Most Arizona homeowners interested in solar are asking the same question: if the federal solar tax credit is ending, does solar still make financial sense in 2026?
The concern is understandable. The residential tax credit that homeowners have used to reduce the cost of solar will no longer apply to systems installed after 2025.
The financial benefit of solar doesn't disappear without a residential tax credit. What changes is how that benefit is delivered.
Instead of homeowners receiving a tax credit directly after installing a system, the value can be captured through third party ownership programs. In these structures, a financing company or solar provider owns the system, and the value that used to go to the homeowner is reflected in the price or payment structure.
As a local installer with over 45 years of experience in Mohave County, Solar by Esmay has seen policy driven changes reshape the industry before. Today, Esmay works across these ownership structures, helping homeowners navigate the options available with clarity and confidence.
What changed for homeowners
On a practical level, nothing has changed about how solar works. Panels still generate electricity every day, and inverters convert that power into usable energy for your home. That consistency, combined with Arizona's strong sun, is what has made solar a reliable long term option for homeowners in Mohave County.
What has changed is how the federal incentive is applied. In the past, homeowners who purchased their system could claim a federal tax credit directly after installation, reducing their personal tax bill.
For systems installed after 2025, that option is no longer available. However, the incentive value is still available when the system is owned by a third party, such as a financing company or solar provider. In these cases, the owner of the system receives the incentive, and that financial value is built into the structure of the homeowner's agreement.
In simple terms, the incentive has not disappeared. It is now applied on the ownership side of the system instead of being claimed by the homeowner after installation.
How homeowners are still receiving that value
Many residential solar options in Arizona now look different from traditional ownership financing. Instead of purchasing the system outright, homeowners may be offered structures where a third party owns the system for a set period or for the full term of the agreement.
That ownership is what allows the incentive value to still be applied within the structure of the agreement. Two of the most common programs in Arizona today work this way.
1) Palmetto LightReach: a long term solar lease
Palmetto LightReach is a solar lease where Palmetto owns and operates the system for the full term of the agreement.
Here is how it works in practice:
- Palmetto installs and owns the system on the home
- The homeowner pays a fixed monthly payment for the energy the system produces
- Monitoring and maintenance are handled by Palmetto
- No upfront system purchase is required
Since Palmetto owns the system, they receive any applicable incentive value. That value is reflected in how the lease is priced over time.
For homeowners, the main benefit is simplicity. There is no system ownership responsibility and no maintenance coordination. The homeowner pays for the energy the system produces while Palmetto handles the system itself.
2) Propel by Concert Finance: a structured path to ownership
Propel by Concert Finance is a different structure for homeowners who want to end up owning their system, while still using third party ownership at the beginning.
It is offered through a financing partnership involving CED Greentech, Concert Finance, TriBeam Financial, and SolSource Solutions.
Here is how it works:
- A third party owns the system for the first five years
- That ownership allows the incentive value to be applied within the structure of the agreement
- The homeowner makes fixed monthly payments during this period
- After five years, ownership automatically transfers to the homeowner through a built in Early Buyout, with no action required from the homeowner
This transfer is not optional. It is built into the agreement from the start.
The purpose of this model is to combine two outcomes: lower cost access to solar in the early years and full homeowner ownership over the long term.
What this means for homeowners in Arizona
For homeowners in Arizona, the choice is now between two common structures: a long term lease or a path to ownership over time.
Palmetto LightReach is a lease where the provider owns and manages the system throughout the agreement, and the homeowner pays for the energy it produces.
Propel is structured differently. A third party owns the system at the beginning, and ownership transfers automatically to the homeowner after an initial period.
The difference is how ownership, and the financial structure behind it, is set up and managed over time.
Project timelines
Timing plays a key role in how projects are structured.
Projects that begin construction on or before July 4, 2026 may qualify under current federal incentive rules. Projects that begin after that date are generally subject to a shorter timeline and must typically be completed and placed in service by December 31, 2027.
In Mohave County, this matters because solar projects involve several steps before installation begins, including design, permitting, utility coordination, and scheduling.
Starting earlier gives homeowners more control over scheduling and project execution, while allowing Solar by Esmay's in house team to keep the project moving efficiently without the delays that can come from subcontractor coordination.
How Solar by Esmay supports homeowners
Changes in incentives and ownership structures have reshaped how homeowners access solar value, and we've adapted our approach to reflect that reality.
That means helping homeowners understand how each option actually works in practice, not just what the monthly payment looks like.
Our approach is rooted in over 45 years serving Lake Havasu City and Mohave County, with a consistent in house team handling every stage of the project, from design and permitting to installation and final inspection. We continue to provide support long after installation is complete.
The same team stays with your project from start to finish. For homeowners exploring next steps, our home solar calculator provides a simple way to estimate system size and project potential.
