Community solar allows members of a community to share the benefits of solar without necessarily having to install solar on their property. This is a solution for households and businesses that have barriers to installing solar as they may rent, live in multi-tenant buildings, have roofs that are unable to host a solar system, or experience some other limiting circumstance.  

Depending on the community solar facility organization, multiple community members can obtain financial benefit and/or power from a subscription, or own a portion of the system. Community solar facilities can also be owned by utilities, co-ops, or other community organizations. Community member financial benefit subscription, as summarized in the following diagram, is the most common community solar organization arrangement in North Carolina: