Good morning Galen, installing solar panels is a good choice, you have explained it very well: cost savings and self-sufficiency.
One of the problems about their installation when you do not live in your own house, but in an apartment, is that you need the approval of the majority of the owners to install them, for now in my case it is not possible. It's not that my neighbors are crazy, the biggest energy expenditure occurs in winter and we are about 2000 families who share a common gas boiler that saves us a lot of money a year.
There's different rules for renters here too although the tenant has the power in their name and so they get any benefits that come from the solar system. Most landlords won't put solar systems on though.
The same is true here.