Solar escalator calculator
What will your lease or PPA
cost by the final year?
Many solar leases and power purchase agreements raise the payment every year, often by 2.9 percent or more. Enter your numbers to see what you'll pay in the last year and over the whole contract.
Monthly payment in the final year
$297
| Year | Monthly payment | Paid that year |
|---|
How the calculator works
Your payment goes up by the same percentage at the start of each contract year, and stays the same for all 12 months of that year. The extra cost is the difference between the escalating payments you have left and what you'd pay if your current payment never changed.
PPA bills depend on how much power your system makes, so the real amounts will vary month to month. Your agreement is the final word on your payments.
Compare it to your utility
Is the escalator worth it?
An escalator only saves you money if your utility's rates rise faster than your solar payment. If a salesperson promised your utility rates would climb faster, ask what they based that on, and compare it to your utility's actual rate history on your old bills.
If you weren't told
Escalators that were never explained
Many states require the escalator to be disclosed in the agreement. If you were told your payment would never change, that can matter for a complaint, even years later.