Palmetto

Impact Report 2025

Addressing the Energy Affordability
and Reliability Crisis

Contents

01 Introduction
04 Solar installations in 2025
05 A year of big saving
06 Electricity rates on the rise
07 Over performance in key states
08 Hyperscalers and residential solar
09 Supporting the solar workforce
10 Solar where it counts most
11 What’s next in 2026

Introduction

2025 is the year consumer energy
broke into the mainstream.

As energy bills spiked across
the country, terms like capacity
auction, demand growth projection,
and hyperscaler entered public
awareness. More importantly,
as energy bills rose, they started
squeezing already thin wallets.
Energy bills became a key
component of the affordability crisis
that grew more urgent for more
Americans this year.

million Americans
are struggling to
pay their utility bills

– powerlines.org

Nearly half of Americans call
their electric bill a major stressor,
according to recent research.
Four in five people said their electric
bill was higher than it was a year ago.
Nearly
80 million Americans are
struggling to pay their utility bills.

Nearly 80 million Americans are

Energy dominated parts of the
political landscape, too. Concerns
over energy bills played a key role in
elections this November and could
as well in the 2026 midterms. Fights
over energy tax credits were a focus
during the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
negotiations. At the same time,
cheap and clean renewables and
energy storage continued to make
up the bulk of new generation added

to the grid, despite new roadblocks
this year.

Within the residential solar industry,
the biggest story is the end of the
25D tax credit at the end of 2025
and the wholesale shift to third-
party ownership. How the industry
adapts remains to the earlier-than-
scheduled phase out remains to be
seen. Smaller companies that relied
on 25D are sure to be hit the hardest.
Companies with a strong track record
in third-party ownership can be a
lifeline to engineering, procurement,
and construction (EPC) companies
who need to pivot to third-party
ownership, and fast.

“ This year we’ve seen major changes in how solar
is financed, and being able to offer LightReach to
customers has been a real game-changer ”
– Caleb Antonucci, CEO Our World Energy
!

Palmetto stands uniquely at the nexus of 2025’s biggest trends in energy.

We've lowered the barrier to entry for solar, storage, and efficient HVAC systems, saving Americans millions of dollars.

We're a crucial partner to EPCs across the country.

We're building resilience at home and adding affordable energy to the grid as rising demand threatens to make it less reliable and more expensive.

2025 was a huge year that proves Palmetto’s mission is more urgent now than
ever and that we’re primed to make 2026 even bigger.

Solar deployment in 2025

We expanded Palmetto’s footprint in
2025 and project to complete 71,927
systems this year, helping nearly
72,000 families across 30 states and
Puerto Rico control their long-term
electricity costs.

Installation momentum is picking up
as 2025 draws to an end, reflecting
a push by homeowners to take

advantage of the 25D tax credits
before they expire.

All those solar installations generate
a lot of electricity. Earlier this year,
Palmetto-managed solar installations
surpassed
one terawatt-hour
of electricity produced.

surpassed one terawatt-hour of

We expanded Palmetto’s footprint in electricity produced.

Over 2025 alone, they’re projected to
produce 704 gigawatt-hours, enough
electricity to drive 800,000 electric
vehicles around the globe. Avoiding
that much grid electricity has the
same climate impact of removing
110,326 gas-powered vehicles
from the road for a year.

110,326 gas-powered vehicles from

!
Palmetto’s 2025 solar installations as of November.

Big savings in 2025

Distributed solar and storage are
key to the clean energy transition
and the health of the grid, but most
importantly, they help households
save money. All told, Palmetto’s
customers saved tens of millions of
dollars, even as rising electricity rates
became a national story.

Compared to the electricity rate from
their incumbent utility, Californians
working with Palmetto collectively
saved $27.8 million in 2025. That’s a
lot of tangible savings flowing directly
to consumers.

Palmetto
customers in
California saved
$27.8
million
in 2025

When
electricity
rates jumped,
Palmetto
customers
saved more

customers in additional pressure on people already

When electricity rates jump, it puts
additional pressure on people already
feeling the squeeze of the current
affordability crisis. It also proves
the value of locking in predictably
priced electricity from a
Palmetto
LightReach lease. When electricity
rates in Connecticut increased

priced electricity from a Palmetto

LightReach lease . When electricity

beyond market expectations,
Palmetto LightReach customers
there realized an additional
$463,000 in estimated savings. It’s
proof that locking in a predictable
and affordable rate
now can pay dividends years down
the road.

rates jumped, proof that locking in a predictable

!customers in
Connecticut saved
an additional

Heavy hitting in solar-heavy states

Palmetto had an outsized role in helping homeowners go solar this year.
As homeowners rushed to take advantage of the expiring 25D tax credits or
control their energy costs with third-party ownership solar, Palmetto was there
to make solar simple and easy.

USA map outline created by Alexander Skowalsky from the Noun Project

In Arizona, Palmetto accounted for 83 megawatts of solar panels,
approximately 51% of residential deployments there.

Residential solar and the hyperscaler

came with it. One recent projection

9% from Grid Strategies sees electricity

Perhaps no energy story was bigger
in 2025 than the explosion in data
center growth and the mind-boggling
demand growth projections that
came with it. One
recent projection
from Grid Strategies
sees electricity
usage growing 32% by 2030, a huge
number after decades of relatively
flat demand. Data centers accounted
for 55% of that projected growth.

Perhaps surprisingly, residential solar
can help meet that growing demand.
In states such as Florida, Palmetto
solar installations offset significant
portions of local data center energy
demand.

Data center energy demand offset
by Palmetto solar panels in Florida, 2025.

Supporting small businesses and solar workers

9 Impact Report 2025 !

This year also saw a potentially huge
disruption to the industry with the early
expiration of the 25D tax credit. Other
major disruptions, such as California’s
shift to NEM 3.0 in 2023, were followed
by business closures and job losses:
up to 17,000 jobs lost in California
according to a
survey
conducted that
year by the trade group, the California
Solar and Storage Association.

according to a survey conducted that

tax credit is still unknown, Palmetto’s goes

impact in supporting small and here ”

While the impact of the loss of the 25D
tax credit is still unknown, Palmetto’s
impact in supporting small and
medium businesses throughout the
industry is clear.

Palmetto’s streamlined technology
platform, competitive pricing, and
accessible financing are helping more
than 500 EPC partners strengthen
and scale their businesses in the post-
25D world. Those partners represent
an estimated workforce of more than
11,350 across the 30 states where
Palmetto LightReach-financed
systems were installed in 2025.

Savings to low-income communities

In 2024,
one in three American households
cut back on or went without
household necessities to pay their energy bill.
One in four low income
households
spent an average of 15% of their income on their energy bills.

In 2025, Palmetto deployed systems for 17,750 homes in low-income
communities for zero money down. That’s 17,750 high-efficiency solar
installations delivering clean and affordable energy where it’s most needed,
and providing lifetime savings of up to $27,600 per household.

What’s next in 2026

If 2025 was the year consumer
energy broke into the mainstream, it’s
safe to say it’ll stay there in 2026.

HVAC through Palmetto’s Comfort

Plan . Affordable access to bill-

Data centers, as they fuel the
expansion of AI and our online lives,
are expected to drive the explosion
in electricity use growth, accounting
for 55% of an expected one-third
increase in demand by 2030,
according to Grid Strategies.

Rising demand is likely to keep
residential electricity prices
marching upward. The US Energy
Information Administration predicts a
4% increase in 2026
after a projected
increase of 4.7% in 2025. With higher
prices not just at the electric meter, !

affordability will remain top of mind
for many Americans.

Alongside accessible and cost-
controlling solar through Palmetto
LightReach, consumers will have
access to zero-down, affordable
HVAC through
Palmetto’s Comfort
Plan. Affordable access to bill-
reducing solar and efficient and
reliable HVAC will become even
more valuable as tools to address the
affordability crisis. Accessible battery
storage will help ease grid stress
and the burden on consumers of
increasing power outages.

Palmetto’s offerings are poised for
another year of leading the world
into the clean energy future, where
homeowners control their costs
while building resiliency and gaining
greater energy independence. It’ll be
more important than ever.

Palmetto