Leasing Solar Power for Faith Communities

Gary K. Smith, Community Church of Christ, and Co-chair, Energy Working Group, NC Interfaith Power & Light

The 2017 NC energy law provided for two exciting things relevant to solar power and faith communities.  These things are (i) a substantial purchase price rebate and (ii) solar leasing.

Two companies have been approved for leasing to date. One company is Duke Energy Clean Energy Resources LLC, but it is only offering leases to large commercial customers.

The other lessor is Eagle Solar & Light, a solar installation company out of Alabama.  Several faith organizations are now considering a solar lease through them.  Here is why. 

The beauty of a lease is that you do not have to pay for the entire solar installation up front. If you have plenty of money to put into solar, it makes sense to buy rather than lease. But if the upfront cost of solar is a struggle for you, a lease could minimize or even eliminate your upfront cost, and your monthly lease payment may even be less than the amount you save every month on your electric bill!

There are some reasons (in addition to climate urgency) to act now. First, the 2017 energy law set up the leasing program for 5 years only (through 2022) and set a limit on the total amount of leasing that can be done in the state, so you can miss the opportunity if you wait too long.  

Second, the same law provided for a solar rebate for Duke Energy customers, but it is also only through 2022 and limited. The rebate is particularly nice for nonprofits: 75 cents per watt on solar prices that are running between $2 and $3/watt. If you are a Duke Energy customer, Eagle Solar & Light will use your rebate as your down payment. 

We have found that for arrays of ~15 kW or more, your monthly Eagle lease payment will then be at or below the amount of money you save per month with your solar panels.  The lease will last for 10 years; then they will remove the panels if you wish, or you can renew the lease, or you can purchase the panels on your roof for about 10% of the original price.  The purchase will provide you another 15 years of warrantied solar power.

The additional hurdle many faith communities face is that it is wise to install solar on a pretty new roof (< 6 or 7 years old), and the cost of a new roof right now may be prohibitive.  But if you are planning to replace your roof or have just replaced it, you can add solar for little or no additional cost through the lease program.

If you are interested in exploring a solar lease, contact Scott Alexander of Eagle (phone – 205-223-1639.  Email – salexander@eaglesolarandlight.com).