When I looked into solar panels, about three years ago, the general advice was to
not go for one of the leased systems, for a couple of reasons. One is that, in the long run, you're almost certain to get a better payoff by owning the panels and collecting whatever benefits they provide directly. The second is that a set of leased solar panels can actually be an
impediment to selling your house; the buyer will be saddled with whatever terms you negotiated, which the buyer might not like. The end result is that there will be little or no increase in your property value and it may take longer to sell the house. Of course, if you expect to not be in the house for very long, the first point may not be a big deal, and being able to save a little on your electric bills could be enticing; but in that case, the savings you'll see will be pretty minor, too.
I recommend that anybody considering solar panels in the US check out a site called
Energy Sage. You enter your address in this site and they'll contact several solar installers in your area for quotes. The initial quotes will be
very tentative, since they're based on satellite images of your property; but they'll give you some idea of what you might expect in the way of costs and payback periods. If you proceed, you can then contact as many of the installers as you like to get more accurate quotes based on in-person inspections of your property. It's been a while, but as I recall, some or all of the installers who responded to me offered a variety of financing options, including both outright purchase and leasing/PPA options; so even if you decide to go with the latter, contacting local installers for estimates may be worthwhile, in addition to contacting big national companies. The Energy Sage site also has a lot of documentation on solar technology, financing options, net metering, renewable energy credits (RECs), etc.
FWIW, I've now had solar panels on my house for about three years. When I had them installed, the estimated payback period was about 8 years. It's been a while since I've done a detailed analysis, but after the first year, I crunched the numbers, and 8 years seemed about right for the payback. Overall, I'm quite happy with what I've got.