For the roofs that cannot
When the right answer is somebody else's array
About one household in four that calls us should not put solar on their own roof. A community solar subscription is the practical alternative, and we would rather explain it than sell you an array that will disappoint you.
A community garden outside the countyThe mechanics
How a subscription actually works
Not every household can put an array on a roof. Renters, condominium owners, homes under heavy canopy and north-facing roofs all fall outside rooftop solar, and for those households a community solar subscription is the practical alternative.
- 01
A garden gets built somewhere sunnier
A 2 to 5 MW DC array on land outside the county, sited where there is no shade, no roof pitch and no neighbour's second storey.
- 02
You subscribe to a share of it
Typically 1 to 6 kW DC of the garden's capacity, sized against your own annual kWh so the credits match your bill rather than exceeding it.
- 03
Credits appear on your utility bill
Your share of the garden's production is credited against your account each month, at the programme's stated rate. You still get one bill from your utility.
- 04
You can leave
Subscriptions are transferable and cancellable with notice. Read the notice period before signing; the good programmes are 30 to 90 days and the bad ones are five years.
Five households
Who this is genuinely better for
| Household | Why a roof array does not work | What a subscription does instead |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | You cannot mount an array on a roof you do not own, and a landlord rarely wants one. | A subscription moves with you inside the same utility territory. |
| Condominium and townhouse owners | The roof is usually common property and the association controls it. | A subscription needs nobody's permission but yours. |
| Heavy canopy lots | Mapleton Hill and Whittier have cottonwoods worth more than the array would be. | Keep the trees, buy the kWh from somewhere unshaded. |
| North-facing or tiny roofs | A north plane at 63 percent of optimum produces expensive kWh. | Let the garden's south-facing tracker do it instead. |
| Roofs with under eight years left | Mounting an array on a covering you are about to replace costs you twice. | Subscribe now, reroof when it is due, then decide. |
Before you sign anything
Four things worth knowing
- 01A subscription is not ownership. You do not claim the federal credit on somebody else's array.
- 02Savings are the difference between your credit rate and your retail rate. On a time-of-use rate that arithmetic is less simple than it looks.
- 03Waiting lists for Colorado gardens are real. Twelve to eighteen months is common.
- 04GreenLeaf does not sell subscriptions and takes no commission for these referrals. We keep the list because people ask.
If your roof does work
Ownership beats subscription over a 25 year horizon in almost every case where the roof is suitable. The survey tells you which side of that line you are on, and it takes three hours.
Subscriptions and gardens
Questions about community solar
No, and we take no commission for these referrals. We keep the list because people ask and because sending someone to a garden is sometimes the honest answer to their roof.
Per kWh, usually not over a 25 year horizon, because you never own anything. Per dollar of up-front cost it is far cheaper, because there usually is not one. They solve different problems.
Within the same utility territory a subscription usually transfers to your new address. Outside it, you cancel, subject to the notice period. Check that period before signing, because the good programmes are 30 to 90 days and the bad ones are five years.
No. You are subscribing to somebody else's array, and they claim it. That difference is reflected in the subscription price.
Twelve to eighteen months is common for Colorado gardens, and longer for the low-income allocations. Get on a list early; it costs nothing to wait.
Not sure which side of the line you are on?
Call the shop and describe your roof. We will tell you in five minutes whether a survey is worth booking, at no cost either way.