Laws and regulations complicate growth of community solar gardens

There is significant popular support for community solar projects in the U.S., but opposition by utilities and some legislative restrictions are holding back their development.

Nearly 1,600 community solar projects, sometimes called “solar gardens,” are operating nationwide. Most are operating in Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, and Colorado.  

The Biden administration continues to support a $15 million Energy Department initiative to expand the number of solar gardens, particularly in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. At the state level, though, where regulators set the power rules, interest groups are fighting over what defines community solar and who should generate it.

Utilities say having too many players could unravel regulatory structures that assure power grid reliability and warn of more disasters such as last winter’s deadly blackout in Texas. Some regulations, such as one in Minnesota that restricts ratepayers from subscribing to solar gardens only in their county or an adjacent one, have unintended consequences. The Minnesota rule means the heavily populated Twin Cities region has many potential subscribers but lacks space for gardens. On the other hand, rural areas have ample room for installations but fewer buyers for the energy.