The Participate integration is currently in beta and available to a limited group of customers. Features and availability may change during the beta. To request access, contact your Aurora Account Manager.
With the Participate Energy integration active on your account, you can quote a Participate prepaid lease without leaving Sales Mode. Aurora checks the project’s incentive eligibility with Participate, retrieves the lease pricing, and applies the homeowner’s discounted price to your proposal automatically.
This article covers the rep workflow. For the one-time account setup, see How to configure the Participate Energy integration.
In this article
- Before you begin
- Step 1: Design with Participate-approved components
- Step 2: Select Participate Energy on the Financing page
- Step 3: Review the prepaid lease pricing
- Comparing Participate with other financing options
- Troubleshooting
- FAQs
Before you begin
- The Participate Energy integration is configured for your account, and your admin has enabled at least one financing product for Participate. If you don’t see Participate Energy as an option, check with your account admin.
- The project is residential and located in a state Participate serves. Participate determines state availability — confirm coverage with your team if you’re unsure.
- Your system price is finalized. Participate prices the lease from your eligible system cost, so lock in pricing before presenting the lease to the homeowner.
Step 1: Design with Participate-approved components
Participate only prices designs built from components on its approved vendor list (AVL) — the lease estimate returns an error if the design includes a component Participate doesn’t recognize. The specific panels and battery you choose also determine whether the design qualifies for the domestic content bonus.
Domestic content: a federal bonus incentive for clean energy systems built with US-manufactured equipment. Eligibility is evaluated per component — the panels and the battery are checked separately — and Participate makes the determination when it prices the lease. Designs that qualify earn Participate a larger incentive, which increases the homeowner’s discount.
- When placing panels, select the Participate Energy tab in the component dropdown to choose from approved panels.
- If the design includes storage, make sure your battery model is on Participate’s AVL.
Using components outside the AVL will prevent Participate from pricing the design. The Participate Energy tab shows the approved components your admin has enabled — see New Feature: AVL Component Selection for TPO Financiers for how the AVL tabs work.
Step 2: Select Participate Energy on the Financing page
- On the Financing page, open the Select financing dropdown and choose Participate Energy.
- Select a financing product. The products listed are the ones your admin has enabled for Participate — they are your organization’s own products, not a list from Participate.
When you select a product, Aurora contacts Participate and runs three checks in sequence:
- Energy community check — based on the project’s address, checked once per project.
- Domestic content check — based on the specific panels and battery in the design.
- Lease estimate — Participate returns the lease factor and pricing for the design.
Energy community: a federally designated location category — generally areas with historic ties to fossil fuel industries or retired coal facilities — that qualifies a project for a bonus incentive. Eligibility is based on the project’s address and checked against government designations, so it isn’t something you or the homeowner can change.
Step 3: Review the prepaid lease pricing
Prepaid lease factor: the multiplier Participate Energy uses to convert your eligible system cost into the homeowner’s prepaid lease price. A higher prepaid lease factor means a larger discount for the homeowner. Once the checks complete, the financing card shows the Participate Energy prepaid lease with the lease factor and the homeowner’s discounted price. If the prepaid amount is being financed, the associated loan details appear with the lease so the homeowner sees both parts of the structure in one place.
Keep in mind:
- Participate’s discount is calculated from your eligible system cost before incentives. Do not add residential incentives to the project — the commercial (48E) credit is claimed by Participate, not the homeowner, and adding residential incentives will produce inaccurate financials.
- While the financing simulation refreshes, the prepaid lease factor and pricing appear dashed out. This is expected — the values return once the simulation completes.
- Editing the design re-prices the prepaid lease. Changing components, system size, or price can change eligibility results and the lease factor.
Comparing Participate with other financing options
You can present a Participate prepaid lease alongside your other financing options in the comparison view. Participate Energy options are grouped under the Participate Energy financier, so it’s easy to show the homeowner a prepaid lease next to a standard loan or cash purchase. See How to Select Your Financing Product in Sales Mode for how financing selection works generally.
Troubleshooting
Participate Energy doesn’t appear in the financing dropdown.
The integration may not be configured for your account, no financing products may be enabled for Participate yet, or the project may not qualify (for example, commercial projects). Check with your account admin.
No available financing products to select.
This means that financing products have not been enabled for Participate in the Financing configuration. Ensure all financing products for Participate are active and checked for TPO use.
Financing calculation failed or can’t be determined.
This usually means a component in the design isn’t recognized on Participate’s AVL. Re-select the panels from the Participate Energy tab and try again. For battery storage, check with Participate's AVL to make sure it’s included. If a component you believe is approved still fails, contact Aurora Support.
The Participate Energy AVL tab is empty or missing components.
Components on Participate’s AVL only appear on the tab after your admin enables them in the component database. Ask your admin to enable the panels your team quotes with.
The prepaid lease factor differs between two similar designs.
The prepaid lease factor is eligibility-driven. Two designs can differ because one address is in an energy community and the other isn’t, or because their components have different domestic content eligibility, or because the system type differs (PV only vs. PV + storage).
The prepaid lease factor or net cost shows as dashes.
A brief dash-out while the simulation refreshes is normal. If it doesn’t clear, Participate couldn’t price the design – most often because of an adder it can’t cover (for example, an adder with the CBI setting turned off). Include only adders Participate approves, remove anything it doesn’t cover, then try again.
FAQs
Does selecting Participate Energy submit an application or run a credit check?
No. Selecting Participate Energy retrieves pricing only — it does not submit an application, share the homeowner’s personal information, or run a credit check. Complete Participate’s agreement process through your normal Participate workflow.
Can the homeowner finance the prepaid lease amount?
Yes. Homeowners can pay the prepaid amount in cash or finance it through an approved lender. Your admin can set up the matching loan product. See How to set up prepaid TPO financing.
What is the homeowner actually signing up for?
Per Participate Energy: the prepaid lease has a 25-year initial term with an option for the homeowner to purchase the system at fair market value as early as year 6. The agreement is transferable if the home is sold, and Participate does not require credit underwriting or a lien on the home. Direct homeowners to Participate’s materials for full program terms.
Why did the pricing change after I edited the design?
Design changes trigger a re-simulation, and Participate re-prices the lease using the updated system details. If eligibility changed — for example, you swapped to a panel with different domestic content eligibility — the lease factor and discount change with it.
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