We could begin seeing more community solar gardens pop up in the U.S.

Solar power is arguably the most promising alternative energy source, but not everyone can put solar panels on their house. Be it because they don’t own the house or don’t have enough money for the installation, there are too many potential walls a person can run into when trying to put solar panels on their house. Fortunately, this is something that community-owned solar gardens can fix.

Solar power is all well and good, but what if you don’t own your house? Or your neighborhood is too shady? Or you simply can’t afford the up-front costs of a large solar array? That’s where solar gardens can come in useful—allowing communities to club together to invest in a large, collective solar array—and then investors get a credit on their electricity bill for any energy generated. It’s just one way to grow the kind of community-owned renewable energy capacity we’ve seen mushrooming in other parts of the world.