Solar States owner Micah Gold-Markel carries a solar panel from a truck to the house where it will be installed. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption

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Jeff Brady/NPR

PHILADELPHIA — On a recent cold morning, Micah Gold-Markel helped his installation crew hoist new solar panels onto the roof of a two-story, red brick house. The installation was like many others his company, Solar States , has performed since 2008, with one big difference: This time, the homeowner isn't buying the panels.

Instead, the homeowner will lease the panels from another company, called Palmetto . For most of his own company's history, Gold-Markel avoided leasing. With these arrangements, sometimes called subscriptions or power purchase agreements (PPAs), a third party owns the panels and leases them back to the homeowner.

But last summer, President Trump signed legislation that ended federal tax incentives that had cut at least 30% off the price of purchased panels. Similar incentives for leased panels remain .…