Is it better to buy or lease solar panels?
If you're considering solar, you'll see three main ways to get it on your roof: buying the panels (with cash or a loan), leasing them, or signing a power purchase agreement (PPA). Each one can lower what you pay for electricity. They differ in who owns the system, how the incentives reach you, and what happens if you sell your home.
The short answer for 2026: owning usually saves the most over the life of the system if you can pay for it or finance it on good terms, while a lease or PPA saves less but asks for little or nothing up front and puts maintenance on the solar company.
How the federal credit works in 2026
Leased and PPA systems qualify for the 30% federal tax credit, and you get that value as a lower lease payment or power rate, often a better deal than buying. If your home is in an energy community, a bonus on the credit can lower your price further. If you buy solar with cash or a loan, your return comes from bill savings and state programs, since the homeowner version of the credit applied to systems installed through December 31, 2025.
The credit has its own deadline: systems that began construction after July 4, 2026 must be operating by December 31, 2027. Our guide to paying for solar in 2026 covers these rules in full.
Leasing Solar Panels
With a lease, you pay a solar company a monthly fee to use the panels it installs on your roof. You typically pay nothing up front, and the payment is designed to come in below what you were paying the utility for the same power. Leasing solar panels suits homeowners who mainly want a lower bill without a large purchase.
The solar company owns, insures and maintains the system, so repairs are its responsibility. You won't own the panels at the end of the term, which means you'll keep making a payment as long as the lease runs. Check whether the payment rises each year, what the term is, and what happens at the end. If you sell your home, the lease can usually be transferred to the buyer, who has to qualify, or bought out. Read the transfer terms before you sign.
Owning Solar Panels
When you buy your solar panels, either with cash or with a solar loan, you own the system and the power it makes. With a loan, you trade your electric bill for a loan payment. Once the loan is paid off, the panels keep producing power with no payment at all, which is why owning usually saves the most over 25 years or more.
Owners still receive the state incentives. In Massachusetts that includes the SMART 3.0 payment for the power your system produces, a state tax credit of 15% of the cost up to $1,000, and a 20-year property tax exemption. Rhode Island owners can apply for a grant through the state's Renewable Energy Fund. See the Massachusetts and Rhode Island incentive pages for details. What owners no longer receive is the 30% federal credit, so compare quotes on the full price.
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
With a power purchase agreement, a solar company installs panels on your home and sells you the electricity they produce at a set price per kilowatt-hour. Like a lease, you don't own the panels, and the company handles maintenance. The difference is that you pay for the power the panels make, not a flat monthly fee, so your payment rises in sunny months and falls in dark ones. For the details, read what a solar PPA is and how it works, compare a solar lease vs. a PPA, or see how a prepaid PPA replaces the monthly bill with one payment.
A PPA rate is usually set below the utility's rate, but it isn't guaranteed to stay that way. Look at the starting rate, whether it rises each year, and the length of the agreement. Some companies also offer a prepaid PPA, where you pay for the expected power up front in one lump sum.
Which option is best?
It depends on what you want most:
- The biggest long-term savings: own the system, with cash or a loan you're comfortable with. You keep the state incentives and the power is free once it's paid off.
- Little or nothing up front, no maintenance: a lease or PPA. Savings start right away, with the value of the federal credit built into your price.
- Planning to move within a few years: compare how each option transfers. An owned system can add to your sale price; a lease or PPA has to be taken over by the buyer.
Evergreen Solar offers all of these: cash, loan, lease, PPA and prepaid PPA. We can price them for your home side by side, so you can compare the real numbers instead of rules of thumb. Tell us a little about your home and we'll show you what each option costs and saves.