New Jersey Think Community Solar Launch: Enrollments Now Available

Think Community Solar Summary

Think Community Solar’s value proposition is clear and beneficial to homeowners and renters across the US. 

Think connects residential electric utility customers to community solar farms available locally in their electric utility service territory.  Each month, customers receive a discount on their electric utility bill, determined by the solar credits received, reducing what is owed to the utility for up to 20 years.

Over the last ten years, community solar farms have proven to be one of the lowest cost forms of electric generation available, as community solar subscriptions deliver guaranteed savings for our subscribers year over year.

Community solar programs are free to sign up, have no cancellation fees, and are the most efficient way to deliver the financial benefits of renewable energy to anyone with an electric bill including homeowners and renters across the nation. Enrolling takes less than three minutes, and customers can take pride in supporting clean electricity and contributing to job creation in their local communities.

While community solar programs differ across states, they all share the same benefit of electric utility savings for our local customers.  Please review the summary of New Jersey Think Community Solar benefits below:

New Jersey Think Community Solar Benefits   

• Eligible Customers:
  • Residential Rate Class only
  • Low and Moderate Income (LMI – see below for eligibility)

• Minimum Discounts for Customers upon enrollment:
  • 10% minimum discount for everyone
  • 20% minimum discount for LMI
• Electric Utilities: 
  • JCP&L
  • PSEG
  • ACE

• Why does the Customer Agreement start with a Minimum Discount?
  • There are two community solar programs in New Jersey. 
  • New Program = 15% for all customers (and more for LMI)
    • • All currently contracted Think projects, today. 
      • First projects go live as soon as Summer, 2024
  • Existing Program = 10% for all customers (and more for LMI)
    • • Think will have access to these projects. 
      • Customers allocated to these projects will see savings faster. 
• LMI Customer Requirements (All programs):
  • Upload proof of eligibility documentation during enrollment. 
  • A list of eligible documentation is provided below and during enrollment. 
  • Think will validate and confirm with the customers that documentation provided satisfies the program requirements. 
  • Eligible Documentation:
    • LIHEAP
    • Universal Service Fund 1
    • Comfort Partners
    • Lifeline Utility Assistance Program
    • Medicaid
    • Social Security Disability
    • Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children
    • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
    • Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program
• Notice of Customer Discount:
  • All customers will be notified of their customer discount when enrolled with a local community solar farm. 
• Timing of Enrollment:
  • Enrollment with a local community solar farm may take 12 months or more. 
  • Remember community solar farms are actively under construction. 
  • Customer commitment to subscriptions are what enables these farms to go live and for our communities to transition to renewable energy. 
• Billing:
  • Dual Billing Market through 2024
  • Customers will provide a payment method during enrollment. 
  • ACH (checking account) is the only form of payment that will be accepted and is required during enrollment. 
• Why Doesn’t Think Accept a Credit Card?
  • Credit card payment transactions incur a 2.5-3.5% service fee with each transaction. 
  • In order to maximize customer savings, Think has moved to ACH payment transactions. 
• Checking Account Security
  • Your checking account information is not stored in Think Energy’s technology platform, Proton.  Our payment processing partner is a National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) member, governing the ACH network, which drives safe transactions between U.S. bank and credit union accounts, and transacted for over $77 trillion in 2022. 
• How is my payment information used?
  • Each month after the solar farm goes live, subscribers will see a line item for solar bill credits on their utility electric bills, reducing what they owed to the utility that month.
    • Each month, Think notifies the customer via email, confirming the amount of bill credits received and the date that Think will process an automatic customer payment.
    • The customer payment is calculated as the (value of the bill credits received) minus (their contracted discount).  
  • For example:
    • 15% discount on bill credits
    • $100 in bill credits reflected on your last utility bill
    • $85 transaction with Think Energy, saving you $15 or 15%
      • Actual discounts will vary by project and LMI eligibility.
  • Savings continue for up to 20 years, bringing value to our customers while supporting the development of local renewable energy.

• Customer is Moving in the Same Utility Service Territory:
  • Subscriptions follow a customer to the new electric utility account in the same utility service territory.
  • For example, if a customer moves from an apartment in JCP&L to a new apartment in JCP&L.
    • Customer must notify Think Community Solar of a moving event, in advance.
    • Think will notify the electric utility of the changes.
    • Subscription and credits will follow the customer to the new electric utility account.

• Customer is moving to a new utility service territory:
  • Subscriptions do NOT follow a customer to a new utility.
  • For example, if a customer moves from an apartment in JCP&L to a new apartment in the PSEG utility zone.
    • Customer must notify Think Community Solar of a moving event.
    • Customer will be placed on the waitlist for the first available community solar farm in the new utility service territory.