7.10 The 20-year trap for older battery-less PPA customers

This one specifically applies to homeowners who signed a NEM 2.0 PPA around 2018:

• NEM 2.0 grandfathering is only 20 years. Around 2038 your system will be forced onto whatever NEM is current at that point (likely NEM 4.0 or worse).
• Your PPA is 25 years. When NEM 2.0 expires, you still have ~5 years left on the PPA.
• During those 5 years, your battery-less system can only sell at the cheap export rate.
• The PPA contract's fine print already absolved them of any responsibility for grid policy changes.
• Want to add a battery yourself? You don't own the system. You can't modify it.
• Ask the PPA company to add one? Their quote will exceed the entire remaining 5 years of electricity cost.

For these customers, every additional month of PPA payment is pure profit for the solar company. Negotiating an early buyout is one of the few escape routes, but the buyout quote is usually high — you need a knowledgeable third party to assess valuation.