Originally posted by @Lynnette E.:
You should remember that when you negotiate the price for the solar panels, you also need to negotiate the power purchase agreement. I do not know how your state works, but typically you need an agreement where they or a local utility company purchases the energy (the meter spins backwards giving you a credit). There will be a rate at which they pay you for the energy that is purchased and a rate that they charge you for what you use off the grid.
It does you no good to own a solar system and not be able to sell the energy or to store it on the grid. Or to negotiate hard on the cost of the solar panels and not worry about the rate for the energy. There is a balance in the cost for the solar system and the payment for the energy generated. Would you want a free system, that can not hook into the grid? If so you need batteries to store your energy. Otherwise make sure you negotiate just as hard for the power purchase agreement.
And you need to have a transferable power purchase agreement that will fold in easily to the new owner after your rehab.
Since they are nt really forthcoming with information, I would be tempted to schedule a meeting with the company rep to get a free estimate on a system for another property just to get a copy of what they typically pay out for power, what they charge, if they are a direct buyer or the local utility is involved, etc.
Lynette you're on the mark here overall but it seems you are using the term power purchase agreement (PPA:https://www.seia.org/research-...) interchangeably with what is actually an interconnection agreement/net metering agreement (https://irecusa.org/publicatio...). While the two are similar and even overlap, they are also very different so it is not entirely accurate to use them interchangeably.
Any grid-tied form of generation needs to have an interconnection agreement/net metering contract with the utility in order to benefit from net metering. The interconnection agreement/net metering agreement is the contract that decides the rate per kWh that the utility credits the owner of the system for electricity generated. A PPA is similar to an interconnection/net metering agreement in that both are contracts to buy and sell electricity, however they are not the same thing. A PPA is not required for every grid-tied system like a net metering agreement is. A PPA is a form of project financing which allows a 3rd party (usually the developer of the solar project) to own and operate the system and sell electricity from it, sometimes back to the grid, sometimes to the occupant of the building, sometimes to both. Net metering is the basic contract with the utility, and typically only requires one meter which is a bi-directional meter or net meter that replaces the regular billing meter. A PPA is a contract that is separate from/in addition to the basic interconnection agreement. A PPA requires a second meter in addition to the net meter which measures the system production. A PPA is also similar and sometimes mistakenly used interchangeably, but different, from a solar lease: https://www.solarpowerrocks.co...
In this case the OP did say that the system was owned by Vivint through a PPA. OP is negotiating an early buyout of that PPA. The interconnection agreement is separate from the PPA and will run with the system and transfer from the current owner of the system (Vivint), to the OP assuming the negotiations to buy out the system are successful. Most interconnection/net metering agreements are 20 year contracts between the owner of the system and the local utility that operates the grid, and they are transferred to the new owner during a sale of the property. So the OP will need to transfer the interconnection agreement (usually just by filling out a form for the utility) as well as buyout the PPA (which will be negotiated between the OP and Vivint).
On top of all that, the OP also mentioned there is an SREC contract for this system as well, which is yet another separate contract, for the SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Certificates/Credits). The SRECs are related to the net metering agreement, as the local utility has contracted to buy the SRECs produced by the system at a certain price in order to meet their Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). For every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity produced by solar, one SREC is awarded. In this case those SRECs are worth about $200/month (straight revenue, not just by offsetting the electricity needs of the building) and that contract will likely transfer to the new owner of the system.
So there are a few pieces to this puzzle:
1) The net metering agreement which is not complicated because those transfer any time a property with solar is sold, as simple as completing a form, no biggie.
2) The PPA. This is the part that is gumming up the works because the agreement was between the utility, the developer of the system (Vivint) and the previous homeowner, who defaulted on the PPA along with their mortgage. The PPA was secured by a UCC fixture filing which is similar to a lien, and which the OP is arguing should have been cleared by Duetsche Bank as part of the foreclosure, but of course DB doesn't want to pay Vivint and now the OP has been given 3 options from Vivint: to buy the system for the preset "early buyout" price according to the contract, have them remove the system and repair the roof/siding, or assume the terms of the remaining PPA contract (take over the agreement from the previous homeowner).
3) The SREC contract, which likely just goes along with the net metering agreement and will be a nice selling point for the home because this is ~$200/month straight positive cashflow from a power plant on the roof with a valuable energy contract, in addition to whatever the system is producing and selling back through the net meter because the SREC's are measured at the production meter.
