Should Renters Have More Access to Renewable Energy?

Renters should have more access to renewable energy, but expanding access should mean more than encouraging every household to install its own panels. Individual rooftop solar can be a useful option, yet it depends on owning or controlling a suitable roof and being able to manage installation costs. Those conditions can exclude people before they can make any choice at all. Community solar offers another route: customers subscribe to or own a share of an off-site solar project and receive a credit on their electricity bill. The better policy is not to replace rooftop solar, but to make community solar a practical, fairly protected option for people who cannot use their roofs.

The rooftop-only approach is limited by access, not simply by a lack of interest in clean energy. The U.S. Department of Energy explains that renters may be unable to install panels because they do not own their homes; other households may face unsuitable roofs or electrical systems, or may not be able to afford installation. Citing National Renewable Energy Laboratory analysis, the Department estimates that nearly 50% of households and businesses cannot host rooftop solar systems. That figure does not mean all those households are renters, but it shows why policies centered only on individual rooftops leave many potential customers out. When renewable-energy participation requires control over a building, tenants’ choices depend in part on a landlord’s decisions.

Community solar addresses that barrier by separating participation from roof ownership. The Department of Energy describes projects in which an off-site array sends electricity to the utility grid; subscribers pay for a share of its generation, and the utility applies a corresponding credit to their bills. A renter can therefore participate without installing equipment on a landlord’s property. This is a meaningful change in the terms of access: instead of requiring each customer to own a suitable building, the arrangement lets multiple customers benefit from one project. The Department describes community solar as serving individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups, making it a shared option rather than a building-specific asset.

The United States already has examples of community solar as a real policy and utility option. The Department of Energy reports at least one community solar project in 44 states and localities, including the District of Columbia, and says 24 have passed legislation encouraging or requiring such programs. The District’s inclusion is significant as a concrete example of a locality where a project exists, while the broader count shows that this is not merely a hypothetical proposal. At the same time, the figures do not establish that every resident can enroll or that every project offers the same terms. They support expanding access as a feasible policy direction, not assuming that access is already equal.

The national energy context also supports widening participation, though it cannot establish the effect of community solar by itself. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that renewables supplied about 21% of U.S. electricity generation in 2023, while they supplied about 9% of total U.S. energy consumption. These are different measures: electricity generation is not the same as all energy use, which includes energy consumed in other ways. The figures show that renewable electricity is part of a larger energy system that still relies on multiple sources. They do not prove that a community solar subscription will change the national energy mix; instead, they underscore why access to renewable electricity should not be unnecessarily restricted to people who control rooftops.

More access is worthwhile only if programs deliver a real benefit to subscribers. The Department of Energy notes that community solar programs designed for low-income households require subscribers to achieve energy savings and often include other consumer protections. That standard matters because a program should not count as successful merely because it is open for enrollment: a household must understand the costs and receive the promised value. A renter considering a subscription should be able to see the fee, how credits are applied, and what happens if circumstances change. Clear terms and protections make access more substantive and reduce the risk that a program intended to help customers instead leaves them with poorly explained costs.

A serious objection is that community solar subscriptions are not automatically a good deal, and they are not available everywhere. The Department advises consumers to check their state’s requirements and review contracts; it also notes that enrollment depends on the state and programs available locally. A subscription fee and a bill credit must be considered together, since the existence of a credit alone does not establish how much an individual household will save. This limitation should shape the policy, not end the argument: programs should provide transparent contract terms, credible savings, and consumer protections before enrollment. Rooftop solar may remain a better fit for some homeowners, but that is no reason to make ownership of a suitable roof the only path to renewable electricity.

Policymakers and utilities should therefore expand community solar where local conditions support it, while measuring whether customers actually receive the advertised benefits. The Department of Energy says that states with enabling legislation typically have more projects and subscriptions available, and that 19 states and the District of Columbia have policies addressing low-income households’ participation. These examples suggest that public rules can help shape availability and inclusion, but legislation alone does not guarantee fair outcomes for every subscriber. Programs should make enrollment terms easy to compare, protect savings, and account for households with limited incomes. Renters deserve more than a theoretical option: they should have a practical choice that does not depend on controlling a roof.