Defined term
Residential on-site solar power purchase agreement
A residential on-site solar power purchase agreement is a contract in which a third-party provider owns and operates a photovoltaic system at a home and the customer purchases the system's generated electricity at a contracted kilowatt-hour price for a defined term.
Also known as residential solar PPA, on-site solar PPA
economics · Concept code GS-CONCEPT-020 · Last verified August 20, 2026
Evidence through 2026-07-28 · 3 sources have no source-event date
Content modified 2026-08-20
Definition and boundaries
Definition
A residential on-site solar power purchase agreement is a contract in which a third-party provider owns and operates a photovoltaic system at a home and the customer purchases the system's generated electricity at a contracted kilowatt-hour price for a defined term.
Applicable jurisdiction: US; availability and electricity-sale law vary by jurisdiction
Definition claim verification: Verified August 20, 2026
In plain language
The provider owns and operates the on-site system while the household buys its generated electricity under the contract. Availability and electricity-sale rules vary by jurisdiction.
What it is not
It is not a corporate, off-site, virtual, utility-scale, or community-solar PPA, and it is not a lease whose payment is independent of generated kilowatt-hours.
Decision context
Why it matters
Availability, electricity-sale rules, escalators, transfer, buyout, and end-of-term terms vary by jurisdiction and contract. A residential on-site PPA is not a corporate, off-site, virtual, utility-scale, or community-solar PPA.
Applicable jurisdiction: US; California-specific examples are labeled, and no state-count claim is made
Decision-context claim verification: Verified August 20, 2026
Information boundary
This definition is general educational information, not individualized financial or legal advice. Contract terms, disclosures, incentives, and electricity-sale rules require transaction- and jurisdiction-specific review.
Selector-derived public graph
Learning navigation
Primary topic: Finance
Broader topic
No public concepts recorded.
More specific topics
No public concepts recorded.
Related topics
- Solar loanPublished conceptA solar loan finances customer ownership
- Residential solar system leasePublished conceptA residential solar lease uses scheduled payments for system use
Learn first
No public concepts recorded.
Builds toward
No public concepts recorded.
Primary sources
- U.S. Department of Energy: Homeowner's Guide to Solar
Source event date not provided · Ontology accessed August 7, 2026 · Ontology verified August 7, 2026
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Issue Spotlight: Solar Financing
Revision Published 2024-08-07 · Source event as of August 7, 2024 · Ontology accessed August 20, 2026 · Ontology verified August 20, 2026
- California Public Utilities Commission: Solar Consumer Protection Guide
Revision Guide Version 4 (2025) · Source event date not provided · Ontology accessed August 20, 2026 · Ontology verified August 20, 2026
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Solar Power Purchase Agreements
Revision Updated 2026-04-09 · Source event as of April 9, 2026 · Ontology accessed August 20, 2026 · Ontology verified August 20, 2026
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Customer Power Purchase Agreements
Revision Updated 2026-07-28 · Source event as of July 28, 2026 · Ontology accessed August 20, 2026 · Ontology verified August 20, 2026
- National Laboratory of the Rockies: SAM Third Party Ownership
Source event date not provided · Ontology accessed August 20, 2026 · Ontology verified August 20, 2026