Share the Sun

Program Details

Already have solar and want to help others go solar as well? Or are you planning to go solar in the latest round of Solarize Philly? With the Share the Sun program, homeowners and businesses with existing solar installations can donate their Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) and help a low-income family in Philadelphia access solar energy at home.

What is a Solar Renewable Energy Credit?

SRECs are performance-based incentives that create economic benefits from solar generation. One (1) SREC is allotted to each megawatt-hour of solar energy that is produced.

An average Philadelphia home produces 3-5 SRECs each year. As of March 2023, one SREC in Pennsylvania was valued at $46, earning Philadelphia solar owners $138 – $230 annually.

To monetize their SRECs, homeowners & businesses must register their solar systems in the PJM-GATS, and work with a broker to receive the economic benefit annually – these brokers will take an annual fee or a percentage of the homeowners’ SREC earnings.

Alternatively, homeowners can choose to donate their SRECs to support solar installations in low- and moderate-income communities across Philadelphia.

Solar & Low-Income Households

The cost of installing solar can be prohibitive for low income families. And low income families are the ones who need it the most – they can spend 2.4 times as much of their income on their energy bills as non-low-income households (Source: ACEEE). 

Increased energy efficiency measures & solar deployment in low-income communities lowers energy bills, builds local climate resilience, and improves the public health & safety (Source: DOE). And installing solar panels at home can lift a family’s assets & property value, as well as prevent them from having to pick between keeping the lights on or paying for other necessities like food and medicine. 

Through Share the Sun, PGCC will manage and sell donated SRECs, and sale proceeds will be used to expand solar access in low- and moderate-income communities across the City.