Solar Rebates by State in 2021

In addition to the 26% Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, homeowners may have access to additional solar incentives from their state or local utility.

Here’s a summary of solar rebates by state.

California Solar Rebates

Due to high energy costs and ample sunlight, California is a great state for solar. It isn’t the best state in terms of rebates, however. A few state and local rebates were available in the past, but have sunset within the last few years.
Most utilities do participate in Net Energy Metering, meaning that a homeowner can net out excess solar production against electricity pulled from the grid, helping reduce any leftover utility bill.

The 3 major California utilities, SCE, SDG&E, and PG&E, also offer SGIP battery storage rebates which vary in value based on the customer’s rate plan, home location, and additional variables.

Massachusetts Solar Rebates

Massachusetts has become a leader in solar incentives, championing both a SMART Solar Rebate program and a state tax credit for solar. Homeowners are encouraged to take advantage of these incentives now, as program funding will decline over time. 

Massachusetts SMART Solar Rebate

Massachusetts offers the “Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target” or ‘SMART’ Solar Rebate program, which replaced the state’s SREC program a few years ago.

Under the SMART Program, the state’s three investor owned utilities, National Grid, Eversource, and Unitil, will directly compensate participating solar system owners for their solar power generation.

The program features a declining block structure that is capped statewide at 1600 MW in incentivized solar projects. Each utility supports a percentage of the program proportionate to the amount of electricity they distribute in the state.

This means that residents residing in a smaller utility’s coverage area may see the SMART Program end quicker. The given utility’s current incentive value is below. Note that the listed rates are for homeowners who are not considered low income, and for a system less than or equal to 25kW (which the majority of rooftop solar will be within).

If you’re going solar in Massachusetts, your Solar.com Energy Advisor can help you estimate the value of your system’s SMART production incentive.

Massachusetts State Tax Credit

In addition to the SMART Program, Massachusetts residents can claim a personal tax credit of $1,000 or 15% of qualifying project costs, whichever is less.

New York Solar Rebates

New York may be the best state for solar, in terms of incentive programs available to homeowners. In a best case scenario, you could reach up to 80% of your project costs covered by some form of incentive.

MW Block Rebate

New York state has a great solar rebate program under the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) NY-Sun Program. This rebate incentive is called the Megawatt Block incentive, as the $/watt rebate amount varies based on which “block” the incentive is reserved under for different areas.

Below is a look at where the block reservations are in June 2021. Long Island has closed, so currently the incentive is available for those within ConEd and Upstate NY territory.

New York State Tax Credit

New York’s System Equipment Credit is one of the best state tax credits available for solar. For people who purchase solar systems in New York, they are given a credit worth 25% of their system cost, up to $5,000.

New York City Property Tax Abatement

People living in New York City can also take advantage of the property tax abatement run by the NYC Department of Buildings. Homeowners who have installed a solar PV system are eligible for a property tax abatement equal to 20% of the total system cost (after rebate), applied against their property taxes over four years.

New Jersey Solar Rebates

New Jersey has a Transition Renewable Energy Certificates (TRECs) program. TRECs are created to provide incentives for all solar systems certified under the current Transition Incentive (TI) Program. This platform allows homeowners to earn payments from the electric utilities for solar power generation.

In addition to your net metering savings, for every megawatt-hour your solar energy system generates, you will be credited with one TREC. The earned TRECs can then be sold on a market to utilities to help them meet the New Jersey Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).

The purpose of the TRECs is for the utilities to produce a certain percentage of their power from green sources. The sale value of a TREC can vary, but the current effective price is $91.20/REC for net-metered, residential rooftop solar.

Find your Home Solar Solution

In addition to these major state incentives, certain local governments or utilities offer additional rebates and incentives. Be sure to speak with your Solar.com Energy Advisor about any local incentives in your area.

On Solar.com, you can quickly view estimates for your home solar project. If interested, schedule a call with us to work out the details. With a few easy steps you’ll receive competitive quotes from vetted, local installers. A dedicated Energy Advisor will help you through the process to ensure that you can go solar with confidence.