Sponsors (13)
The bill expands community solar access and federal support—lowering bills and accelerating projects for many households and governments—while increasing federal costs, raising equity and competition risks, and creating potential long‑term contracting liabilities.
Low- and moderate-income households and renters gain access to community solar subscriptions that can lower their electricity bills and expand clean energy participation.
State, local, and Tribal governments receive federal technical assistance, National Laboratory analysis, and new financing models that make it easier to develop, finance, and locally manage community solar projects.
Small businesses, nonprofits, and private developers get better data, grant/loan access, and reduced investment risk from expanded DOE and National Laboratory support, which can accelerate project financing and deployment.
Taxpayers face higher federal spending and contingent long-term costs because expanding DOE programs and providing technical assistance plus enabling multi-decade agency utility contracts increases federal outlays and liabilities.
Low-income households, renters, and middle-class customers risk inequitable access or shifted costs if program outreach, subscription barriers, crediting structures, or subsidized rate designs are poorly implemented.
Utilities, developers, and consumers may face higher compliance and administrative costs to create and run community solar programs, which can translate into higher rates or fees and may disadvantage third-party developers.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires DOE to create a community solar consumer choice program, sets a federal standard for utilities to offer community solar subscriptions, and allows 30‑year public utility contracts.
Introduced June 26, 2025 by Kathy Castor · Last progress June 26, 2025
Creates a federal program to expand access to community solar by directing the Department of Energy to set up a “community solar consumer choice program,” provide technical assistance, use National Labs for data, and extend DOE financing tools where practical. Establishes a federal requirement for non‑Tribal electric utilities to offer community solar subscriptions that allocate local solar PV generation to multiple customers, allows different ownership models, permits Tribal utilities to opt in, and sets deadlines for state regulators to consider and decide on the new standard. Also allows federal contracts for public utility services to run up to 30 years.