Community solar low income eligibility by state holds at 19 as Maine drops out and South Carolina joins

How community solar low income eligibility by state works

Community solar low income eligibility by state now stands at 19 states plus the District of Columbia, each requiring or funding low income participation in a community solar program, a shared solar project a renter or a homeowner with no usable roof can subscribe to for a guaranteed discount on an electricity bill. Every row in a state policy spreadsheet from the National Laboratory of the Rockies was read for a real, active low income requirement tied to a state that also carries community solar legislation, a tally performed on the dataset itself, and it lines up with a separate market trends page from the United States Department of Energy, which states that 20 states and the District of Columbia had low income participation provisions as of August 2024.

A total that held at 19 states while the roster changed underneath it

The total held steady, but the membership under it did not. The program in Maine appeared on the Department of Energy map of low to moderate income policy states as of August 2024, but its current spreadsheet row shows that program closed to new projects, with no active low income figure while a replacement is written. South Carolina did not appear on that August 2024 map, but its current row shows an active program reserving 400 kilowatts of capacity, a measure of how much electricity a project can generate at once, for low income customers. One state dropped out, one came in, and the total held at 19 plus the District of Columbia, built from reading both federal snapshots directly rather than from either source describing the other.

What the active low income mandates require

Mandates set as a share of project capacity vary widely. Oregon sets the lowest active floor, at least 10% of capacity for low income subscribers, up to 80% of the state median income, the midpoint income for that state. New Jersey sets the highest active floor, at 51% of capacity, up to 80% of area median income, the midpoint income for the surrounding region. Nevada measures its requirement differently, at least 25% of the customers on a project rather than a share of capacity. Colorado and California have each adopted the same 51% capacity floor, but the dataset still marks both announced rather than active, so neither is yet paying a guaranteed discount to a subscriber.

Illinois and Virginia show what the mandate means for a subscriber

Illinois shows the most complete version of the idea. Its Solar for All program dedicates its entire community solar track, not just a slice of it, to low income households, at or below 80% of area median income. Subscription fees are capped at 50% of the value of a bill credit, guaranteeing a subscriber keeps at least half of what the credit is worth, and 25% of program incentives go to environmental justice communities, neighborhoods that have carried a disproportionate share of pollution.

Virginia is the newest state to act. Governor Spanberger signed 4 bills on April 14, 2026, creating a dedicated low income subscriber share inside the Dominion Energy program and a consolidated billing requirement inside the Appalachian Power program, a single bill that combines the community solar credit with the regular electricity charge. The Coalition for Community Solar Access says a participating household will save 10% or more on a monthly electricity bill, about 175 dollars a year.

Governor Spanberger has shown that affordability and local clean energy go hand in hand and today's signings are proof.

Charlie Coggeshall, Mid Atlantic Director at the Coalition for Community Solar Access, quoted in source 4. Source 4.