March 25, 2025
By Jeff Cramer | President and CEO | Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA)
The figures are in: 2024 was the largest year so far for community kisses in the United States. According to Wood Mackenzie, we have installed 1.7 GW new community solar capacity – an increase of 35% compared to 2023 – so that the total of the nation brought to 8.6 GW. It is an incredible milestone for our industry and proof of the strategic basic work that was laid years ago by developers, policy makers and proponents throughout the country.
What drives this success? Simply put: smart policy, effective advocacy and the proven value of Community -Zonne -Zon as a distributed energy source (der). Community Solar is the only type of solar energy that delivers clean, affordable power to people who previously had no access tenants, households with low to moderate income (LMI) and small companies. Our growth reflects what happens when market design, political will and expertise coordinate in the industry.
In the past decade, the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) and our members have made deliberate time and financial investments in market expansion, often aimed at states that are willing to innovate. We have achieved legislative victories that opened new programs and have the scene for growth in places such as Illinois, New York, Maine and Minnesota. But opening markets were only half the battle. Equally important was the regulatory work to ensure that these programs are sustainable and scalable.
Take the shift from Maryland to consolidated invoicing or the extensive capacity of New Mexico as examples of how well -considered regulatory policy continues to strengthen as soon as a market is open. Our industry has proved agile to participate in the details of reforming the interconnection, the interest rate design and LMI carve-outs to create sustainable programs that really work.
This combination of market expansion and smart regulation helped to deliver the record -breaking growth of 2024. The three leading states – New York, Maine and Illinois – accounted for 83% of the national volume last year, with each institution new annual archives. It shows what is possible when states embrace well -designed community policy.
At the same time, the wider energy landscape is changing rapidly. The demand is increasing due to population growth, data centers, AI and electrification. Raster operators such as PJM warn of capacity shortages and price peaks. Community Solar and other forms of distributed solar energy and storage are uniquely positioned to take on this challenge, because it can be implemented faster and closer to Load than large-scale projects. They also offer a rare political Sweet Spot – collecting dual support by providing lower energy costs, increasing local economies and improving the grather.
Of course there will remain challenges. Interconnection delays, federal policy uncertainty and the need to open new markets can delay our momentum if it is not checked. But we have been here before. Our industry has thrive by staying proactive, building wide coalitions and keeping a laser on delivering real value to consumers.
That is exactly what we will do in 2025. CCSA is working on active campaigns in states such as Pennsylvania, Missouri, Wisconsin and Ohio. We fight for legal reforms that reduce costs and unlock market potential. And we urge to combine community -Zonne -Zonne -Energy with storage -breating distributed energy sources to a higher level.
With strong base and more states that would like to embrace the benefits of community kisses, the future of this industry is bright. Our record-breaking 2024 is proof that Community-Zonne-Zonne energy is no longer just a niche product. It is a nuclear part of the strategy for clean energy from America – and one of the most practical, scalable tools that we must meet the rising demand and at the same time keep energy affordable.
When we enter the 2025 Community Solar Innovation Summit In Denver this summer we will celebrate this success – and lay the foundation for what comes next.
Let’s build together at the moment.
Jeff Cramer is president and CEO of the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), which has served since the founding of CCSA in 2015. CCSA is a national coalition of more than 125 companies and non -profit organizations that work on expanding customer choice and access to the solar house for all American households and companies through Communityolar. Prior to CCSA, Cramer was a co -founder and served as a partner at 38 North Solutions, a company in Washington, DC, Public Affairs that focused exclusively on federal clean energy and sustainability policy and advocacy.
Tags: coalition for community access for the community, community sun