The Most Expensive Solar May Be the 'Free' Kind

So-called free solar often means a long contract, a trapped homeowner, and a total cost far above ownership.

There are real subsidy programs that can cover a system for specific households, but that is not what most 'free solar' ads are selling.

Most of the time, 'free installation' means a twenty-five-year lease or PPA structure with total payments far above the buyout cost of the same system.

The real question is never whether solar can be marketed as free. The real question is whether you are signing for a subsidy or locking yourself into decades of expensive obligations.