Would you lease solar panels?

SolarCity, the largest solar panel installer in the United States, is expanding its market to New Hampshire.

The company owes its success in part to a unique financing model: customers can lease solar panels. SolarCity takes on the upfront costs for the panels, and customers pay the company for the electricity – advertised at a fraction of the old electricity bill.

Leasing can make clean, renewable energy accessible for many New Hampshire residents who can’t afford the roughly $15,000 for a typical solar installation.

However, consumer advocates caution that leasing may not be a good long-term investment.

Right now SolarCity can offer electricity for a price much lower than the open market. However, given how much electricity prices change over time, there may come a day when electricity on the open market is much cheaper than the price in a twenty-year solar lease.

Meanwhile policymakers continue to debate the various incentives for solar panels in New Hampshire.

Supporters argue that solar panels help lower New Hampshire’s dependence on natural gas, which has grown more expensive as demand has increased.

Opponents argue that customers without solar panels should not have to subsidize customers with solar panels.