Community Solar for RG&E Customers
RG&E carries the state's second-highest rooftop solar charge — and community solar subscribers pay none of it. Here is how the arrangement works.
Rochester’s grey winters, mature street trees and older housing stock rule out a good many roofs in Monroe County. Community solar is the option that needs none of them.
How the credit reaches you
You subscribe to a share of an off-site array, connected to the grid in its own right rather than behind your meter. Its generation is allocated among subscribers by share, and your allocation appears as a credit on your RG&E account.
You then pay the subscription provider for those credits at a discount to their face value, and that discount is your saving. It is modest by design — the honest framing is a small, low-effort saving with no capital, not a way to eliminate a bill.
Nothing is installed at your home: no roof work, no town permit, no electrical inspection, no interconnection application, no wait for permission to operate.
The charge you avoid
Community solar subscribers pay no Customer Benefit Contribution. That is the monthly charge on rooftop systems interconnected on or after 1 January 2022, calculated on DC system size — $1.31 per kW-month on RG&E for 2026, the second-highest residential rate in New York after Central Hudson. On an 8 kW rooftop system that is about $126 a year.
The CBC applies to behind-the-meter systems; community solar is a front-of-the-meter project and is exempt. In RG&E territory that exemption is worth more than in most of the state, because the charge it avoids is near the top of the range.
Who it suits in Monroe County
- Shaded properties. Rochester’s older neighbourhoods carry mature street trees, and the low winter sun makes them decisive in December.
- Renters, of whom the city has many. Nothing installed, nothing left behind, and the credit lands on your own account rather than a landlord’s.
- Old roofs. Rather than defer solar for several years until a re-roof, subscribe now and revisit the roof later.
- Households without the capital or the tax liability to make an owned system pay.
One local note: the villages of Fairport, Spencerport and Churchville run their own municipal electric utilities, so what is available to them is a question for their own utility rather than for this page.
What to check before subscribing
- Cancellation terms. Notice period, any fee, any minimum term. The most important clause in the agreement, and the one worth reading twice.
- What happens when you move. Within RG&E territory a subscription can usually follow you; moving into National Grid or NYSEG territory is a different question and the answer belongs in writing.
- The discount as two numbers — what you pay and what you receive — rather than a single percentage.
- Seasonality. Credits track the array’s real production, so winter allocations are smaller, exactly as they would be on your own roof.
- Billing. Separate invoice or consolidated. Know which before you start.
What it does not do
No backup power — there is no equipment at your property, so an outage affects you as before. No effect on property value. And no New York State tax credit: Form IT-255 covers equipment installed and used at your principal residence, which a subscription is not.
The honest comparison
On a good, unshaded, structurally sound roof with capital available, an owned system saves more across its life. In Monroe County a roof meeting all three tests is less common than the sales material suggests — and where it does not, community solar is competing with doing nothing rather than with a rooftop array.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does community solar work on an RG&E account?
You subscribe to a share of an off-site array; its generation is allocated among subscribers and arrives as a credit on your RG&E account. You pay the provider for those credits at a discount to their face value, and the discount is your saving.
Do RG&E community solar subscribers pay the CBC charge?
No. The Customer Benefit Contribution applies to behind-the-meter systems interconnected on or after 1 January 2022 — $1.31 per kW-month on RG&E for 2026, the second-highest in the state. Community solar is front-of-the-meter and exempt.
What if I live in Fairport, Spencerport or Churchville?
Those villages run their own municipal electric utilities, with their own metering and interconnection rules. What is available to you is a question for your own utility rather than for the state rules described here.
Can I claim a tax credit for community solar in New York?
No. The Form IT-255 credit is for solar energy system equipment installed and used at your principal residence, which a subscription to an off-site array is not.
This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Incentive amounts, eligibility rules and deadlines change and depend on your utility, your tax situation and your property. Confirm current terms with NYSERDA, your utility and a qualified tax professional before making a decision.
NY Solar Incentives
Independent New York solar research. We summarise NYSERDA, NY-Sun and federal programme rules from published sources and state plainly when a figure is an estimate. We are not a government agency and do not sell equipment.
Run the arithmetic on your own system
Check the dated program table and your arrangement before counting an incentive. Standard residential NY-Sun blocks are closed; Long Island Affordable Solar has a conditional income-verification route. The NY credit depends on qualified costs and tax liability, while the NYC abatement reduces future property-tax bills. The estimator keeps those timings separate.