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To avoid rising energy costs and benefit from increasing renewable energy incentives and tax breaks, more homeowners may be considering a home solar system. Last year, the growth of residential solar in the U.S. boomed. Even as overall growth of solar installations, including commercial and utility-scale projects, decreased year over year, residential solar projects grew by a “staggering” 40%, to just under six gigawatts, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. That growth came across a record 700,000 U.S. homeowners who installed solar in 2022. 

There are a host of complicated issues in the solar market, including some contentious politics. Battles remain over foreign sourcing of solar energy components and tariffs on imports from China — President Biden recently vetoed a bill that would have re-imposed tariffs and likely driven up costs throughout the solar supply chain. Net metering, a primary way homeowners can be repaid by the grid for generating their own energy, took a big hit in California — the nation’s biggest solar market — last year, and that is expected to lower overall growth of residential projects this year. And lending conditions throughout the credit market are tighter today due to Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, driving up loan rates for solar projects.

Financing may be necessary or at least well worth considering for most homeowners interested in upgraded their home energy with solar. The national average for a 10 kilowatt solar panel installation in 2023 is around $20,000 after taking into account a 30% federal solar tax credit, according to EnergySage, a marketplace that connects consumers with energy companies. Loans have boomed as a way to finance solar, and even as low and in some cases zero-interest rate offers disappear, higher retail utility bills continue to make lending rates reasonable. According to energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, the loan segment’s record share of the residential solar market reached roughly 70% of projects in 2022. It won’t repeat that in 2023, but will remain a large part of the solar market.

Starting with the basics is the best way for homeowners to start wrapping their heads around solar power financial decisions. Here are some key things to consider before making the decision to move ahead with a residential project.

Do your research on state-by-state solar costs

“Before you investigate how you are going to pay for it, it’s easy to find out what you might want to buy and what it might cost,” said Joel Rosenberg, a member of the special projects team at Rewiring America, a nonprofit focused on electrifying homes, businesses and communities.

He recommends using EnergySage to find competing solar quotes. This will give homeowners a better idea — beyond nationwide averages — based on real-life factors such as the size of the system. This is important to understand before they start considering how to pay for it, he said. 

Seek out local energy financing programs

Once homeowners are ready to dig more into financing options, their state’s energy office and a local electric utility can be good places to start because both may offer solar financing programs.

“They may not be directly involved, but often they can flag things that may be worth looking into,” said Madeline Fleisher, an Ohio-based environmental and energy lawyer who runs a clean-energy website.

Ohio, for example, has a state program that offers a reduced rate on a solar loan with certain lenders.

Get solar loan quotes from multiple lenders

Consumers should seek quotes from three to five sources, being sure to pay careful attention to terms and conditions, said EnergySage CEO Vikram Aggarwal.

Potential lenders can include a homeowner’s local bank, credit union, national bank or a specialized institution known as a green bank that focuses on loans for environmentally friendly projects.

Green banks may have even more robust offerings, Fleisher said. Using a simple Google search for “green bank” and your state may yield options. To find potential lenders, homeowners can also consult broader industry sources such as the Green Bank Network or the Coalition for Green Capital.

Consider solar installation company offers carefully

Solar installers, such as Sunrun and Sunnova, also offer loans.

Most installers offer loans for a duration of 15, 20 or 25 years, while banks may offer short-duration loans at lower interest rates and for lower fees, Aggarwal said. Interest rates can vary widely depending on factors such as the loan amount, duration and the strength of the borrower’s credit. Typical loan amounts are $1,000 to $100,000, and annual percentage rates for people with excellent credit can range from around 6% to about 36%, according to a recent analysis by Nerdwallet. 

“Installers are great at installing solar, but they may not be experts at finance or banking,” said Jason MacDuff, president of greenpenny, a virtual and carbon-neutral bank focused on financing sustainable projects.

He said any homeowner considering a loan through an installer should make sure to speak directly to the financer. Homeowners should seek to fully understand the financial arrangement they are entering into, he said. For instance, will it be a fixed or variable rate? What are the upfront financing costs? And what is the projected monthly payment?

It’s also worth noting that installers don’t always mention the fees, so be sure to ask about the installation cost if paying cash versus financing, Aggarwal said. Prepayment fees aren’t likely, but it’s worth asking and confirming in the loan documentation, just to make sure, he said.

Scrutinize fees, terms and conditions on solar debt

Consumers should always ask what fees are associated with the loans being offered, in addition to the interest rate, since fees could amount to thousands of dollars.

Homeowners should also be familiar with other terms, conditions and options that may be available. For example, some loans allow the borrower to amortize once to reduce the amount. To illustrate, if a homeowner takes a $10,000 loan and then receives a tax credit of $3,000, the money can be used to pay the lender and bring down the loan to $7,000. Generally, this option, when available, can be used once within the first 12 to 18 months of the loan, Aggarwal said.

Home equity loans and HELOCs could be a good option for homeowners who have built sufficient equity in their home. These options could also work well for homeowners whose credit doesn’t allow them to qualify for a personal loan with a favorable rate, according to Bankrate.

Be careful about lending risks that can lead to home foreclosure

The last thing any homeowner should do is let a green finance loan lead to foreclosure. That has been a concern for the Federal Trade Commission and the government’s consumer watchdog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans, secured by a property tax lien on the borrower’s home, have been used over the past decade to finance renewable energy home improvements like solar power and were particularly popular several years ago. 

The CFPB has worried about lenders that aren’t operating on the level, and these loans leading borrowers to fall behind on mortgage payments, and to a deterioration in credit worthiness. A new proposal from the CFPB seeks to protect homeowners from “unscrupulous companies” offering “unaffordable loans with exaggerated promises of energy bill savings,” according to a recent statement from CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.

The solar finance market is dominated by a handful of players

While there are many options for loans in the residential solar market, the data shows that total lending volumes are dominated by five players that financed 71% of the entire residential market in 2022, according to Wood Mackenzie. That was similar to 2021’s lending market. GoodLeap (26% of the residential solar market) was No. 1 overall.

Sunrun and Sunnova together captured 79% of the third-party-owned market for home solar. This brings up another key decision for homeowners: should they finance and own the system themselves or lease the rights to their solar energy generation?

Solar leasing is poised to be more popular, but has downsides

Leasing options exist and may be attractive to some homeowners as a way to avoid the upfront costs of equipment and installation. Another benefit is that the homeowner isn’t responsible for maintenance. Leasing to homeowners is expected to become more popular this year, according to Wood Mackenzie, because of additional credits leasing companies can receive under the Inflation Reduction Act. These “adders” beyond the core 30% tax credit make the economics more attractive to companies that lease solar systems to homeowners.

But there are downsides for homeowners. 

Leasing is generally more expensive for homeowners and they won’t be eligible for the 30% tax credit, Aggarwal said. Leasing can also present several challenges when homeowners decide to sell their house, so it’s important to weigh the pros and cons carefully, Aggarwal added.

If considering this route, homeowners should be sure to understand the specifics about the lease process, MacDuff said. They should, for example, know how the lease payments compare with their existing utility payment and what the repair process will be if issues arise.

Solar prices continue to drop, so rushing isn’t the right decision

The tax credit that was extended and increased as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act makes the cost of solar installation more palatable for consumers, Rosenberg said. But if it’s still out of reach financially, even with a loan, check back from time to time because prices continue to drop and homeowners have 10 years to qualify for the IRA incentive.

“You can get a quote in 2023 and a quote in 2026 and it might be two-thirds of the cost and you can still get the tax credit,” he said.

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Tesla tops 36 car Autopilot test, affordable Model Y spied, and a $5,000 EV

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Tesla tops 36 car Autopilot test, affordable Model Y spied, and a ,000 EV

Credit where credit is due: in a massive, 32-car multinational independent test, Tesla’s Autopilot ADAS came out on top, the new affordable Tesla turns out to be a corner-cutting Model Y, and one of the company’s original founders compares the Cybertruck to a dumpster. All this and more on today’s episode of Quick Charge!

Today’s episode is brought to you by Retrospec – the makers of sleek, powerful e-bikes and outdoor gear built for everyday adventure! To that end, we’ve got a pair of Retrospec e-bike reviews followed up by a super cute, super affordable new EV from China with nearly 150 miles of range for less than $5,000 USD.

PLUS: listeners can get an extra 10% off by using code ELECTREK10 at retrospec.com!

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (most weeks, anyway). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Tesla teases new Roadster as ‘the last best driver’s car’

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Tesla teases new Roadster as 'the last best driver's car'

Tesla is again teasing the new Roadster, which is now five years late, as “the last driver’s car” before self-driving takes over.

The chicken or the egg. Is Tesla delaying the Roadster to match the development of self-driving technology, or is it delaying the development of self-driving technology to match the delayed release of the Roadster?

The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled in 2017, and it was initially scheduled to enter production in 2020; however, it has been delayed every year since then.

It was supposed to achieve a range of 620 miles (1,000 km) and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.

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It has become a sort of running joke, and there are doubts that it will ever come to market despite Tesla’s promise of dozens of free new Roadsters to Tesla owners who participated in its referral program years ago.

Tesla used the promise of free Roadsters to help generate billions of dollars worth of sales, which Tesla owners delivered; however, the automaker never delivered on its part of the agreement.

Furthermore, many people placed deposits ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 to reserve the vehicle, which was initially scheduled to hit the market five years ago.

When unveiling the vehicle, CEO Elon Musk described it as a “halo car” that would deliver a “smack down” to gasoline vehicles.

That was almost eight years ago, and many electric hypercars have since launched and delivered this smackdown.

Tesla has partly blamed the delays on improving the next-gen Roadsters and added features like the “SpaceX package,” which is supposed to include cold air thrusters to enable the vehicle to fly – Musk has hinted.

Many people don’t believe any of it, as Tesla has said that it would launch the new Roadster every year for the last 5 years and never did.

Now, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s head of vehicle engineering, made a rare new comment about the next-generation Roadster during an interview at the X Takeover event, an annual gathering of Elon Musk cultists, last weekend.

He referred to Tesla’s next-gen Roadster as the “last best driver’s car” and said that the automaker did “some cool demos” for Musk last week:

We spent a lot of time in the last few years rethinking what we did, and why we did it, and what would make an awesome and exciting last best driver’s car. We’ve been making it better and better, and it is even a little bit more than a car. We showed Elon some cool demos last week and tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.

The timing matches Musk’s recent claim that Tesla is going to have ‘the most epic demo ever, ’ but we heard that one before.

We suspected that the comment might be about the Tesla Roadster, as the CEO made the exact same comment about Roadster demos in 2019 and 2024. You will not be shocked to hear that these demos never happen.

Electrek’s Take

The “last best driver’s car” before computers are going to drive us everywhere. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy if you continue to delay the car. It might literally be the last car ever made that way. How would we ever know?

The truth is that the Roadster was cool when it was unveiled in 2017, but that was a long time ago. Tesla would need to update the car quite a bit to make it cool in 2025, and I don’t know that cold air clusters are it. You will have extreme limitations using those.

The Roadster is almost entirely in the “put up or shut up” category for me at Tesla. They need to stop talking about it and make it happen; otherwise, I can’t believe a word.

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Kia’s electric van spotted in the US again, but will it ever launch?

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Kia's electric van spotted in the US again, but will it ever launch?

The PV5 is already available in several markets, but will Kia launch it in the US? After Kia’s electric van was spotted testing in the US again, a US debut could be in the works.

Is Kia’s electric van coming to the US?

Kia launched the PV5, the first dedicated electric van from its new Platform Beyond vehicle (PBV) business, in South Korea and Europe earlier this year, promising it will roll out in “other global markets” in 2026.

Will that include the US? Earlier this year, Kia’s electric van was caught charging at a station in Indiana. Photos and a video sent to Electrek by Alex Nguyen confirmed it was, in fact, the PV5.

Kia has yet to say if it will sell the PV5 in the US, likely due to the Trump Administration’s new auto tariffs. All electric vans, or PBVs, including the PV5, will be built at Kia’s Hwaseong plant in South Korea, which means they will face a stiff 25% tariff as imports.

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Following another sighting, a US debut cannot be ruled out. The PV5 Passenger model was spotted by Automotive Validation Engineer Chris Higa (@Chrisediting) while testing in Arizona.

There’s no denying that’s Kia’s electric van, but it doesn’t necessarily confirm it will launch in the US. But it could make sense.

Despite record first-half sales in the US, Kia’s EV sales have fallen significantly. Sales of the EV9 and EV6 are nearly 50% less than in the first half of 2024.

To be fair, part of it is due to the new model year changeover, but Kia is also doubling down on the US market by boosting local production. Earlier this year, Kia said the EV6 and EV9 are now in full-scale production at its West Point, GA, facility.

The PV5 Passenger (shown above) is available in Europe with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh or 71.2 kWh, rated with WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo variant has the same battery options but offers a WLTP range of either 181 miles or 247 miles.

During its PV5 Tech Day event last week, Kia revealed plans for seven PV5 body types, including an Open Bed (similar to a pickup), a Light Camper, and even a luxury “Prime” passenger model.

Kia's-electric-van-US
Kia PV5 tech day (Source: Kia)

Kia is set to begin deliveries of the PV5 Passenger and Cargo Long variants in South Korea next month, followed by Europe and other global markets, starting in Q4 2025. As for a US launch, we will have to wait for the official word from Kia.

Do you want Kia to bring its electric van to the US? Drop us a comment below and let us know your thoughts.

Source: Chris Higa, TheKoreanCarBlog

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