Considering "Customer aquisition" as a cost is really funny (and that seems to be the "soft cost" discussed).

In Minnesota the "deal" for solar if you cannot DIY / off-grid is just meh.

They do not allow use of battery backups or cutover, they cut out when the power goes out, and they "credit" you to reduce your overall bill. You can make money if you produce more power in sunny warm times than you use year around (at least while you are the only one!), but the dream of energy independence at a local scale just isn't there yet.

What I want is something that offsets my grid use (potentially to zero but not negative), so that I can use grid or solar to charge my EV and a whole-home battery bank with three days reserve. I don't care about becoming part of the overall grid solution, but in city limits, it appears I must, and that necessitates extra equipment and rules out my backup use case.

And yet, I get constant calls and fliers about it - all "soft costs" - no matter how much I say no.