Solar Financing Options
How you pay for your solar PV system impacts your return on investment. We help you decide which financing option is best for you.
Our wide network of financing partners allows us to provide various options to our clients. We work with you to find the financing option that suits your household, business or Non-Profit organization the best.
Over the past years, the price of a solar system has dropped significantly. In addition, Federal and State incentives participate in making solar more affordable. For most homes, a solar electric system will cost between $10,000 and $15,000 (after incentives)—half of its cost a few years ago.
Still, even at half the price, a solar system can represent a significant upfront investment.
Many people do not want to or cannot purchase a solar system outright, so it is important to understand all of the available financing options. Rather than buying a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, you may be able to finance it with a solar loan or a solar lease / Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) without any money out of pocket and still make big savings on your electricity bills.
Solar Loans
Many institutions like banks, credit unions, solar panel manufacturers, are now offering solar loans to property owners seeking capital to install solar panels at their property. Unlike a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), most solar loans are unsecured loans, that are approved without the need of a collateral (so no lien is placed on the property to secure repayment of the loan). With sometimes very low APRs, contracting a solar loan can make more sense than using personal capital.
$0 Down Solar Loans
—residential—
We provide $0 down solar loans with APRs starting at 2.99% and terms ranging from 8, 12, 15, to 20 years. You can go solar for $0 down or decide to put a small down payment to lower your monthly loan payments.
This loan does not use your property as collateral and has no early termination fees.
PACE Financing
—residential & commercial—
PACE —Property Assessed Clean Energy— is a financing program that allows residential or commercial building owners to finance solar systems or energy efficiency retrofits. The local government is offering you a loan, which you pay back through your property tax bills over 15 to 20 years.
For more information on PACE, click here.
Third-Party Ownership: Solar Leases and PPAs
Solar leases and solar PPAs are similar to renting your solar system. You enter into an agreement with a solar leasing company that entitles you to the benefits of the system (i.e., the energy that the solar panels generate) for the term of the contract, which is generally around 20 years. Since the property owner is not owning the solar system, he/she is not entitled to get the tax incentives associated to the ownership of the system. The solar leasing company will get this benefit.
Leases
With a solar lease, the property owner agrees to pay a fixed monthly “rent” or lease payment, which is calculated using the estimated amount of electricity the system will produce, in exchange for the right to use the solar energy system.
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
With a solar PPA, instead of paying to “rent” the solar panel system, you agree to purchase the power generated by the system at a set per-kWh price.
Financing Options Comparison Chart
In order to help you figure out if adding batteries to your solar system would make sense for you, we gathered information in a white paper (free download).
White paper overview:
- Cash purchase
- Solar loans
- Secured vs unsecured loans
- Organizations offering solar loans
- Leases and Power Purchase Agreements