the pros and cons of each.

Start Saving With Community Solar

As a clean energy advocate, you shouldn’t have to choose between shrinking your carbon footprint and keeping more money in your pocket. Community solar comes without sign-up fees, maintenance costs, or green power premiums, on top of a guaranteed discount.

Wondering if the math really works out? Join Clearway, the largest community solar provider in the U.S., and use our solar savings calculator to estimate what you could save.

Savings calculated on the value of the solar bill credits generated by the residential solar subscription and varies by region. Clearway is not responsible for utility delays in applying solar bill credits. Refer to the community solar contract for full agreement terms. Subject to credit approval and 20-year agreement.