BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — You've heard of community gardens, but what about community solar plants?
It's an initiative created by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority called Community Solar. You can get solar energy delivered right to your home without installing a single panel on your roof.
Across New York there are community solar farms you can draw energy from. According to NYSERDA, by signing up for one, you get solar credits on your utility bill that lowers the monthly charge. You are still using your same utility company too but are opting to partially power your house with solar energy.
It sounds like something that is too good to be true. 7 Eyewitness News asked Arcadia Power, a company that acts as the middleman between solar farm and utility company, what's the catch. It said there isn't one.
"We're just creating a very simple way for people to contribute to more clean energy being put into the grid," Joel Gamoran, director of product operations at Arcadia Power, said.
One of the only drawbacks to the program is only a so many people can access these solar farms. There are a finite amount of solar panels generating a limited amount of energy.
To sign up you can go to Arcadia Power's website or for more information to NYSERDA's websiteon the program.
