Illinois Community Solar Archives | Citizens Utility Board https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/tag/illinois-community-solar/ Fight utility rate hikes, promote clean energy, and advocate for consumer protections in Illinois. Tue, 29 Jul 2025 15:38:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/cropped-CUB_LogoBadgeAlt-32x32.png Illinois Community Solar Archives | Citizens Utility Board https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/tag/illinois-community-solar/ 32 32 Illinois Community Solar: CUB’s evaluation of their community solar offer https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/2025/07/25/illinois-community-solar/ Fri, 25 Jul 2025 19:48:09 +0000 https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/?p=43373 This is an evaluation of Illinois Community Solar’s community solar offering. If you are not already familiar with community solar, please read  CUB’s Introduction to Community Solar first. Also, learn more about an income-qualified program called Illinois Solar for All. How will signing up for the Illinois Community Solar offer affect my electric bill? With a community solar subscription, customers join a solar farm through the state’s Net Energy Billing program. The solar farm earns energy credits for the power it produces and shares those credits with its subscribers. These credits lower the subscribers’ electric bills. Subscribers then pay the solar farm for the credits—but at a discount (usually 10–20%), so they always save money. This also supports local clean energy. Illinois Community Solar will look at your energy usage history to determine your subscription size, measured in kilowatts (kW). Each month your subscription will produce solar energy, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). With Illinois Community Solar, you will have an option of receiving one bill (consolidated) or two bills (dual billing). With the consolidated, or one bill option your community solar company will bill you once a month and they will take care of billing the utility company. With the two-billing option, you will be billed by your solar company for the electricity you produced. You will then get a separate bill from your usual utility company minus the solar credits you received from the community solar company Illinois Community Solar will bill you for the energy generated by your subscription, with a 10%-20% discount applied. That’s where the savings come in. The total amount you save monthly will vary as the solar production of your subscription varies. What about alternative suppliers? Almost all consumers, regardless of their alternative electricity supplier, can now receive solar bill credits as part of a community solar program. Although, if you receive a bill from your alternate supplier that is separate from your utility bill, solar credits can only be applied to your utility bill. If the alternative electricity provider charges appear in a consolidated bill, your credits will be used on that bill. Learn more about alternative suppliers for consumers in ComEd territory and Ameren territory. What does CUB think about this offer? Community solar allows more Illinois consumers to enjoy the benefits of renewable energy, and CUB is pleased to see these offers hit the market. Illinois Community Solar promises 10%-20% savings over your utility’s energy supply price. Visit Solar in the Community to see CUB’s analysis of other offers available in Illinois. This chart summarizes key points about the Illinois Community Solar deal: What utility territory does the company serve? Ameren and ComEd Does the company offer savings? Yes, Illinois Community Solar offers 10%-20% off the utility default supply rate for the community solar bill credits you receive. Is there a credit check when I sign up? There is a soft check What is the contract term? Up to 20 years Is there an “exit fee” for leaving the contract early? No What are my billing options? Dual Billing, Consolidated Billing When will my subscription go live? When will I start […]

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