A new approach to reducing our carbon footprint, a scheme to take advantage of earning money for generating electricity has become accessible to more people, entire communities in fact.
No longer are Solar PV installations restricted to those with enough money to purchase a solar panel system out-right, with community solar you and your local community can invest in solar pv installations at community owned sites such as parks, churches, community centres etc.
The reason to invest in community solar? Well for one, every step we take to producing clean energy will reduce our carbon footprint and help protect the environment. Secondly you will be investing in your local community, helping to develop and improve the area, setting an example for others to follow while reaping the benefits of cheaper, cleaner energy and a return on your investment.
In regards to the return on investment being offered by the feed in tariff, after all the investors receive their payments any additional profits that are generated are able to be pumped back into the community, be it development of sites or other issues that could use financial support within the area, the opportunities are just beginning, considering potential profits are being generated every year.
I cannot stress enough the potential environmental benefits of solar energy, having more and more people producing cleaner energy, it makes a significant impact on your carbon footprint, but it doesn’t end there, with community solar installations the cleaner energy that is being produced by the solar panel installation is initially being used by the building that has them installed, however any of the energy that is not used will be fed back into the electricity grid, making it available for everyone else within the area connected to the grid to benefit from that excess of clean energy. Now that all sounds great, but consider some of the potential community solar pv installation sites, optimal sites that have no shading, a park for example, an installation on a park would result in 0% electrical use from the installation, allowing all of the energy generated to be used by others, now that sounds GREAT!
