 At the end of the 10 years, the power company gets to buy solar power at its regular rate, and it now has a new source of power without having to pay and maintain and eventually dismantle a nuclear reactor. In fact, while the reactor would have a 20- to 30-year lifespan, the solar panels typically last 50 years. For the homeowners, it was a no-brainer. They were getting low-interest loans from banks for the solar panels, and the power companies were paying for the power generated from those panels at a higher rate, high enough to pay off the loans. It was like getting solar power back.