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Non-Ownership
Advantages
- Lower Energy Bills
- Little to No Money Out-of-Pocket
Disadvantages
- No State/Federal Incentives
- Introduction of a 3rd Party
Options
In each of the following non-ownership programs, a third party will deliver a complete turn-key solar energy system. The beauty of this is that you do not have to worry about finding an installer, and since that third party will own the system, you can be sure that the job will be done well because if it is not, the third party will not collect the incentives associated with ownership.
Lease
With a Solar Lease, the financier will take a look at your previous year’s energy bills. They will then take an average monthly price and trim it down by anywhere from 10-20%. This figure will become your monthly payment for use of the system. In return, you will receive all of the energy that comes from the system. The result is a significantly, if not completely, reduced electricity bill, and a smaller lease payment in its place.
The great feature of the Lease is that payments remain the same from month-to-month and from year-to-year over the eight year term of the lease – no longer will you cringe at the sight of an August energy bill. At the end of the lease, you have the option to renew, to purchase the system, or to have the system removed altogether.
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
PPAs vary slightly from Leases, in that the payment structure is based on the energy used from the system, not a flat payment. In the same way that a Lease reduces your payments, a PPA charges you a rate somewhat less than that of the utility; in months where you use more, you are charged more — although still less than the utility would charge. Another consideration of the PPA is that its rate generally increases at some fixed percentage, so again, unlike the Lease, your payments will rise over time — but again, should be less than that of the utility.
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