The majority of the solar panels installed in the United States are in very large utility scale solar farms. Economies of scale make these the least expensive to install on a $/kW basis. Think in terms of a 100 MW farm or larger. These farms are connected to the high voltage transmission system. This requires a Generator Interconnection Agreement (GIA) Contract. Unfortunately, it is quite common for the studies to connect to a particular transmission system and any affected systems to take 3 years or more. The study results can result in hundreds of millions of dollars in transmission improvements to be paid by the owner of the solar farm. This is a huge risk which FERC is working to help Reliable Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and other transmission operators address.
Installation on a residential or small commercial rooftop does not require a GIA. However, the installation cost can be three times that of Utility Scale.
Community Scale may generally be considered from 1 to 10 MW in size although definitions vary. These systems may be designed to be attached to the distribution system in such a way that a GIA is not required. They are large enough to take advantage of economies of scale when compared to rooftop systems. Generally, Community Scale installation costs ($/kW) are about halfway between Utility Scale and residential rooftop.
By its nature Community Scale is right sized for a particular distributions system. Connection is frequently made to the Distribution System by taps rather than building a new transformer yard.
The smaller size relative to the larger Utility Scale simplifies the permit approval processes due to less land disturbance. Additionally, they can be conducive to agrivoltics appropriate to the area where the farm is installed. Agrivoltics is the combination of some type of agriculture into the solar field.
The Community Scale Solar Farm allows energy to be produced where it will be used. Local people can take pride in the environmentally friendly power production. The local solar farm can be a differentiator or even a requirement of industries looking to locate in an area.
Note that all of the above are in reference to the size of the farm. In recent years the term Community Solar has come to mean solar which can be bought in pieces by individuals.
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