Proposal Autopsy: The Lease Dressed as Ownership

The proposal uses ownership language throughout. The contract, when you find it, is a 25-year PPA. This is how to read for the moment the product reveals itself.

Published: April 18, 2026Read time: ~1 min

Redacted from a 2026 PPA proposal in WNY. Structure and tells preserved; details anonymized.

Quick answer

Ownership language in marketing does not mean ownership in the contract.
A 25-year term, an annual escalator, and a buyout schedule are the three tells of a lease or PPA.
Whoever gets the tax credit is the owner. If the third party gets it, you do not own the system.
At sale, who signs what matters. A PPA can complicate closing if the buyer does not want to assume it.

Who this guide is for

Homeowners shown a PPA that was not labeled as a PPA.
People deciding between an ownership structure and third-party ownership.

The proposal

A 25-page PDF delivered after an in-home meeting in Williamsville. The cover says "Your solar system." The first three pages talk about benefits of solar ownership. The product name at the top sounds like a retail purchase. The contract itself, referenced in an exhibit at the end, is a PPA. Here are the moments in the proposal where the structure actually reveals itself.

Proposal C (redacted)

Williamsville, NY · PPA · 25-year term

Marketing language

"Own clean energy for your home."1
"Lock in a predictable solar rate for 25 years."2
"No upfront cost. Monitoring included. Maintenance handled."3

The pricing table (page 6)

Year 1 solar rate: $0.164/kWh4
Annual rate escalator: 2.9%5
Year 25 solar rate (projected): $0.334/kWh6
Utility kWh rate at signing: $0.198
Term: 25 years

Exhibit B: incentive treatment

"All tax credits and incentives are retained by the System Owner."7
"The System Owner is SunHorizon PowerCo, LLC."8

Exhibit D: end-of-term options

"Homeowner may purchase the system at fair market value."9
"System may be removed at Homeowner's cost."10
"Subject to buyout schedule (see Exhibit B-1)."11

1
This is the single most consequential sentence in the proposal, because it is not true of the product being sold. Ownership is a legal status defined by who holds the equipment and claims the tax benefits. The homeowner does not.
2
'Predictable' is doing a lot of work here. The rate escalates annually. Predictable is not the same as fixed.
3
These are benefits of third-party ownership, not of purchase. A cash or loan-owned system also has monitoring, but the 'no upfront cost, maintenance handled' framing is the PPA value proposition.
4
Year 1 rate looks attractive next to the current utility rate. Keep reading.
5
2.9% annual escalator compounded over 25 years. This is the number that turns the 'savings' story into a wash or a loss in late years.
6
Year 25 rate is double the starting rate. For the proposal's savings story to hold, utility rates must also double or more over the same 25 years. Historically that is not a safe assumption.
7
This is the sentence that tells you what the product is. The system owner gets the incentives. The system owner is not the homeowner.
8
Named third-party owner. Good to have the name. Bad that it took six pages of ownership language to get here.
9
'Fair market value' is the negotiation at year 25. Not a dollar figure. Not predictable.
10
At the homeowner's cost. Worth knowing before signing, in case the system is not behaving well in year 23.
11
The buyout schedule is the most important line item in the contract for anyone who may sell the house mid-term. It is buried in an exhibit-of-an-exhibit. Get this document in your hands before signing, not after.

The product, in one paragraph

This is a 25-year PPA. The homeowner pays a per-kWh rate for the electricity produced on their roof by a system owned by SunHorizon PowerCo. The rate rises 2.9% per year. The third party claims the federal tax credit and any applicable state incentives. At the end of 25 years, the homeowner may buy the system at a negotiated price, have it removed at their cost, or extend the contract. Selling the home mid-term requires the buyer to assume the contract, the homeowner to buy it out, or the provider to remove the system.

None of that is bad in itself. PPAs have a place. But none of that is ownership.

The six questions that reveal any PPA

Paste these into an email to the installer

[ ] Who owns the system?
Name the entity. If it is not me, this is third-party ownership.
[ ] Who claims the federal tax credit?
If it is the owner, and the owner is not me, I do not get the credit.
[ ] What is the full escalator schedule?
Year 1 payment, year 25 payment, and cumulative total paid.
[ ] What is the buyout schedule?
Year by year, in dollars, from year 1 to year 25.
[ ] What happens at sale?
Assumption criteria for the buyer, buyout formula if they cannot, removal cost if applicable.
[ ] What happens if the provider's parent company changes hands?
Not hypothetical. It has happened repeatedly in the residential PPA market.

A proposal whose rep cannot produce these answers in writing, inside three business days, is a proposal that does not belong in your decision.

Specific lease and PPA tells

The word 'ownership' in marketing copy, without the third-party owner named up top.
A year-1 per-kWh rate shown without the year-25 rate on the same page.
An escalator mentioned in passing rather than printed in dollars.
End-of-term options that exist only in a referenced exhibit.
A buyout schedule that requires a second document request.

Methodology note

Drawn from a real 2026 PPA proposal in Williamsville. Contract structure and disclosure pattern preserved; the third-party entity name is invented, as are specific addresses. PPAs and leases are legitimate products when clearly priced. The pattern we are pointing at is not the product itself; it is the marketing dressing.

Recommended tool

Flags third-party ownership structures up front and translates the escalator into total-paid dollars.

Open the full quote audit

Keep reading

Loan vs HELOC vs lease vs PPA: which one fits your home?
The structural comparison, once the product is named correctly.
What happens to solar financing when you sell your house?
PPAs are simplest mid-life and most complex at sale.
Financing playbook for NY in 2026
The pillar guide to every path.
Autopsy: the dealer fee ate the deal
Same series, different product.

FAQ

Is a PPA always bad?

No. For homeowners who cannot use the federal credit, or who want the simplicity of a third-party operator, a PPA can be a reasonable fit. What matters is that it is clearly labeled and clearly priced.

What single question exposes a PPA?

'Who claims the federal tax credit?' If the answer is 'we do' or 'the owner,' and the owner is not you, the structure is third-party ownership.

What should I ask for about the escalator?

The exact percentage, the total payment in year 1, the total payment in year 25, and the cumulative dollars over the full term. A healthy product gives all four on one page.