Another Solar thread

[SamSpade]

For those of you who have either taken the plunge or perhaps - actually work in the business....

What's the downside? There are so many plans out there, and while I'd like to try it, I can't afford to buy it outright and reluctant to lock myself into a 20 year contract - or longer.
It's just too long to anticipate unforeseen changes that might make it less than desirable.

What should I know? PM me if you prefer.

 

[Clem72]

The downside to the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is that they bake in a 2.9% cost increase year over year so at the end of 20 years you will be paying almost 80% over the original price/KWh. It's also a bit of a hassle if you wish to sell your home, because the buyer either has to sign up for the same agreement or deal with the company removing the equipment.

If you happen to believe that the local power costs will go up at a faster rate than 2.9% then the PPA may be good for you. Or if you hope the company will want to divest itself of PPA systems 5-10 years from now on the cheap (after the subsidies are gone and they have more or less broken even) then you may want to take the gamble. If my home were appropriately faced and didn't have as much tree cover I might be willing to gamble as I believe many of these companies (but not SolarCity) will want to exit the market in a few years and may be willing to sell me the "used" system for slightly more than what they would sell it wholesale to another company to manage.