Reducing electric bills by 10% to as much as 30% or more is the dream of every homeowner or small business owner. Installation of solar panels without the cost would make the transition easier. The hassle of paying for solar panels up front has been reduced to no hassle at all. The nightmare of installation, maintenance, or monitoring performance of the solar panels has been reduced to a quiet peaceful conversation between the owner of the roof and the power company providing the equipment. In Massachusetts, several companies are offering Power Purchase Agreements or PPAs for installation and maintenance of the solar panels. Going from brown power in Massachusetts to green power has never been easier.
Power-purchase agreements (PPA) work this way: A company leases solar panels to a property owner free of cost in exchange for an agreement to buy electricity from the company for up to 20 year at much cheaper rates than they do from conventional grid companies. Those who agree to the deal are often required to make a one-time payment of a few thousand dollars when panels are installed. Some deals are also designed to allow property owners to forward state rebates toward the panel installations to the companies that do the installation. In Massachusetts, SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Certificates or S-Recs) can be passed on to the company with whom the PPA is signed. Carefully investigating the company offering the PPA may also yield a money back performance guarantee like the one offered from SunRun Home Solar.
There are other ways to finance the installation of solar panels such as paying more initially and then a lower rate for solar electricity over time. However, with many businesses, PPAs are the wave of the future. Borrego Solar of California and Massachusetts offers companies PPAs with little to no money down in exchange for a 20 year agreement. Companies such as Walmart, Whole Foods, Staples and Macy’s use solar PPAs to get the benefits of solar power without the high up-front costs or hassles of owning, maintaining or monitoring the solar equipment.
First in Residential Solar PPAs was SunRun Home Solar in 2007. According to Rob Cahill of SunRun Home Solar, their growth has been more than 500%. Offering financing assistance and guarantees, SunRun Home Solar works closely with local installers and contractors to ensure that local talents are used. SunRun Home Solar is unique in that they guarantee the solar array and guarantee the price charges which can save a homeowner operational costs immediately upon installation. They give complete care of the home solar system, including money-back performance guarantee, solar insurance, and solar maintenance and repair, if necessary. Homeowners who have a PPA may find that upon resale, their home is more valuable than without the PPA. Most PPAs can be transferred upon sale, saving the new owner on installation costs, monitoring and maintenance of their solar panels while enjoying the cost savings of paying a low price for electricity to the company that issued the PPA. Another option would be for the sellers to buy the equipment outright and sell it with the house. Maintenance and monitoring in addition to processing credits and SRECs would be the responsibility of the new owner. Keeping the PPA in place ensures the new owner a method for maintaining cheaper electricity, benefiting from SRECs, and taking advantage of any tax credits and possible money back performance credits.
For more information on residential PPAs, contact SunRun Home Solar at 415-684-9841
Comments