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This is the

Community Power Accelerator

Powered by the U.S. Department of Energy

The Community Power Accelerator™ connects developers, investors, philanthropists, and community-based organizations to work together to get more equitable community solar projects financed and deployed. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, we provide training, technical assistance, and critical connections to empower you to expand access to affordable community solar to every American household.

How Do I Join?

STEP 1

Join NCSP

Register to join the National Community Solar Partnership online community on Mobilize.

STEP 2

Join the Accelerator

Create an account log in and complete the Partnership Commitment to join the Community Power Accelerator.

STEP 3

Create Profile

Create an organizational profile based on the role your organization will play in the Community Power Accelerator.

STEP 4

Engage

Engage with others on the Community Power Accelerator

Why Join?

Investors and philanthropic organizations that have developed financial products to support the development of community solar can find new projects with developers and organizations that are both mission-aligned and ready for financing.

Developers and community-based organizations that have the expertise and capacity to build community solar projects with meaningful benefits for under-served communities can gain the knowledge and support to develop credit-worthy projects and make connections to sources of financing.

The Community Power Accelerator enables you to make connections and accelerate the deployment more equitable clean energy projects. The accelerator is designed to make sure funds flow to projects that will make the biggest impact. It also provides the tools, training, and support that developers need to get their projects ready to seek funding - especially developers that are small or new to community solar.

Read more about who can join.

How It Works

A “credit-ready” community solar project has clearly defined financing, ownership, and subscriber models, is designed to maximize meaningful benefits to subscribers, and has a strong plan to get from conception to completion. Here's how we get you there:

For investors and philanthropists:

  1. Find DOE-verified projects that need financing

    You find mission-aligned projects seeking the type of financing you offer and help bring the projects to fruition.

For developers and community-based organizations:

  1. Take a training

    New or small developers or organizations can receive training in financing and development processes, from 101 videos to multi-week courses.

  2. Use the Credit-Ready Checklist

    A comprehensive checklist, developed by experienced solar investors, will help you complete all the predevelopment requirements to put together robust, credit-ready projects.

  3. Get free technical assistance

    We will help you complete the predevelopment checklist and ensure your projects incorporate equity and meaningful benefits for communities.

  4. Connect with investors and philanthropic organizations

    You find the right partners with mission-aligned funding through our networking platform to make your project happen.

Through this process, the Community Power Accelerator is building a pipeline of verified, credit-ready projects with a philanthropic focus that will speed deployment and increase investor confidence in community solar projects.

The Community Power Accelerator is powered by the DOE National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP), a coalition of community solar stakeholders working to expand access to affordable community solar with meaningful benefits to every U.S. household.

Read more about how it works.