Residential Solar Incentives

As a homeowner considering solar, you will find that several generous incentives are currently being offered.  The incentives change based on whether a solar project is for a residential, commercial, or public customer and vary by state.  The subsidies also come from three different pools of funds – the federal government, your state government, and your utility.  We have included links with more detailed information on residential and commercial incentives for Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.  The incentives change frequently so we urge you to contact us for more information on which subsidies would apply to your project.

Federal

A summary of all federal incentives for renewables and efficiency can be found on DSIRE.

State

A summary of all state incentives for renewables and efficiency can be found on DSIRE. Choose your state for more details.

Utility

If you currently get electricity from a municipal power authority, you may not qualify for state or other utility incentives.  For more information, ask your utility provider directly or refer to DSIRE.

Types of Incentives:

1. Personal Tax Incentives

These include income tax credits.  Most states offer these incentives to decrease the cost of making a renewable energy investment.  The percentage of the credit differs for each state.  In many, there may be a maximum dollar limit of the credit.  The credit may include carryover provisions, or it could be structured so it can be consumed over a specified amount of years.

2. Property Tax Incentives

These include exemptions, exclusions, abatements and credits.  Most property tax incentives allow the added value of your photovoltaic system to be exempt from the valuation of the property when determining your property tax.

3. Sales Tax Exemption

Most states offer sales tax exemption on the equipment and/or labor for renewable energy programs.

3. Rebates

Rebates are offered by states, local governments, and utilities to lower the net cost of solar electric systems.  Rebates are typically based the system size (per watt DC) of your solar array.

4. Solar Renewable Energy Credits

An SREC is a tradeable certificate that represents all the positive environmental attributes of electricity generated from a solar electric system.  Each time a solar system generates 1,000 kilowatt hours, or 1 megawatt hour, of electricity, an SREC is issued which can then be sold or traded separately.

5. Loan Programs

Certain loan programs are in place to finance renewable energy measures.  These programs may include advantageous benefits like lower interest rates or more relaxed qualification standards.

6. Net Metering

Net metering allows customers to get credit for the full retail value of the electricity their solar electric system generates.  Under this agreement, the customer’s electric meter tracks the surplus electricity generated by the solar electric system and the electricity that the customer consumes.  The customer is only billed for the net amount of electricity they use.