Boise invests in community solar project to help low-income residents cut energy costs

Boise is taking its first step toward community solar power, with a pilot project city leaders hope will expand access to renewable energy while helping low-income residents reduce their utility costs.

Unlike rooftop solar power, which requires homeowners to install panels on their own property, a communal project would allow multiple households to benefit from electricity generated by a shared solar array.

“Community solar is where there is one array in the middle of a community that multiple households can benefit from,” said Lisa Young, director of the Idaho chapter of the Sierra Club.

Young said she and the city have collaborated on the project and next steps. 

She added that traditional rooftop solar power can lower energy costs for homeowners, but many renters, apartment residents and lower-income families don’t have access to those systems.

“It can help lower their power bills from just one central array, and they don’t have to have it on their own rooftop,” Young said. “For many people, they can’t afford to put solar on their rooftop.”

The project comes after more than two years of advocacy from the Sierra Club and youth climate activists.

“It’s a huge step,” Young said.

While community solar projects are common in many states, Young said Idaho law limits how they can operate. 

Under Idaho law, regulated utilities like Idaho Power have exclusive service territories, meaning third-party companies cannot sell electricity directly to customers.

“People can subscribe to those arrays, be a co-owner of that array, and get those you know more robust credits on their power bill,” Young said about other states.

“That particular model is not allowed in Idaho because it is seen as that other entity is selling power, and in Idaho only our utilities can sell power,” Young said.

Instead, Boise is proposing a different approach. The city plans to invest $50,000 in a pilot solar array that would offset electricity costs at a city-owned building. Rather than selling electricity, the city would donate the savings from its lower utility bill to L-ADA Community Action Partnership, which would distribute the funds to low-income households to help pay energy bills.

The city estimates the project could save about $5,000 annually, although Young said the initial pilot may generate less as the concept is tested.

The proposed array would generate about 26 kilowatts of electricity, though its final location has not yet been determined.

Mayor Lauren McLean said projects like the pilot are investments in Boise’s future.

“If we want to protect our quality of life that we enjoy, we have to make sure that we’re also making an intentional investment in every neighborhood of the city,” McLean said in a July 14 city council meeting.

Supporters say the project is about more than generating electricity. They hope it demonstrates that community solar can work within Idaho’s current legal framework while encouraging broader conversations about expanding access to renewable energy across the state.