Being featured on Good Morning America this morning, solar power has been put in a very pleasant spotlight. If any industry deserves its five minutes in the sun, it’s solar, an we’re always happy to hear that topics related to solar, other renewables, and energy efficiency are reaching a broad audience.

This segment showed us solar from the particular perspective of solar leasing– a financing approach that allows customers to get solar on their rooftops while paying low or no upfront cost, often in return for signing a power purchase agreement (PPA), which is a contract obligating them to purchase the solar panels’ power for the next 15 to 20 years or so. This approach can be an attractive option for those looking to go green.

But, compared to outright ownership, leasing can reduce homeowners’ ability to profit from solar over the course of the panels’ useful life. Moreover, the overall impact on your post-solar bills will be determined by the specifics of your PPA — namely, the per-kilowatt-hour price charged by the agreement’s provider. It’s a trade-off that can work well for some people and be less than optimal for others.

The key, as always, is to get as much information as possible and understand all relevant solar options before you make a binding decision. Providing this kind of information is why we write this blog in the first place — we urge you to examine details on our site, DOE, SEIA, and other reputable sources of solar information.

And in this spirit of accuracy, let us correct a few details from the Good Morning America Report and add a few side notes of our own…

• Federal solar tax credits (to the tune of 30 percent) are available in all states. (The GMA host referred to “tax rebates,” which is a misnomer in this instance.)
• Some states have strong statewide and/or utility programs as well. For more info on this, see our state incentives page or the DSIRE database.
• Solar energy doesn’t directly decrease our dependence on foreign oil since oil is used for transportation, not to generate electricity. It may well accomplish this goal when electric cars hit the market en mass, but that’s another story. For now, solar eliminates emissions that result from generating electricity using coal or natural gas.
• If the cost of PV panels deters you, you can go solar using a solar hot water system (which is significantly more affordable). To save energy in general, getting an energy audit and investing in building efficiency can also be incredibly effective.

That’s about it. The more aware and informed we all are about solar, the better off we’ll be energy-wise. So despite the “lease only” perspective it offers, we’re grateful for the Good Morning America Effect.