SunRun said the data show that its third-party owned business model has been successful in making home solar more affordable in California. “In 2007 we invented a way for homeowners to go solar without the high upfront costs so income would not prevent a switch to cleaner and less expensive energy,” SunRun President and Co-founder Lynn Jurich said in a release announcing the PV Solar Report. “The data from PV Solar Report shows this model is working, and that it’s not just the wealthy driving and benefiting from solar adoption. We are working to educate consumers that solar is finally affordable.”

The SunRun system is similar to a lease arrangement: The company owns, insures and maintains solar panels and