PPA — Power Purchase Agreement

Also known as: Power Purchase Agreementsolar PPAthird-party-owned solar

A Power Purchase Agreement is a financing arrangement where a solar installer or financing company owns the solar system on your roof, and you buy the power it produces at a contracted rate (typically lower than what you'd otherwise pay the utility). Terms usually run 20-25 years.

Compared to ownership: With a PPA, you don't pay for the system upfront and you don't take depreciation or tax benefits — those go to the system owner. You pay a monthly bill (similar to a utility bill, but to the PPA provider) and lock in a typically lower rate. The system stays with the property if you sell, but the buyer must agree to take over the PPA.

We don't sell PPAs and we don't recommend them. The mechanism technically still works in 2026 (Section 48E flows to the installer who passes savings through as lower monthly payments), but the contract structures common in this market are why we don't sell or recommend PPAs — 20-25 year terms, early-termination penalties, hardware liens that complicate selling the house, and payment escalators that erode the initial savings. We sell owned systems only (cash or GoGreen Financing). If you want a PPA anyway, vet the provider carefully — CSLB license check, customer references from installs three or more years old, and an attorney-reviewed contract of your own. We won't refer you to a specific PPA company because we haven't found one we'd stand behind.