Community solar needs state-level help to bounce back after federal cuts, report says

Community solar is in need of some serious teamwork to get installations back on track.

According to a new report from Wood Mackenzie and the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), installations of community solar—solar infrastructure shared by subscribers who, in turn, receive energy credits—fell by 36% in the first half of 2025. And headwinds are likely to remain: The report noted President Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill phased out solar tax credits and “fundamentally altered” the community solar market, causing “slowing growth” in states that install community solar the most.

“The early expiration of the [Investment Tax Credit] will only add to this difficulty given the window for any new projects to secure tax credits is so small,” Caitlin Connelly, a Wood Mackenzie senior analyst, said in the report.

Both New York and Maine have seen booms in community solar installations in the last five years. But high interconnection costs have decelerated the community solar market in New York, and Maine recently passed legislation that makes community solar ineligible for net-metering, the billing policy it relies on. Even though “corporate demand for community solar remains high,” promising state markets in Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey “remain stalled” between program iterations, the Wood Mackenzie report said.

“This report makes clear the challenges ahead—from federal uncertainty to interconnection delays and program caps—that must be addressed to realize the full potential of community solar and deliver the resilient, affordable power communities are asking for,” CCSA CEO Jeff Cramer told Wood Mackenzie.

In August, Tech Brew spoke with Cramer about community solar legislation in states with Republican-majority legislatures that might contribute to community solar reaching that potential.

And there are a few: Ohio’s state legislature is considering bipartisan community solar bills that would help the state power its incoming data centers, and Michigan’s state legislature is weighing the “MAGA Solar Act” to establish a market-driven community energy program. (In this instance, MAGA stands for “Maximizing American Grid Affordability.”) Last year, Alaska passed a law allowing people to subscribe to community solar programs that aren’t on their property.

Even though Cramer is skeptical of state Republicans’ motives for introducing community solar legislation, he told us that the sheer volume of Republican-led solar bills sends a clear message.

“A number of Republicans, whether they’re in Congress or at the state level in state legislatures, are realizing that the only way that they’re going to get new projects built…is by pairing up with distributed local storage and solar,” he said.

Correction 10/15/25: This story has been updated to correct the framing of the decrease of H1 2025 community solar installations in the second paragraph.