Use this guide
Choose the questions relevant to your situation. Expand each answer, save the checklist and request written clarification where evidence is missing.
Questions homeowners ask
Is a subscription the same as purchasing a share of a solar project?
No. NYSERDA distinguishes subscriptions receiving utility credits from purchase plans involving an owned portion of a project. Identify the actual model.
Source: NYSERDA: choosing a community-solar project. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
What should I compare in a purchase plan?
NYSERDA recommends checking the owned portion, contract length, price per watt, expected generation, and maintenance and administrative costs.
Source: NYSERDA: choosing a community-solar project. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
What belongs in a subscription exit comparison?
NYSERDA recommends comparing cancellation fees, required notice and moving terms. Record the actual clauses rather than assuming every offer has the same exit process.
Source: NYSERDA: choosing a community-solar project. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Where should key contract terms be disclosed?
NYSERDA says providers must show important terms on the standard disclosure on the first page of community-solar contracts. Reconcile it with the full agreement.
Source: NYSERDA: choosing a community-solar project. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
How can I research a provider?
NYSERDA points customers to the DPS registered-provider list and its project map. Registration is one check, not a guarantee of individual outcomes.
Source: NYSERDA: choosing a community-solar project. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Does a project offer mean credits are available immediately?
No. NYSERDA distinguishes active projects from those still in development. Obtain project status and the expected credit start separately.
Source: NYSERDA: choosing a community-solar project. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Should I compare a single month with a full-year savings illustration?
Use the same period. NYSERDA says savings are usually calculated annually because credits reflect generation rather than household consumption.
Source: NYSERDA: choosing a community-solar project. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
What is a useful private comparison file?
Keep the model, project identity, dated disclosure, full agreement, quoted payments, stated exclusions and unresolved questions. Label projections separately from actual bills.
Your decision checklist
- Name the actual subscription or purchase model.
- Separate quoted payments from projected credits.
- Record ownership and ongoing costs in purchase offers.
- Compare exit, notice and move clauses.
- Reconcile the first-page disclosure and full agreement.
- Confirm current project status and support contact.
Save or print this guide from your browser. Keep completed records privately.
Compare the actual plan models
| Comparison | Evidence to collect |
|---|---|
| Model | Subscription or purchase; what is owned and what is paid for |
| Common period | Same start date and comparison period for both offers |
| Costs | Quoted payment schedule, included tasks and unresolved charges |
| Exit and move | Actual notice, fee and account-change clauses |
| Project readiness | Dated provider response and expected first credit |
Example: offer A describes a subscription and offer B describes purchasing part of a project. The household puts ownership, payment obligations and ongoing costs in separate rows before comparing the illustrations. A similar-looking monthly figure does not establish that the offers create the same obligations.
Example: a household compares one winter bill with a full-year projection. It requests an illustration for a matching period and marks it as a projection. After enrollment, it keeps actual statements separately so assumptions are not silently treated as measured results.
Pros and cons to examine: a subscription may avoid purchasing a project share, while still creating recurring payments and exit obligations. A purchase offer may establish an ownership interest, while requiring review of upfront and ongoing costs. These are comparison questions, not findings that either model is better or available to every household.
Reviewed October 6, 2026 against NYSERDA’s project-selection guidance. That source supports the selected answers above. The worksheet and examples are editorial advice. No advertised discount, incentive eligibility, universal notice period or guaranteed credit-start date is supplied here.
Before entering this market, identify your business role, actual offering, provider registration obligations, project status, disclosure workflow, cost explanation, cancellation process and support route. Confirm current business-specific requirements with qualified advisers. This organizer does not list every authorization needed to develop, sell or operate a project.
Continue with general subscription comparisons, New York rooftop contract checks and bill-record questions. Review Solar Survey AI’s evidence methodology and confirm survey scope when evaluating a rooftop alternative. We do not register community-solar providers, sell project shares or administer credits. Ask about compensation relationships before describing a review as independent. Homeowner monitoring connections and planned remote diagnosis remain coming soon.
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About these guides
Published by Solar Survey AI, a commercial survey-services company. Our original decision checklists are recommendations; linked authorities support the referenced facts. We may benefit if you purchase our services. This is not independent certification of our company, a project-specific engineering decision or personal tax/legal advice. Local rules, contracts and site evidence control individual decisions. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
For available survey or inspection services, confirm your project scope and availability with our team. Our planned free homeowner remote diagnosis remains coming soon.
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