Arcadia Power, an online renewable energy company, announced the first nationwide community solar platform that gives people around the country the opportunity to support solar energy and get savings on their bills - no matter where they live.
This is a huge step forward for the residential solar industry which only caters to a small segment of homeowners in select states. Arcadia Power's technology platform can connect solar panel production from a remote site directly to a customer's power bill, and does not require any additional equipment or installation on a customer's home.
Available in all 50 states, Arcadia's community solar product is ideal for those who live in apartments, have shaded roofs, or don't want to be locked down in a 20-year agreement. Customers can purchase enough panels to bring their electricity bills to $0.
The process takes just minutes to sign up. Customers go online to arcadiapower.com/solar, and purchase a "Solar Savings Subscription" to a specific community solar farm in an optimal location maintained by Arcadia Power. Every month as their panels produce energy, it's sold to a host or into the local power market, and customers receive bill credits directly on their utility bills. Arcadia's software also allows customers to see their panels production in real-time and purchase panels across multiple projects.
"We're making solar savings inclusive rather than exclusive," said Kiran Bhatraju, Founder and CEO of Arcadia Power. "Our product cuts through many of the barriers that have held solar power back for so many years. It's modern, portable, reduces long-term energy costs, and is available to anyone that pays a power bill."
Even though solar provides long-term savings, less than 1 percent of Americans today have rooftop solar systems due to issues around their roof, ownership, and what state they live in. Arcadia Power's community solar platform has the potential to replace rooftop solar with a much simpler program that is portable and modular.
The program also strengthens Arcadia Power's pledge, as a member of the Department of Energy's National Community Solar Partnership, to make Community Solar accessible to everyone.
Customers choose from a range of projects, pay an upfront Solar Subscription Fee, and every month during the term will receive savings on their utility bills. Customers can buy as little as a single panel or can purchase enough panels to fully offset their local utility charges. Current available projects include solar installations in California, Massachusetts, and Washington D.C.
The community solar program runs on a sophisticated software platform developed over the last three years by Arcadia Power engineers that integrates with over 100 utility billing systems nationwide. This proprietary billing platform allows subscribers to receive monthly savings directly on their utility bills based on the energy production of the project. Other benefits of the program include:
- Portability - the program, and its savings, moves with the customer from utility to utility as they move homes
- Modularity - customers can buy as few or as many panels as they choose
- Analytics - customers have access to real-time production data on their panels, as well as the savings
Community Solar customers also have priority access to Arcadia's smart thermostat, LED lighting, and renewable energy certificate programs. To learn more about Arcadia Power and its clean renewable energy options, visit www.arcadiapower.com.
About Arcadia Power
Arcadia Power is a nationwide renewable energy company founded with one simple mission in mind: changing how we power our homes and businesses to clean, renewable energy. Arcadia was founded in 2014 and has grown quickly to 10,000+ customers across all 50 states, helping its customers use over 100,000,000 clean kilowatt-hours of power to date. The company is based in Washington, D.C., is a proud B-Corp, and is was recently named Best for the World 2016 by the nonprofit B-Lab.
