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* Reliant purchases solar renewable energy credits sufficient to match the electricity consumption of our customers who purchase solar plans.
Solar power without rooftop panels
Discover the benefits of solar power without the need for rooftop panels. Plus, learn about the Reliant 100% Solar electricity plan.
Solar power without rooftop panels
Discover the benefits of solar power without the need for rooftop panels. Plus, learn about the Reliant 100% Solar electricity plan.
If you’re ready to power your home or apartment with clean, renewable* solar energy, but you aren’t in the market for rooftop solar panels (or simply can't install them), we’ve got some exciting news. It’s easy to harness the power of the sun without doing anything to your home or changing any of the ways you use electricity.
“Going solar” without rooftop panels can be as simple as choosing a solar-powered electricity plan. Reliant 100% Solar is a great example. It’s one of the ways Reliant is making solar more accessible for everyone – own or rent, rain or shine.
There are a few reasons that a rooftop solar system may not work for you:
Going with an electricity plan powered by solar energy might just be the easiest way to support renewable solar energy without rooftop panels. And you’ll be powered as always, day or night, rain or shine.
When you sign up for a solar-sourced power plan, the electricity you consume will still be delivered through the power lines connected to your home. You stay on the grid, as always. The difference is the source of the power generation.
With a traditional electricity plan, your power is dependent on generation sources like coal or natural gas. But choose a solar-powered plan and your provider ensures that an amount of power, equivalent to the amount you consume, is generated by solar sources and added to the grid.
To put it simply, when you choose a solar-powered plan without rooftop panels, the electricity you use supports overall production of renewable energy.
Watch our 100% Solar video to learn more
Residential and business customers everywhere can take part in a sustainable energy future through the use of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and shared energy sources like wind farms and community solar installments.
When you choose a solar-powered plan, your normal everyday energy usage can be “offset” through your provider’s purchase of RECs.
RECs are proof that electricity was generated from an eligible renewable energy resource, which is often solar, and was fed into the grid. One REC is issued for each 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable electricity that is generated and delivered to the power grid.
A good metaphor for RECs and the grid is a swimming pool. While much of that pool’s water represents electricity generated by traditional fuels, buying electricity on a 100% Solar plan means adding “renewable water" to the pool. That includes electricity harvested by solar panels on a solar farm. Supporting renewable energy production means changing the composition of the “pool” of electricity in the grid by adding electricity generated with less greenhouse gas emissions.
These large arrays generate solar power for utility companies or independent power producers. A solar farm is a large field of land covered over with solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity. You’ve probably seen photos of them or driven past one. The solar farms feed the electricity they generate into the grid.
If your solar plan offsets your usage through the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs), they may help fund power production through solar farms or similar renewable-generation assets.
Think of this as a “members-only” solar farm. Local residents, organizations or businesses can purchase or lease shares in a community-based solar array, with clean, renewable energy being distributed to members. Generally smaller-scale than utility-grade solar generation, community solar installations are yet another way solar without rooftop panels is made accessible.
A relative newcomer to the solar-powered solution set, these innovative panels look very similar to conventional shingles but with the power to convert solar energy to electricity.
With or without rooftop panels, harnessing energy from the sun can result in positive benefits for the environment, our community and beyond:
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* Reliant purchases solar renewable energy credits sufficient to match the electricity consumption of our customers who purchase solar plans.
