By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened:CleanChoice Energy launched a much-overdue digital platform that allows customers to sign up for community solar projects in there in five minutes or fewer.

• “Community solar represents one of the most important opportunities to expand renewable energy access in the U.S., with the potential to reach more than 60 million households across the country,” said Tom Matzzie, CEO of CleanChoice Energy.
• With customer acquisition costs remaining a particular challenge for the solar industry, any chance it has to bring down those costs is a plus – and in the community solar segment, it could be huge.

Illustration courtesy of EnergySage

SolarWakeup’s View:  As I sit here in overcast Cleveland, Ohio, watching a blizzard outside my windows, I can only dream of sunshine and solar energy. But thanks to a new program launched by CleanChoice Energy, maybe I’ll soon be able to become part of a community solar project near me.

(I should note that I am currently part of a community wind project because, well, Cleveland gets about 12 days of sun all year, but a boy can dream of going solar someday, can’t he?)

The Washington, D.C.-based company today launched the CleanChoice Community Solar platform, which it says allows consumers to sign up in fewer than five minutes and encourages customers to stay engaged with the electricity they’re purchasing from the community array. Fortunately, CleanChoice’s “Labs” Division was able to use the money it received from the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative before such funds were yanked from their hands under the current administration.

Source: Department of Energy

The company first came into being when Tom Matzzie, its CEO, discovered how hard it was to put solar modules on his own roof – so like any entrepreneur, he decided to solve the problem he was having by launching his own company (because of course he did). Now that he’s added community solar options to the portfolio, it has provided another opportunity for him to promote the solar industry to communities that might not otherwise have the chance to share in the Solar Revolution.

Recent data suggests community solar is one of the fastest growing solar market segments, and opportunities like the ones provided by CleanChoice’s new digital platform should only accelerate its continued growth – and that’s good for all of us.

More:

How Should We Categorize Community Solar?

Bonus

To clarify, yes, that IS me walking my beloved Bandit in the snow this morning.

Me: I really need to get started on my Christmas shopping.

Dog: It’s April 5.

Me: (Quizzical look): But….snow!