Solar power in the U.S. has continued to grow, and a type of installation and use called community solar is increasingly important to commercial real estate, says CBRE.

Community solar is a concept developed in 2010 to expand availability of solar power to low-and-moderate-income (LMI) households — frequently renters who don't have the choice to add solar where they live — and small businesses that couldn't afford to install their own solar systems. Community solar extends the reach of power from individual installations, rather than back through the power grid, to these people and companies that could use the cost savings.

"Over the past 10 years, community solar has experienced an average annual growth rate of 80%, reaching approximately 6.49 GW at the end of 2023," they wrote. "Looking ahead, community solar is forecast to double by 2028,6 reaching 14 GW." Each project is essentially an arrangement where households or businesses have shares in a solar power installation. That could be on a solar farm, a CRE building, or a multifamily property. Each gets power from the source and