Community Solar: How Your Solar Credits are Calculated

June 15, 2022

Sullivan County Democrat – “A Sustainable Tomorrow”, A Quarterly Publication of DRS
By Cat Scott

Delaware River Solar (DRS) has been at the forefront of a clean energy revolution in New York State whose goal is to have 70 percent of all its electricity produced by renewable resources by 2030. Currently, there is more than one gigawatt of community solar installed and operational throughout the state with a goal of 10 gigawatts of solar by that 2030 deadline.

Community solar is an easy and accessible way for customers to participate in this clean energy revolution, but having a clear understanding of how it works is key to participation. Utility billing can be complicated and hard to understand when working properly, but is a downright nightmare when it’s NOT.

How are community solar credits calculated and applied to your bill?
Great question! Delaware River Solar builds a solar farm which the utility (NYSEG, RG&E, National Grid, Central Hudson or Orange & Rockland Utility) then connects into their grid. DRS enrolls customers into their solar subscription program and then evaluates each customer’s energy needs by auditing their previous 12 months of energy consumption. That allows them to determine how much of the solar farm each customer requires and assigns each account an allocation percentage. With that process complete, DRS submits an allocation report to the utility using each customer account and their allocation percentage.

The solar farm then sits and soaks up those beautiful rays of sunshine and produces clean energy. Once a month, the utility reads the meter on the solar farm to determine how much energy those rays of sunshine have produced. The utility company then calculates how much energy was produced for each account assigned to the solar farm based on their allocation percentage. Then they determine how much energy
the customer has consumed by either reading their meter, estimating their bill, or receiving meter reading information directly from the customer.

Finally, the utility calculates each customer’s bill, including their solar credits, and sends those bills out to each customer. The utility sends DRS a credit report for each solar farm that lists each customer’s solar credits for that month. DRS submits their next allocation report to the utility for the next month’s meter reading continuing the cycle. This is when accounts are added or removed and adjustments to allocations can be made.

HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED ANY INTERRUPTION IN BILLING FROM YOUR UTILITY?
NYSEG, RG&E, and Central Hudson have informed us that they are experiencing billing delays for some community solar customers. This has resulted in those affected customers receiving multiple utility bills in a single month. Each utility has assured us that no late fees or penalties will be added to these bills and that payment options are available. We acknowledge that these utility billing delays have inconvenienced many customers, and have been assured by each utility that they are diligently working to improve their processes. Each utility has informed us that they have reached out to their customers to communicate this situation. Unfortunately, DRS does not have any control or influence regarding billing practices or systems of the utility companies. These billing delays were not caused by us; however, we are doing our best to stay up to date on each utility company’s progress. DRS will continue to provide you with guaranteed monetary savings and environment impact benefits from local solar farms. We can be reached at 845-414-3491 or email us at
Support@DelawareRiverSolar.com with any questions, concerns, or clarifications. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to have earned your business and look forward to many sunny days ahead!