This article is intended to clearly address the delineation between the standards enforced in the “Department of Energy - Solar Access Program” and the standard Palmetto LightReach Financial Offering (Main Line) Program.
Main areas of note,
Sales and NTP (M0) Milestone Requirements
Site Eligibility, Approved Vendor List, and Electrical Adders
Installation (M1) Milestone Submissions
Please review this article carefully, as failure to comply with these requirements may result in incorrect projections and potential disqualification / cancellation.
Palmetto LightReach follows a "Freedom within the Framework" approach. Installers are responsible to comply with our policies at help.palmetto.finance at all times.
As the sales process will no longer reside in applicants working with the DOE and Solar Ambassadors to generate leads and sign customers it will be important to highlight the following requirements as part of the standard Palmetto LightReach financing option.
NTP Requirements
Sales requirements are aligned with the Solar Access Program NTP requirements except in the following ways:
No “Terms & Conditions” form
Title check required
Credit check required
700 FICO Credit Score (Highest Score: Transunion and Equifax)
Soft credit inquiry (no impact on homeowner credit score)
No bankruptcies (7-Year Lookback)
Backup Battery Required
All projects are required a minimum battery size of 10kWh
Back Up Battery NOT PRICED SEPARATE from Solar
A customer PPA rate will include the solar and backup battery (one rate/one monthly payment)
The EPC $/W rate will assume that backup battery is already priced into the deal
There will be no additional battery price (this is unique to the Puerto Rico program)
Recheck Verification
To complete NTP, all sales reps must verify their identity via ReCheck:
Register at recheck.co/signup
Automatic email prompt sent at point of sale
Login required only once; saved for all future sales
Site Eligibility, Approved Vendor List, and Electrical Adders
Significant changes on the Scope of Work to be considered prior to starting the installation of Main Line Puerto Rico projects.
Puerto Rico Main Line Approved Vendor List Addendum
Please refer to the list below and check against the Main Line Approved Vendor List for materials approved for use in the Puerto Rico program.
Solar Module Providers
Open - Main Line AVL Reference
All modules acceptable in the Main Line Program are approved as noted in the knowledge base.
EXCEPTING mods that require Pre-Approval
Inverter and Hybrid Inverter Providers
Enphase & Tesla - Main Line AVL Reference
All Enphase Inverter models acceptable in the Main Line Program are approved as noted in the Knowledgebase.
Mounting and Racking
Iron Ridge - DOE AVL
Unirac - Main Line AVL Reference
All Uirack Components acceptable in the Main Line Program are approved as noted in the Knowledgebase.
S - 5! - DOE AVL
Battery Storage Providers
Enphase - Main Line AVL Reference
ONLY Enphase with the initial rollout of program
When the initial friction is addressed we can look to further additions to the approved vendor lists
Electrical Adders
It is critical to know where the DOE program does not align with Main Line standards and how this is represented in the Electrical Adders Section.
For all intents and purposes the definitions outlined in the PR: Solar Ready Repairs article - MUST PERFORM and MAY PERFORM are suspended as the entire home system is considered to be Within the Circuit Path.
The Puerto Rico Main Line program requires adherence to the Main Line Electrical Adders Article as there are standards and limitations on pricing as opposed to the practices within the DOE - Solar Access Program.
Some of the main considerations to be aware of:
Section A - All electrical adders must be directly related to facilitating the installation of PV or PV + Battery installation and included with the Quote Generation.
Section B - Panels ANYWHERE in the home interacting with the PV + Battery Installation require remediation.
Section D - Any conditions within the home related to hazardous or unsafe conditions are required to be addressed as part of the installation.
Eligible Sites
As part of the realignment with the Main Line Program the sites eligible for Funding has been expanded to include additional roof types, but also subject to an expanded amount of scrutiny.
Please review closely the Eligible Site article and direct your attention to the key differences:
Section B - Eligible Roof Types now include a variety of pitched and flat roof types, BUT these additional types include updated quality standards.
Section C - Eligible Home Types/Mounting Structures are still limited to Single Family Homes with full ownership and no shared portions of the structures.
Section E - Second Systems and Add Ons are strictly prohibited.
Failure to closely adhere to the expanded guidelines in the Main Line Program will result in a disqualification of projects.
Design Package | Inputs and Deliverables
For the full list of design deliverables, please refer to the standard LightReach KB article.
The article link has the approved design platforms for the Puerto Rico LightReach Program. Each platform has specific deliverables that must be provided based on system settings.
Failure to follow design requirements, or intentional misuse of modeling criteria to artificially impact homeowner value propositions, may result in the termination of access to the LightReach product.
Install (M1) Photo Documentation
The expanded list of installation photo deliverables associated with the DOE Solar Access Program will be maintained, however, it should be noted that there are additional requirements based on specific manufacturers.
For the complete list of photo deliverables, see the standard Install (M1) Photo Documentation article.
Monitoring Portal Access
There are strict deliverables related to Monitoring access that vary significantly by platform. Please reference the Enphase section in the Monitoring Portal Access (M1) article.
Key Deliverables are to ensure that PVE System Maintainer is granted at time of submission.