7.4 Most new California PPA / lease systems are deliberately misshapen

Every single NEM-3.0-era PPA / lease deal we have examined has the same structural malformation: a large array paired with a tiny battery. A 12 kW system that produces 30–70 kWh/day, paired with a 10 kWh battery. So most of the daytime production gets sold to the grid for pennies. The battery drains quickly in the evening, and the household pays retail to the utility for the rest of the night.

The reason these systems are designed this way: PPA / lease contracts only guarantee production. Whether that production actually serves the homeowner isn't their concern. So there is no business incentive to install a larger, more expensive battery. Whether you lose money as a result is irrelevant to them.

Every customer we have seen on these contracts ends up with a higher total electricity spend post-install than they had before solar. This is one of the main reasons the general public has a bad impression of solar.

The most extreme case we've seen: under NEM 3.0, the customer was given no battery at all. Their consumption was mostly evening, so the system essentially did nothing useful for them. They still pay $200/month extra for the privilege.