Solar Service Agreement
Origin: City Council of Tempe City, Arizona
Bill Name/Number: Agenda Item 62A
Link: Click here
YEO Sponsor: Tempe Vice Mayor Corey Woods
Summary: Passed in February 2015, this agreement between SolarCity Corporation and the city of Tempe, Arizona
is for the development, construction, and maintenance of three solar photovoltaic electric generation systems to be
installed at the Tempe Public Library complex.
Talking Points & Important Information:
• A solar power purchase agreement – or a solar services agreement – is a financial agreement in which a thirdparty developer owns, operates, and maintains the photovoltaic (PV) system, and a host customer agrees to site
the system on its roof or elsewhere on its property and purchases the system’s electric output from the solar
services provider for a predetermined period. This financial arrangement allows the host customer to receive
stable, and sometimes lower cost electricity, while the solar services provider or another party acquires valuable
financial benefits such as tax credits and income generated from the sale of electricity to the host customer.
• Solar is the cleanest, most abundant renewable energy source available. With this tremendous potential, it’s no
surprise that solar is the fastest-growing sector of the American clean energy economy with more than 174,000
created and counting.
• By 2016, solar is expected to offset more than 45 million metric tons of damaging carbon emissions—the
equivalent of removing 10 million cars off U.S. roads and highways, or shuttering 12 coal-fired plants.
• States across the country understand the promise of solar power, and California, Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey,
North Carolina, and Nevada are all leading the way in domestic solar installations.
• While solar energy plays an important role in fighting climate change and over-dependence on harmful fossil
fuels, it’s important to note that solar projects should be developed sustainably to avoid harming existing
ecosystems.
• For more on solar services agreements, click here.
2015 POLICY BOOK
LOCAL
LEVEL
PAGE 85