New York State Homeowner’s Guide to Solar Leases, Loans, and Power Purchase Agreements | 8
Homeownership Transfer Provisions:
It is important to look for contract terms that clarify the allocation of obligations
in the case of a transfer of home ownership. Under a third-party ownership
model, the homeowner can usually transfer the solar lease or PPA to the next
home owner for the remainder of the contract term, provided the new owner
is approved (usually a credit score qualifying a person for a mortgage also
meets the criteria to take over the third-party lending agreement obligations).
Solar panels can add significant value to a home, but third-party solar
ownership can also be a complicating factor during the sale of a home. Some
homebuyers may be wary of purchasing a house with a solar electric system.
If a solar electric system is third-party owned, a seller may have to buy the
system outright before transferring the home, so the system can be removed
upon transfer. With a relatively scant history of solar home sales data, it can be
dicult to calculate the value of a residential solar electric system during the
home sales process, especially when a system is third-party owned and the
buyer would like to assume the remaining lease or PPA payments. Examine
the provisions of a contract that relate to ownership transfer to determine
what the options would be if the home is sold before the end of the contract
term, and have a clear understanding of those conditions with the installer.
Minimum Production Guarantees:
Many lease and PPA arrangements oer solar production or output
guarantees, usually in terms of a certain number of kilowatt-hours of electricity
produced per year. With such a guarantee, if an installed system fails to
meet the minimum level of production output guaranteed, the third-party
owner will compensate the homeowner on a per-kilowatt-hour basis for the
electricity production shortfall. Prospective solar lease or PPA homeowners
should check to see if a minimum production guarantee is included in the
terms of their contact and what accommodations are provided in the case
of a production shortfall, including whether compensation is based on a
wholesale or retail per-kilowatt-hour price. When a homeowner directly owns
a solar electric system, production shortfall risks are incurred by the owner. In
this case, no production guarantees are provided unless oered by a panel
manufacturer or installer.
Net Metering:
Net metering, sometimes referred to as “net energy metering,” enables solar
electric system owners to use their solar electricity generation to oset their
electricity consumption. Simply put, the customer’s meter runs backward
for the amount of solar electricity produced by the solar electric system and
added to the grid. In some cases, homeowners can receive a credit on their
electric bills from the utility for the excess electricity they produce and add to
the grid over the course of a certain billing period. It is important to note that
a residential, grid-tied solar electric system will not function in the case of an
electricity outage unless the home has an accompanying electricity storage
system and the ability to “island” (disconnect from the grid). The reason is
that stand-alone solar electric systems are designed to shut down when the
grid goes down, to prevent the system from feeding power back into the
grid and causing injury to utility employees working on the power lines. Visit
nyserda.ny.gov/Cleantech-and-Innovation/Power-Generation/Net-Metering-
Interconnection for more information on net metering.
Shared Solar:
A shared solar project, also known as community distributed generation
(CDG), allows multiple residences and/or businesses to jointly benefit from
one solar electric installation. Shared solar oers an alternative for people
who cannot install solar on their property. A shared solar project is hosted
by a sponsor with a suitable roof or parcel of land, who is responsible for the
installation and operation of the system. Participants, also known as members
or subscribers, purchase the electricity generated in the form of net metering
credits which are assigned to their utility bill, osetting their electricity usage.
If you chose to participate in a shared solar project, you would enter into an
agreement with the system owner and would pay the system owner for the
net metering credits received. Similar to a PPA for rooftop solar, the price you
pay for the net metering credits should be lower than the price you pay per
kwh to your utility. Visit nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/NY-Sun/
Communities/Shared-Solar for more information about shared solar in New
York State.
Operations and Maintenance:
If the homeowner chooses a lease or PPA model, the third-party owner owns
the solar electric system and will likely cover operations and maintenance over
the course of the contract term. It is important to check your contract because
some lease contracts may divvy up responsibilities dierently. Under most
third-party ownership arrangements, the third-party owner also incurs accidental
risks associated with panel ownership, including unforeseen destructive
events or panel malfunction. Under the solar loan model, the homeowner owns
the system directly and therefore incurs the liabilities associated with such
ownership. A homeowner who owns a solar electric system outright or finances
through a loan may be responsible for insuring the solar electric system, which
could be added to homeowner’s insurance or an existing property policy.