How Does Community Solar Billing Work?

As a Clearway Community Solar subscriber, you’ll continue receiving your regular monthly electric bill, and you’ll also receive a separate bill from Clearway. This setup is sometimes called dual billing. But, wait… why two energy bills?

The short answer is: You’re not actually paying for two sources of energy. Unlike rooftop solar systems, which send power directly to your home, your subscription supports solar generation for the power grid instead. That’s one of the key differences between rooftop solar and community solar, and it’s the reason the billing works the way it does. To understand this difference better, let’s walk through where each bill actually comes from.

What Is the Community Solar Billing Process?

Clearway isn’t your utility company, and it isn’t a retail electric supplier, either. Your power still comes from your utility (or a retail supplier, if you’re in a deregulated state), so your utility bill keeps showing up like always, covering supply, distribution, and any fees or taxes.

Once you subscribe, only one thing changes: Solar bill credits start showing up on that same electric bill. Those credits come from something called virtual net metering. Basically, the solar energy your share of a community solar farm generates gets turned into a credit on your account, even though that power never actually reaches your house. Your utility runs these numbers and applies the credits every month, and they’ll shift a bit due to seasonal changes and how much energy output your allocation produced.

Your Clearway invoice is a different thing entirely. It’s not for energy supply, it’s for the solar bill credits themselves, priced at a discounted rate so you come out ahead overall (often with a savings guarantee built in, depending on your state and agreement).

So each month, you’re managing two invoices with two different jobs rather than the consolidated billing you might expect from a single provider. You have your utility bill, based on your electricity usage and reduced by the credits, and your Clearway bill, for the cost of those credits at a discount. Want to know what that discount could actually save you? Try the savings calculator.

Your Bill Is Tied to Real, Local Solar Power

The credits on your bill aren’t a generic “green” offset purchased from somewhere else. They’re a direct reflection of the electricity generated by the solar panels in your specific allocation at a solar farm near you. This setup, part of what’s sometimes called the shared solar model, is what makes it different from paying extra for a typical “green power” plan. Instead of funding clean energy in the abstract, your billing each month is proof that a real, local solar farm added power to the electric grid you actually use.

How to Think About Community Solar Billing

Here’s an easy way to picture it. Say you buy an $80 coupon worth $100 off at the grocery store. You hand it over at checkout, your total drops by $100, and you only spent $80 to get there. You just saved $20.

Your solar bill credits work the same way. Every month, your Clearway subscription earns you an energy coupon (your solar bill credit) that lowers what you owe your utility. Clearway then bills you for that coupon at your contracted rate, which is set below what the credit is actually worth. That gap between what you pay Clearway and what the credit saves you on your utility bill is your savings.

Let’s Recap

You subscribe to Clearway, your community solar provider.
Your share of that farm generates solar energy that feeds into the local power grid, adding renewable power to your state’s energy mix.
In return, you get solar bill credits (your energy coupons) applied to your utility bill.
Your utility bill drops, since those credits cover part of what you owe.
You pay Clearway separately for the cost of those credits, at the rate in your Clearway Customer Agreement.

How Billing Works in Your State

The basics above hold true everywhere Clearway operates, but the rules behind your credits and which utility applies them come down to where you live.

Illinois

Illinois runs its credits through the state’s community solar program, with ComEd and Ameren acting as the utility provider for billing. See Illinois community solar options.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts bills run through the state’s SMART program, with Eversource and National Grid applying your credits. See Massachusetts community solar options.

Minnesota

Minnesota works through the state’s Community Solar Garden (CSG) program, with Xcel Energy as the main utility partner. See Minnesota community solar options.

New York

New York uses the Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) framework, which prices your credit based on the broader value your solar adds to the grid, not just a flat rate per kilowatt-hour (kWh). That often means bigger credits than standard net metering gives you elsewhere. See New York community solar options.

What Does the 20-Year Agreement Mean for Billing?

Your Clearway agreement runs 20 years, and that shapes your billing in a few concrete ways:

Your rate is locked in. Whatever Clearway charges you for solar bill credits is set by your Customer Agreement, so utility rate hikes won’t touch that part of your bill for as long as you’re subscribed.
You won’t pay before you save. Clearway doesn’t bill you until your solar farm is up, running, and actually generating the credits you’re paying for.
Moving doesn’t have to end it. Stay within the same utility territory, and your subscription usually just moves with you. Move outside it, and your agreement’s cancellation terms kick in instead.

Will your energy usage continue for 20 years? Yes! Just like groceries, energy is a necessity, and it’s nice when necessities come with a discount. Clearway’s long-term contract means you get solar bill credits, or “energy coupons,” for all 20 years, saving money while supporting locally produced, 100% renewable power.

Want the full terms, including how cancellation works? Check our frequently asked questions. For a look at how your rate and discount are structured, see how pricing works.

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.