Prepaid ESA (like Propel): a company owns your system ~5 years, claims the commercial credit, gives you 25-40% off, then ownership transfers to you. Discount + equity. My general favorite for qualifying credit.
PPA: you buy the power, not the panels — $0.17-$0.33/kWh vs SDG&E's $0.40+, with all maintenance, repairs, and replacements covered for 25 years. Watch the escalator (0-3.9%/year), and know that "fixed payment" sales language often hides one.
Cash/loan: cleanest ownership, but with no federal credit anymore, the math flipped hard. Only pencils if outright day-one ownership matters more to you than total savings.
Full comparison with every provider graded →