Solar Energy Wiki topic
Finance
Costs, pricing, ownership, and project economics.
42 published concepts
Evidence through 2026-07-28 · 3 members have no source-event date
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Begin with these concepts
- Electricity pricing
Electricity pricing is the set of prices and rate structures used to charge customers for electricity service.
- Payback period
Payback period is the time required for cumulative savings or cash flows to recover an initial investment.
- Residential solar installed price
Residential solar installed price is the gross price paid for an installed residential photovoltaic system before incentives, subject to the inclusions and exclusions of the source dataset or quote.
Published directory
All finance concepts
42 total
- Electricity pricing
Electricity pricing is the set of prices and rate structures used to charge customers for electricity service.
GS-CONCEPT-011 - Time-of-use electricity rate
A time-of-use electricity rate charges different prices for electricity during predefined periods within a day.
GS-CONCEPT-014 - Payback period
Payback period is the time required for cumulative savings or cash flows to recover an initial investment.
GS-CONCEPT-015 - Residential solar installed price
Residential solar installed price is the gross price paid for an installed residential photovoltaic system before incentives, subject to the inclusions and exclusions of the source dataset or quote.
GS-CONCEPT-017 - Solar loan
A solar loan is consumer credit used to purchase residential solar equipment and installation; the borrower owns the purchased system and repays principal and the applicable cost of credit under the agreement.
GS-CONCEPT-018 - Residential solar system lease
A residential solar system lease is an agreement in which a provider owns a system installed at a home and the customer pays scheduled amounts for its use during the contract term.
GS-CONCEPT-019 - 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.
GS-CONCEPT-020 - Solar-loan dealer fee
Solar-loan dealer fee is an industry term used for a financing-related upfront fee or markup in some solar-specific loan programs that may be reflected in the financed system price or contractual principal/note amount.
GS-CONCEPT-021 - Electricity fixed charge
An electricity fixed charge is a bill charge determined independently of the customer's metered kilowatt-hour consumption during the billing period under the applicable rate schedule.
GS-CONCEPT-061 - Electricity demand charge
An electricity demand charge is the portion of an electric-service bill based on the customer's measured or calculated maximum capacity usage under the applicable rate schedule.
GS-CONCEPT-062 - Tiered electricity rate
A tiered electricity rate applies different energy prices to defined blocks of electricity consumption within a billing period.
GS-CONCEPT-063 - Export compensation rate
An export compensation rate is the monetary or bill-credit value assigned to eligible electricity delivered from a customer energy system to the grid under a specified program or tariff.
GS-CONCEPT-064 - Avoided-cost rate
An avoided-cost rate is a value based on costs a utility or system avoids because a specified increment of electricity or service is supplied by another resource.
GS-CONCEPT-065 - Avoided utility cost
Avoided utility cost is the charge a customer does not incur because onsite generation, storage, or a load change reduces a billable utility quantity under the applicable tariff.
GS-CONCEPT-070 - Residual utility bill
A residual utility bill is the utility bill that remains after the applicable effects of onsite generation, storage, credits, and tariff rules are applied for a billing period.
GS-CONCEPT-071 - Solar project cash flow
Solar project cash flow is a dated series of money received and paid for a defined solar ownership or contract perspective over an analysis period.
GS-CONCEPT-072 - Net present value
Net present value is the sum of a defined series of cash flows discounted to one valuation date using a stated discount rate and timing convention.
GS-CONCEPT-073 - Internal rate of return
Internal rate of return is a discount rate at which the net present value of a specified cash-flow series equals zero, when such a solution is defined.
GS-CONCEPT-074 - Levelized cost of energy
Levelized cost of energy is a discounted lifetime cost measure divided by a discounted lifetime energy measure under a specified method and boundary.
GS-CONCEPT-075 - Solar cash purchase
A solar cash purchase is a customer-owned solar purchase whose project acquisition cash flow does not include debt or third-party ownership payments in the modeled transaction.
GS-CONCEPT-076 - Solar owner purchase
A solar owner purchase is an acquisition arrangement in which the customer obtains ownership of the installed solar system, using cash or a separate financing obligation.
GS-CONCEPT-077 - Annual percentage rate
Annual percentage rate is a measure of the cost of credit expressed as a yearly rate that relates value received by the consumer to the amount and timing of payments under the applicable disclosure rules.
GS-CONCEPT-078 - Amount financed
Amount financed is the net amount of credit extended for the consumer's use as calculated under the applicable credit-disclosure rule.
GS-CONCEPT-079 - Finance charge
A finance charge is the cost of consumer credit expressed as a dollar amount under the applicable disclosure rule, including charges included by that rule and excluding charges it excludes.
GS-CONCEPT-080 - Total of payments
Total of payments is the amount a consumer will have paid after making all scheduled payments under the disclosed credit obligation, as defined by the applicable rule.
GS-CONCEPT-081 - Solar loan term
A solar loan term is the contractual period over which scheduled obligations for a solar-financing loan are due, subject to the agreement's maturity and payment provisions.
GS-CONCEPT-082 - Secured solar loan
A secured solar loan is credit used for a solar purchase that is backed by a security interest or lien in identified property under the agreement and applicable law.
GS-CONCEPT-083 - Unsecured solar loan
An unsecured solar loan is credit used for a solar purchase that is not backed by collateral identified as securing that obligation under the agreement.
GS-CONCEPT-084 - Solar lease escalator
A solar lease escalator is a contract provision that changes scheduled lease payments over time according to a stated rate, amount, index, or formula.
GS-CONCEPT-085 - Solar PPA escalator
A solar PPA escalator is a contract provision that changes the price paid for generated electricity over time according to a stated rate, amount, index, or formula.
GS-CONCEPT-086 - Solar contract buyout
A solar contract buyout is a transaction permitted by a lease or power purchase agreement in which specified rights or system ownership are acquired for a contract-determined amount and under stated conditions.
GS-CONCEPT-087 - Residential solar quote
A residential solar quote is a seller's or installer's stated price and proposed scope for specified equipment, design assumptions, services, and commercial terms at a point in time.
GS-CONCEPT-088 - Residential solar contract
A residential solar contract is the executed agreement that states the parties' rights and obligations for a residential solar sale, installation, financing, lease, PPA, service, or related transaction.
GS-CONCEPT-089 - Solar loan principal
CFPB describes principal as the amount borrowed before interest is added.
GS-CONCEPT-142 - Solar loan interest rate
CFPB defines a loan interest rate as a percentage charged for borrowing money.
GS-CONCEPT-143 - Solar loan amortization schedule
CFPB explains amortization as paying off debt over time through scheduled regular payments.
GS-CONCEPT-144 - Solar loan monthly payment
A solar-loan monthly payment is a scheduled installment amount when a loan agreement uses monthly payment timing.
GS-CONCEPT-145 - Solar loan prepayment
CFPB defines prepayment as paying all or part of a loan before the payment is due.
GS-CONCEPT-146 - Solar loan prepayment penalty
CFPB defines a prepayment penalty as a fee that a lender may charge when a borrower pays all or part of a loan early.
GS-CONCEPT-147 - Solar loan lien
A solar-loan lien is a security interest or encumbrance described by the applicable financing arrangement, rather than a feature of every solar loan.
GS-CONCEPT-148 - UCC financing statement
California Commercial Code defines a financing statement as a record or records composed of an initial financing statement and related amendments.
GS-CONCEPT-149 - Solar-financing transfer
Solar-financing transfer is an editorial umbrella for the financing obligation considered when a home with solar is sold.
GS-CONCEPT-150
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