Meaningful Household Savings: Best Practices for Achieving Equitable Solar Development

There is a strong consensus among a wide range of stakeholders that it is absolutely essential that Low- and Moderate-Income (LMI) households achieve meaningful savings from solar projects. Because those households have few financial resources and limited ability to take on additional financial risks, they need to be assured that they will benefit financially if they are to participate in the solar economy. In addition, as a matter of equity, LMI households’ participation in the clean energy transition is essential. However, there is no universally accepted definition for what qualifies as “meaningful” in terms of household savings from solar. Moreover, solar programs administered by states, municipalities, and utilities have difficulty measuring their programs’ savings at a household level, and it is also hard to guarantee or verify savings. For many stakeholders, it is not even clear how the mechanisms for achieving savings work for different types of solar projects. 

The meaningful household savings Community of Practice and this report focus on electricity bill savings, other household savings, wealth-building opportunities, and other benefits such as tenant services provided to residents in master-metered buildings. The project team collected information about ways meaningful household savings have been achieved; researched best practices to define, achieve, and quantify meaningful household savings; and identified strategies to scale the adoption and implementation of successful methods. The report examines different types of solar projects, including residential-serving community solar, rooftop solar, and installations serving multifamily affordable housing. It includes six case studies and information about savings verification. 

This report will be helpful to those who need a clearer understanding of the different ways solar savings are currently achieved in the market by practitioners. It will also be helpful to those developing solar programs and who wish to learn about, apply, or build upon a set of principles delineated by the project team to increase the likelihood of meaningful solar savings in the long run. This includes teams designing Solar for All programs across the country. Lastly, it will be helpful to those who wish to understand research gaps and opportunities to advance the field in areas where progress can have profound impact on the most vulnerable energy-insecure households. 

This report, produced as part of the Equitable Solar Communities of Practice program initiated by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, and authored by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) with guidance and leadership from a core team of six organizations (Greenlink Analytics; Inclusive Prosperity Capital; Partnership for Southern Equity; PosiGen; Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future; and Sunwealth) is the final deliverable of the Community of Practice on Meaningful Household Savings. 

This report is a companion to CESA’s October 30, 2024 presentation, which focused on pathways to scale household savings and research needs. 

TO LEARN MORE – We encourage state agencies wishing to learn more about achieving, guaranteeing, calculating, and verifying meaningful household savings for rooftop or community solar to: 

• Join the states collaborative of the National Community Solar Partnership+ (NCSP+) by completing the registration form. It is free to join! Partnership is at the individual level, so multiple representatives from your organization are encouraged to join. If you have any questions about your partnership status or the registration process, please email [email protected]. 

• Join CESA’s NCSP+ working group on defining, achieving, and verifying solar savings by registering here. Email any questions to Hanna Jones. 

• Sign up for CESA’s email list for the Solar for All program or sign up for CESA’s Solar for All office hours by emailing Meghan Monahan.