In the past decade, adoption of solar by residential customers has grown tremendously, fueled in part by innovations in financial offerings.  The advent of financing mechanisms like leasing or power purchase agreement (PPA) relationships allow homeowners to install solar with little or no upfront costs and accounted for a large share of residential solar growth in that timeframe. Consumer loans are another increasingly popular way to finance residential solar. However, the ability to participate in these models generally requires a credit score or debt-to-income ratio minimum that can be a barrier to low-income households who generally have lower credit scores. Low-income families are also often unable to take advantage of the largest public incentive to making solar affordable, the federal investment tax credit (ITC).

The policy tools listed here provide options to expand access to financial solutions for low-income families to access solar.  For additional reading, visit Vote Solar’s Inclusive Solar Finance Framework, a report that evaluates barriers to financial products that can support solar adoption and identifies potential solutions.

  • On-Bill Recovery/On-Bill Financing

    On-bill recovery or on-bill finance allows customers and financial institutions to use their electric bill as a means of repaying an energy-related loan. This type of program has many benefits to both customers and financial institutions.... [read more]
  • Place-Based Investments

    Investment in solar projects sited in low-income communities and developed in close collaboration with community organizations and residents can help meet community-specific needs, create employment opportunities, and build community wealth.... [read more]
  • Production Based Incentives

    Some of the primary drivers of renewable energy development across the country, including projects that benefit low-income customers, have been state renewable electricity standards (RES) or renewable portfolio standards (RPS). Solar projects benefit from an RPS or RES because the value of their renewable energy production is monetized in... [read more]
  • Property Assessed Clean Energy

    Property Assessed Clean Energy programs allow property owners to use municipal bonds to finance energy efficiency, solar and other qualifying green retrofits, and repay them through a special assessment on their property tax bill. ... [read more]
  • Rebates

    State and local rebate programs with specific focus or carve-outs for low-income participation, usually in the form of a higher rebate amount, have proven successful at expanding solar adoption in those communities.... [read more]