Some of the largest solar installers offer Third Party Ownership (TPO) plans. In these plans you don’t technically own the panels on your roof. While this may seem like an attractive proposition, (no upfront installation costs!) this option has several serious downsides.
One common TPO plan is a Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA). In this agreement, the solar installer charges you for the energy produced by the panels in a similar way to a utility company. They typically charge less than the utility company would for the same amount of usage, but many of these plans contain “price escalators” which increase your energy rates over the years.
When you lease your solar panels, you pay a monthly fee. There are a variety of leasing plans, some which require no up-front costs, and some that involve significant up-front costs. A good rule of thumb is this: The more you pay up-front when leasing a solar setup, the more leverage you have in negotiating energy/monthly rent prices.