Solar power on your bill, without anything on your roof.
Community solar lets you take a share of a nearby solar farm and receive the credit for what it generates, straight onto your existing utility bill. No equipment, no installation, no money down. You simply pay less for the same power.
Renters welcome. Same utility, same reliability, same lights. Cancel with notice, no termination fee.
What community solar is
One farm, shared by a few hundred households
Rooftop solar puts a system on your house. Community solar does the opposite: the panels live on a farm somewhere in your utility's territory, and you take a share of what it produces. You do not need to live near it, or even see it.
1. The farm generates
A developer builds and owns a solar farm inside your utility's territory. They run it, maintain it and insure it. You never own a panel or pay for one.
2. The grid takes it in
The power the farm makes goes onto the same grid your home already uses. Your utility keeps delivering it, keeps reading your meter, and keeps answering the phone if the lights go out. Nothing about your service changes.
3. You get the credit
Your share of that output comes back as a credit on your utility bill. You then buy those credits from the farm at a discount. That is two bills instead of one, and a lower total than the one bill was before.
Enrolling
Ten minutes now, then nothing to manage
There is no site visit, no construction, and no equipment to finance. Most of the work is ours: matching you to a farm with capacity and telling your utility where to send the credits.
- 1
We check that you qualify
Two things decide it: which utility serves your address, and whether a farm in that territory still has capacity. We can tell you in a few minutes.
- 2
We size your share
Your share is matched to roughly a year of your own usage, because the rules do not let you subscribe to more power than you actually use. One recent bill is all we need.
- 3
Credits start landing
Once the utility applies your allocation, your share of the farm's output shows up on your bill as a credit. The first one usually appears within one to three billing cycles. Credit you do not use in a given month is normally banked for a later one.
- 4
You pay less, and can leave
You pay the farm for those credits at a discount, so the same power costs less. If you move or change your mind, you give notice and it ends. No exit fee.
Your savings
You get two bills, and pay less in total
This is the part everyone asks about at the door, so here it is up front. You do not pay twice. The credit knocks down what you owe the utility, you buy that credit from the farm for less than the utility valued it at, and the two together come to less than the one bill did.
Your utility keeps billing you for delivery, fees and taxes the way it always has, so that bill never reaches zero. What changes is the generation portion, which the credit covers and you buy back at a discount.
See your own numbersIllustration only, using a 10% discount and round numbers. The real discount is set by the program. The credit moves month to month with how much the farm generates, so a cloudier month means a smaller credit, a smaller bill from the farm, and a smaller saving. Swap in the rate North Star advertises and recompute the rows above.
Reviews
Be the first to say so
We would rather show you nothing than show you something we wrote ourselves. If we have enrolled you, tell people how it went.
Careers
Sell something worth selling
Our reps knock doors and sign households onto farms. It is an easy conversation to have honestly, because there is nothing to install and nothing to pay. We hire people who would rather be trusted than liked, and we train them properly: a real ladder, a defined territory, and a manager whose job is your numbers rather than their own.
Where it goes
- 1RepresentativeHiring
- 2Trainer
- 3Manager
- 4Owner
We promote from within, so every rung above is filled by someone who started at the first one. The first rung is the only role we hire into.
Questions
Asked before you ask
Is anything installed at my house?
No. Nothing is attached to your roof, nothing is dug up, and nobody needs access to your property. The panels sit on a farm elsewhere in your utility's territory. That is why community solar works for renters, condos, shaded lots and roofs too old to build on.
Does my power actually come from the farm?
Not literally, and any company that tells you otherwise is overselling it. Electricity on a shared grid cannot be routed to one house. The farm feeds the same grid you draw from, and your utility credits you for your share of what it produced.
Why do I end up with two bills?
Because the credit and the charge come from two different companies. Your utility still bills you, and the solar credit takes a large bite out of that bill without erasing it, since delivery and fees are still yours to pay. You then pay the farm for that credit at a discount. Add the two bills together and the total is less than the single bill was before.
What happens on a cloudy month, or in winter?
Your credit tracks what the farm actually generated, so it is larger in summer and smaller in winter. You are never billed by the farm for more credit than the utility gave you, and in most programs a credit you do not use in a bright month is banked and applied to a darker one. That is why the saving is worth judging across a full year rather than on any single bill.
What if I move, or want out?
You give notice, typically thirty to ninety days depending on the program, and the subscription ends. There is no termination fee. If you move within the same utility territory we can usually transfer your share to the new address instead of cancelling it.
Is there a credit check, or any cost to sign up?
There is no purchase, no lease and no loan, so there is nothing to finance. Some programs run a light eligibility check. There is never an upfront payment, and you are not buying equipment.
Who are you, exactly?
North Star Marketing enrolls subscribers on behalf of the developers who build and own these farms. They pay us when a household signs up, which is why it costs you nothing, and also why you should hold us to our numbers. Ask for anything in writing and you will get it.
Enroll today
Find out if a farm still has room for you
Capacity is finite and it fills up. Send us your address and a recent bill amount and we will tell you what is available in your utility's territory, at no cost.
- Checking costs nothing and does not commit you to anything
- One recent utility bill is all we need to size your share
- Nothing is installed, so renters and condos qualify too
- Cancel with notice at any time, with no termination fee
Enrollment inquiry
Two things decide it: your utility and your usage. We will come back within one business day.