You don’t own a home. Rent is high. And hey, fun fact: Your power bill is outpacing inflation. Welcome to your 20s!
There is a way to tamp down the cost of that electric bill though — and help lower your carbon footprint in the process. Make no mistake, this is a systemic problem Your emissions are nowhere near that of a fossil fuel company, but you can still be part of a larger movement and keep some cash in your pocket through switching to renewables. Environmentally conscious and pretty damn broke, Gen Zers can turn to the solar industry for an affordable cleantech solution to their utility problems.
Even if you don’t have a home to install rooftop panels on, you can still save up to 20% on your electricity bill with clean energy thanks to community solar programs.
Gen Z’s conundrum
I’m not going to lie to you, I have genuine concerns about my ability to become a homeowner someday — and I’m far from the only Gen Zer (someone born between 1997 and 2012) who feels this way.
My girlfriend and I both have five-figure salaries and six-figure debt, and the housing market is inhospitable toward young people with no generational wealth to speak of. Renting is a money pit; you have to pay the landlord, the internet bill, the gas and electric bill and more.
Ah yes, the dreaded electric bill. Electricity prices have risen by 3.6% on average across the United States over the past year, outpacing broader inflation numbers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
That’s just the national trend. Depending on where you live, your electricity rate may have increased by 25% between December 2022 and 2023. For Gen Z, this can be a serious financial burden.
“Gen Z is very passionate about the climate, but they don’t have a lot of money,” said Clare Quirin, a 23-year-old account coordinator for Tigercomm, a clean energy public relations company. “It’s not like we own homes and can handle the upfront costs of rooftop solar. So I think community solar is a great way to save on energy bills, but also be a part of the clean energy transition.”
What is community solar?
Community solar is an accessible and equitable way to draw your energy from the sun when a rooftop solar panel system isn’t available to you, which makes it perfect for Gen Z renters. There are 23 states that have legislation supporting the existence of community solar programs, and there are 20 states with more than 15 megawatts of community solar capacity currently installed.
Community solar projects are rapidly expanding throughout the US, but you still need to be quick to secure yourself a spot when it becomes available.
When you subscribe to a community solar program, you’re pulling your electricity from a nearby solar farm. These are sizable arrays of solar that provide energy for a large number of people at the same time — you’re essentially paying for power from a carved-out section of a larger solar farm.
