A couple of years ago, a cross-section of Wall Street was highly bullish on the community solar sector, with some predicting that it was poised to become the most prevalent model of residential solar power distribution in the United States. First unveiled about two decades ago, community solar entails a small-scale solar model wherein customers purchase shares in a new solar farm in their service area, developers build the project then subscribers receive credits that cut their utility bills by ~10%. Community solar offers a viable solution to the roughly half of American households that are unable to install rooftop solar due to factors like roof shading, issues with property ownership or specific regulations. Further, these solar projects tend to offer friendlier contract terms for people with lower credit scores.
Unfortunately, the community solar boom could be over before it has even properly begun. A fresh report by…
