Is Leasing Solar Panels A Good Idea

A landowner who enters into a solar lease should expect to have solar panels on his or her farm for 40 to 50 years.

Is leasing solar panels a good idea. It sounds good in theory but in practice the contracts for solar leases and power purchase agreements can and do contain some nasty surprises that consumers often don t know about until it s too late. Third party solar leases have proven themselves incredibly popular in recent years playing a key role in propelling rooftop solar panels into the mainstream. The main practical distinction between buying and leasing a solar pv system is in ownership. According to new research sponsored by the u s.

Department of energy s lawrence berkeley. In most cases you ll save much more money in the long run by exploring other financing options like an fha title 1 loan or a traditional loan from your personal bank. If you buy a solar panel system you own the system either outright if purchasing with cash or after repaying your solar loan. If you lease the system or sign a power purchase agreement ppa a third party owns the solar panel system.

If that sounds like you leasing solar panels or purchasing power through a ppa power purchase agreement could be a good option. Both a solar leaseand ppa are affordable easy ways to enjoy solar power without a large upfront investment. We simply do not recommend it. Here s why you might want to lease solar panels instead of buying or financing them.

Solar leasing provides an economical entrance point for homeowners interested in making the switch to renewable energy. Pay little or nothing and save hundreds of dollars per year on average. A solar lease is a financing option for residential solar panels where the homeowner leases panels from a solar company. The contracts for these leases and ppas are always long and can be difficult to deciper.

In a lease you pay to rent the solar power system typically for about 20 percent less than you were paying for electricity explained freedom forever solar. Installing a solar farm on farmland could cause the land to lose its current agricultural use value status since the land is no longer used exclusively for agriculture. Depending on the state anywhere from 50 90 of rooftop solar installations were financed by solar leasing or ppa at the beginning of 2014 according to the seia. Some companies also offer power purchase agreements or ppas.