Deerfield Joins State’s Largest Community Solar Program

DEERFIELD, IL — North Shore residents and small businesses in the cities of Highland Park and Lake Forest, and the villages of Deerfield, Lake Bluff, Northbrook, and Skokie, will soon have an opportunity to save money and help develop renewable energy thanks to Illinois’ largest municipally-sponsored community solar program.

Solar developers have committed to make over 10 megawatts available over the next year to qualified residents and small businesses in participating communities through the CS2 Residential Community Solar Program, according to a press release. Subscribers will save 20 percent on their monthly electricity charges based on the solar generation credits achieved. To support equitable access to the program, there are no credit checks, enrollment fees, or termination fees.

Community solar allows residents and small businesses to subscribe and receive credits on their electric bills. Participants can support solar power without installing their own rooftop panels and the subscriptions help finance and construct small solar facilities that may not be built otherwise.

Subscriptions will be offered on a rolling basis as community solar facilities are built and connected to the electric grid. Interested residential and small business customers can join the program waitlist at northshorecommunitysolar.com. As community solar projects are completed in coming months, residents on the waitlist will be contacted and offered an opportunity to complete the subscription process, according to the release.

Community solar facilities are a product of Illinois’ Future Energy Jobs Act. The Act mandates that
Illinois utilities must purchase 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025. Some of this additional demand will be met by 400 megawatts of capacity generated by community solar projects throughout the state.

The communities are members of the North Shore Electricity Aggregation Consortium, which was formed in 2011 to save residents money through competitive bidding for the purchase of electricity. The program is the result of a partnership between the NSEAC and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.