Vermont’s Community Solar Program

  • Apr 10, 2025
  • Ingrid Behrsin
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  • Article
  • Energy Democracy
  • Community Solar
  • Distributed Energy
  • Solar Energy
  • Climate and Environmental Justice
  • Democratic Governance
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    This post last updated April 2025

    Vermont scored 0 out of 13 on the 2025 Community Power Scorecard. 

    Successful and meaningful community solar policies prioritize four central principles: 1) tangible benefits for participants, 2) flexible ownership structure, 3) synergy with other renewable energy policies, and 4) access for all residents.

    At a minimum, state community solar policies must allow non-utility ownership of solar projects. Utility-owned programs are not community solar, but just another way for utilities to squeeze ratepayers for more profits.

    Read on for a breakdown of how Vermont’s community solar policies have aligned with the four principles of effective community solar.

  • The most accessible and inclusive community solar programs make community solar membership available to all utility customers, and are administered by an entity other than the utility. They do not have program caps, and do not adopt a first-come, first-served approach to capacity allocation.

    • Vermont eliminated its community solar (“offsite net metering” or “virtual net metering”) program in June 2024 with the enactment of H.289, a bill revising the state’s Renewable Energy Standard. Vermont Governor Phil Scott vetoed the bill, but the veto was overruled by the legislature by a vote of 21-8 in the Senate, and 102-43 in the House.
    • The legislation phased out community solar starting January 2025, with a one-year extension for systems that serve multifamily or low-income residential buildings. However, the legislation did require an analysis of a replacement program that might expand options for Vermonters relying on offsite net metering systems, such as residents who are unable to install solar on their own homes.
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    Watch the top state community solar programs progress in our Community Solar Tracker.

    Explore ILSR’s interactive Community Power Map of 18 state policies, including community solar, that help or hinder local clean energy action.

    Compare Vermont’s Community Solar program against other states’ in our Community Solar Policy Comparison Table.


    This article was originally posted at ilsr.org. For timely updates from the Energy Democracy Initiative, follow John Farrell on Twitter or Bluesky, and subscribe to the Energy Democracy weekly update.

    Featured photo credit: Back East Photography via Flickr. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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