Sunprint
The short answer
Community solar lets you support solar power, and get a bill credit for it, without installing anything on your own roof. You pay a monthly subscription tied to a block of solar capacity, usually priced per kW, and the utility credits your bill based on how much that share produced. It's a real option for renters, condo owners without roof access, and anyone who can't or doesn't want to finance a rooftop system.
It is not, for most people, a way to slash your bill quickly. The programs below are priced so credits start out close to the fee and only pull ahead slowly, sometimes over a decade or more. Go in for the access, not for fast savings, and compare it against whether rooftop solar makes more sense for your situation if you own your roof.
How community solar works
Every program on this page follows the same basic shape, even though the pricing differs:
- You subscribe to a block of capacity, typically measured in 1 kW increments, up to some share of your own average usage.
- You pay a fixed monthly subscription fee for that capacity, regardless of how much it generates that month.
- You receive a bill credit based on the solar energy your share of the farm produced, at a credit rate that's usually set to rise a little each year.
- Nothing is installed at your home. No roof work, no financing agreement, no equipment to maintain or remove later.
Florida doesn't have a state law requiring utilities to offer this. Each program exists because a specific utility chose to build one and got it approved, which is why availability and pricing vary so much depending on who serves you.
FPL SolarTogether
SolarTogether is the largest community solar program in the country by FPL's own description, drawing on 44 solar energy centers with roughly 3,278 megawatts of combined capacity, and more than 100,000 Florida participants.
| Detail | SolarTogether |
|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | $6.76 per kW, in 1 kW increments |
| How much you can subscribe | Up to 100% of your average usage over the prior 12 months |
| Bill credit | Around $0.036 per kWh, rising 1.5% annually |
| Contract | None; cancel any time after the first billing cycle, no fee |
| Renters | Eligible, same as homeowners |
| Income-qualified option | SunAssist, for households at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, with pre-approval through LIHEAP, EHEAP or WAP |
Be realistic about the math. An independent review of the program's published pricing put first-year net savings around $1 per subscribed kW, with most of the benefit accumulating only over a decade or more as the credit rate compounds past the fixed fee. That's a very different timeline than owning a rooftop system, which the same analysis found could save several times more over 25 years for a comparably sized system, plus a federal tax credit that a subscription doesn't qualify for.
Duke Energy Florida's Clean Energy Connection
Duke Energy Florida runs its own version, Clean Energy Connection, built on solar sites across the state. Duke's most recent public figures describe 10 solar sites with about 749 megawatts of combined capacity.
| Detail | Standard subscription | Income-qualified subscription |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $8.35 per kW | $8.35 per kW, same fee |
| Bill credit | About $0.04 per kWh, rising 1.5% a year after the first 3 years | $9.03 per kW per month, fixed above the fee |
| When savings start | Gradually, as the credit rate climbs | Immediately, since the credit already exceeds the fee |
| Eligibility | Any Duke Energy Florida residential customer | Households enrolled in SSI, Medicaid, TANF, SNAP-EBT, LIHEAP, or Duke's Neighborhood Energy Saver program |
Duke has said the standard tier is designed around a roughly 7-year payback, with credits meant to overtake the fee within 3 to 5 years, though at least one independent review of the pricing suggests the realistic timeline can run considerably longer in practice. As of Duke's most recent public statement, the large business and government tier of the program was at capacity, while the income-qualified residential tier was still accepting new participants. We couldn't confirm current open enrollment status for the standard residential tier from public sources, so check directly with Duke Energy Florida before assuming a spot is available.
Municipal utilities and the Florida Municipal Solar Project
If you're served by a city-owned utility rather than FPL or Duke, your community solar option, if you have one, most likely runs through the Florida Municipal Solar Project, a shared arrangement that supplies solar output to roughly 20 participating municipal utilities statewide. Availability and structure vary city by city:
- Ocala Electric Utility holds a 17 MW allocation in the project. Existing OEU customers can ask to reserve a spot; see our Ocala solar guide for details.
- Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) also participates, but its program is fully subscribed with no capacity expected for the foreseeable future; see our KUA solar guide.
- Mount Dora runs its own community solar farm and lets customers choose 25%, 50% or 100% solar-sourced power, with an initial fee reported around $4.99 a month for average usage, adjusted over time against natural gas prices rather than a fixed per-kW rate.
If your city utility isn't one of these three, don't assume it has no program either way. Check your utility's own site or call its customer service line directly, since coverage and capacity change as each city's allocation fills up.
Watch for the name trap
Not everything with "solar" or "community" in its name is a subscription program. OUC, for example, uses the term "Community Solar Energy rate" for something else entirely: the export rate, about 4.6 cents per kWh, paid to customers with their own rooftop systems once a grace period at the full retail rate ends. That has nothing to do with subscribing to a shared solar farm. See our OUC solar guide for how that rate works.
Solar advocacy groups also draw a distinction between what they call "true community solar," typically structured to maximize subscriber savings, and the "green" or "solar subscription" programs utilities like FPL and Duke offer in Florida, which they argue are priced more conservatively. Florida doesn't have a law requiring the first kind, so what's on offer here is what utilities have voluntarily built and gotten approved.
Is it worth it?
It depends on what you want most:
- You rent, or your roof can't take panels. Community solar is close to your only path to a solar bill credit, and it's a reasonable one for that situation.
- You own your home and roof is viable for solar. A rooftop system, whether owned outright, financed, or leased, will very likely save you considerably more over its life. See is solar worth it in Florida and how people pay for solar before defaulting to a subscription.
- You're income-qualified with Duke Energy Florida. The income-qualified Clean Energy Connection tier is the one program here designed to save money immediately rather than years from now, so it's worth checking eligibility if you already participate in a qualifying assistance program.
- You mainly want to support solar buildout. That's a legitimate reason to subscribe even knowing the financial return is modest, as long as you go in with that expectation instead of a specific savings target.
Your estimate in three steps
- Enter your billYour ZIP code, your utility and last month's bill.
- See your estimateA yearly savings range based on your utility's rates and Florida sun.
- Choose what's nextAsk for a quote call if you want real pricing, or just keep the number.
See what solar could save you
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Common questions
What is community solar, and how is it different from rooftop solar?
Community solar lets you subscribe to a share of a solar farm elsewhere in your utility's territory instead of putting panels on your own roof. You pay a monthly subscription fee, usually priced per 1 kW block, and get a bill credit based on that share's output. Nothing goes on your house, there's no financing or roof work, and you can typically cancel or move without dealing with equipment.
Which Florida utilities offer community solar?
The two largest programs are FPL's SolarTogether and Duke Energy Florida's Clean Energy Connection. A number of municipal utilities, including Ocala Electric and Kissimmee Utility Authority, also participate in the Florida Municipal Solar Project, a shared arrangement among 20 municipal utilities. Coverage depends entirely on your specific utility, so check its own site if it isn't one of these.
How much does FPL SolarTogether cost, and how much can I save?
As of its most recent published pricing, a SolarTogether subscription costs $6.76 per kW per month, and you can subscribe up to 100% of your average usage over the prior 12 months. The bill credit starts around $0.036 per kWh and rises 1.5% a year. First-year savings are small, often just a few dollars for a typical subscription, with most of the benefit building up over a much longer horizon.
How does Duke Energy Florida's Clean Energy Connection work?
It's a similar model: a standard subscription costs $8.35 per kW per month, with an average credit around $0.04 per kWh that rises 1.5% a year after the first three years. Duke also runs an income-qualified version at the same $8.35 fee but a $9.03 credit, so qualifying customers save from month one instead of waiting years for credits to catch up to the fee.
Can renters use community solar in Florida?
Yes, that's one of the main draws. FPL says SolarTogether is open to renters as well as owners, and Duke's Clean Energy Connection materials describe the same renter-friendly design: credits follow the subscription, not the meter you own, and you can typically cancel if you move somewhere the program doesn't reach.
Is community solar available if I have Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) or another municipal utility?
It depends entirely on your specific city utility. KUA participates in the Florida Municipal Solar Project, but its program is fully subscribed with no capacity expected for the foreseeable future. Ocala Electric Utility, also in that project, has an allocation and lets existing customers ask to reserve a spot. Mount Dora runs its own version letting customers pick 25%, 50% or 100% solar-sourced power. Check your city utility's own site for current availability.
Is a "Community Solar Energy rate" on my utility bill the same as a subscription program?
Not necessarily; check what your utility means by the term. OUC, for example, uses "Community Solar Energy rate" as the name for a net metering export rate paid to customers with their own rooftop systems after a grace period ends, which has nothing to do with subscribing to a shared solar farm. Read your utility's own program page before assuming a familiar-sounding name means the subscription product described here.
Is community solar worth it compared to installing my own panels?
Financially, a comparable owned rooftop system usually saves far more over its life, and it's eligible for financing options that subscriptions aren't. Community solar makes the most sense if you rent, if your roof can't support panels, or if you specifically want to support solar buildout without a home project. Go in expecting modest savings that build slowly, not the payback timeline a rooftop system can offer.
Related guides
- Is solar worth it in Florida in 2026?
- Florida net metering explained
- Solar for Ocala Electric Utility customers
- Solar for Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) customers
- Solar for OUC customers
- Rooftop solar for FPL customers
- Rooftop solar for Duke Energy Florida customers
This page is general information, not a savings guarantee. Community solar pricing, credits and enrollment status change; confirm current terms directly with your utility before subscribing. Sources: FPL: SolarTogether · FPL: SolarTogether FAQ · Duke Energy: Clean Energy Connection · Duke Energy: income-qualified Clean Energy Connection · Duke Energy Florida, August 2025 release · SolarReviews: FPL SolarTogether analysis · Solar United Neighbors: community solar in Florida
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