About the Community Power Accelerator
An initiative of the National Community Solar Partnership
The Community Power Accelerator brings together investors, philanthropic organizations, developers, community-based organizations, and technical experts in one online ecosystem to accelerate the deployment of the funds needed to drive a more equitable clean energy transition. This online platform is creating a pipeline of credit-ready community solar projects—particularly those that provide benefits to underserved communities—and connect them with mission-aligned investors and philanthropic organizations to get funding.
The platform is part of the Community Power Accelerator, a program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP), which supports the rapid expansion of community solar through increased investment and funding.
Equitable access to project funding is one of the most persistent barriers to community solar development, as noted in the DOE Equitable Access to Community Solar Request for Information. To get smaller community solar projects deployed, especially in underserved communities, developers need ways to build expertise, expand capacity, and access predevelopment funds to prepare and meet funding application thresholds.
Community solar projects should provide meaningful benefits to the communities they serve. The goal of the Community Power Accelerator is to facilitate and finance more community solar projects that provide the meaningful benefits identified by NCSP:
- Low-to-Moderate income (LMI) Household Access
- Greater Household Savings
- Increased Resilience and Grid Benefits
- Community Ownership or Other Wealth-Building Opportunities, and
- Equitable Workforce Development
The Community Power Accelerator is designed to help achieve this goal by helping you:
- Gain Expertise: Designed for new, small developers and community-based organizations, our Learning Lab offers online training to get you ready to start a new community solar project or program.
- Plan Your Projects: We provide free technical assistance services to help you complete the Credit-Ready Checklist.
- Focus on Equity: We advise you on incorporating meaningful benefits for communities into your project plan and recruit equity-focused investors and philanthropic organizations.
- Get Projects Funded: Our online platform provides a place to shop your credit-ready projects around to verified project developers, investors, and philanthropic organizations.
About the National Community Solar Partnership
NCSP is a coalition of community solar stakeholders working to expand access to affordable community solar. Led by the Department of Energy, NCSP partners leverage peer networks and technical assistance resources to set goals and overcome barriers to expanding community solar access. NCSP is working towards a 2025 target of powering the equivalent of 5 million American households with community solar, generating $1 billion in energy bill savings.
