If you’ve ever felt like your solar contract didn’t quite match what the salesperson promised, you’re not alone, and you’re not imagining it.
We’re proud to share that Solar Equity Solutions was recently featured in Business Partner Magazine, in an article examining why misleading power purchase agreements (PPAs) and other solar contracts continue to catch homeowners off guard, even years after the first wave of consumer complaints hit the industry.
The Problem Isn’t New, But It Hasn’t Gone Away
The article points to a pattern that’s been building for years. Back in 2022, a coalition of nine state attorneys general asked lenders financing residential solar projects to pause payments due to widespread system failures and underperformance. More recently, in May 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against a solar installation company, alleging fraudulent and deceptive sales practices.
Despite the media attention and years of complaints, homeowners are still running into the same issues: sales pitches promising big tax credits and significant utility bill savings that never materialize once the contract is signed.
Our COO and VP of Client Services, Josie Garcia, spoke with Business Partner Magazine about why this keeps happening, and what homeowners can do to protect themselves.
“Thousands were promised savings, lower bills, and easy financing only to end up with rising costs, hidden fees, and contracts that feel impossible to escape.”
Two Red Flags Every Homeowner Should Know
The article breaks down two of the most common, and most overlooked, issues buried in solar contracts.
1. Escalator Clauses in PPAs
One of the biggest selling points of going solar is lowering your monthly energy bill. Standard PPAs can deliver on that promise, at least initially. But many PPAs include an escalator clause, which raises your monthly payment by a fixed percentage every year, typically 1% to 3%.
The catch? Once you sign, that annual increase is locked in. It can’t be paused or reversed without legally challenging or canceling the contract.
Because solar contracts often run 20 to 25 years, similar to a home mortgage, even a small annual increase adds up. A payment that starts around $130 a month with a 2.9% annual escalator can nearly double by the time the contract ends. What looked like savings on day one can quietly erase itself over the life of the agreement.
2. Equipment Liens on Leased Systems
Choosing a solar lease instead of a PPA avoids the escalator clause problem, but it introduces a different risk: equipment liens.
Many lease agreements include language that gives the solar company a UCC-1 lien against your home, designed to secure the unpaid balance if you sell before the lease ends. This lien language is usually tucked into sections labeled “Equipment Lien,” “UCC Filing,” or “Security Interest”, easy to miss if you’re not looking for it.
The lien typically stays in place until the contract is canceled, the lease is paid off, or you receive a UCC-3 termination statement from the lender. Most homeowners don’t discover this until they try to sell their house, at which point it can stall or completely derail the sale.
What This Means for You
Rising electricity prices make any promise of lower bills tempting. But as our team emphasized in the article, the truth about your actual savings lives in the contract terms, not the sales pitch. Escalator clauses and lien language are exactly the kind of details that get glossed over in a sales conversation but can cost homeowners thousands over the life of an agreement.
If you’re currently evaluating a solar offer, or you already signed something and aren’t sure what it actually says, it’s worth having someone review it before those terms lock you in for the next two decades.
Read the full feature on Business Partner Magazine: Misleading Power Purchase Agreements and Other Solar Contracts Continue to Catch Homeowners Off Guard