Key takeaways
- “Free solar” in Georgia means a $0-down loan, lease or power purchase agreement (PPA). You pay over time, not upfront.
- Georgia BRIGHT, the one no-cost program, is still paused on October 5, 2026, even after courts ruled the end of its Solar for All funding unlawful.
- No state tax credit, no SREC market, no rebate. A system earns bill savings plus a credit for power you send to the grid.
- That credit depends on your utility: 7.22 cents per kWh at Georgia Power, 5.121 cents per kWh at Cobb EMC, 2.6 cents per kWh at Walton EMC.
- On Jackson and Walton EMC, a lease may not earn the credit. Their rules cover systems the member owns.
About this review
Utility, law and tax figures were checked against the linked sources between September 29 and October 1, 2026. Georgia BRIGHT’s status and the court rulings were rechecked on October 5, 2026. This guide is not tax, legal or financial advice. See our editorial process and content standards.
The “free” solar offers in Georgia are real financing deals, sold across most of the state. What the ads skip is that Georgia is a low-value solar market: no state tax credit, no market for solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) and no utility rebate. A “free” contract here has less to hand over than the same pitch elsewhere.
That cuts both ways. A $0-down loan keeps the whole payoff with you. A lease or PPA earns its place only when it clearly beats your bill. And Georgia has a documented record of solar sales abuse. Start with what solar costs in Georgia: a typical 9.21 kW system runs $25,604 before incentives.
Georgia BRIGHT: The One No-Cost Program, and Why It Is Paused
Georgia BRIGHT is led by the nonprofit lender Capital Good Fund with Atlanta, Savannah and Decatur. With Georgia’s federal Solar for All grant, it opened a No-Cost Solar Plan in August 2025, and nearly a thousand families signed up within days. Then the EPA’s termination notices took effect on August 7, 2025, and the program stopped.
Georgia BRIGHT (Solar for All)
The only Georgia route to rooftop solar with no upfront cost and no monthly payment, built for lower-income homeowners. You apply through the program, never through a salesperson or EcoGen.
Capital Good Fund: Solar for All, Georgia BRIGHTRun by the nonprofit lender Capital Good Fund with the cities of Atlanta, Savannah and Decatur. Checked October 5, 2026.
- Who it was for
- Households under the program’s income limit, or in a census tract it treats as disadvantaged
- How slots were given
- By drawing, not first come, first served
- Status
- Paused. On October 5, 2026, Capital Good Fund and georgiabright.org still said Georgia BRIGHT’s Solar for All programming is paused until further notice. Nothing is open to apply for.
In September 2026, federal courts in Rhode Island (September 18) and Washington, DC ruled that the EPA’s termination of Solar for All was unlawful. The EPA said it was weighing an appeal. As of October 5, 2026, Georgia BRIGHT had not announced a restart. A court win is not money in BRIGHT’s account. Until Capital Good Fund says sign-ups are open, nobody can sell you a BRIGHT slot. Its first round, with DeKalb County, was a discounted lease, so a restart may look more like a lease than a giveaway. Sign up for alerts on georgiabright.org.
Zero-Down Solar in Georgia: Loan, Lease or PPA, and Who Keeps the Payoff
The Solar Power Free-Market Financing Act of 2015 lets a homeowner lease a system of up to 10 kW AC or sign a PPA for its power, and bars the utility from interfering. So all three routes are legal. Ownership matters more here than it seems, because some co-ops credit only member-owned systems.
| Zero-down route | Who owns the panels | Export credit on your bill | The Georgia catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solar loan | You | Yours, at every utility | No federal home credit, so you finance the full price |
Pros and cons in Georgia: $0-down loanPros
Cons
Can fit if: you will stay long enough to pay it off, and the payment is close to what the panels save at your utility’s real credit. | |||
| Solar lease | The company | Yours at Georgia Power and Sawnee. Ask Jackson and Walton first. | A fixed fee priced off a credit worth less than half your bill rate |
Pros and cons in Georgia: leasePros
Cons
Can fit if: you are with Georgia Power or Sawnee, and the fee is well below your bill with no yearly increase. | |||
| Power purchase agreement (PPA) | The company | Same as a lease | A price per kWh that often rises every year |
Pros and cons in Georgia: PPAPros
Cons
Can fit if: the price, with every yearly increase, stays below your utility’s price per kWh for the whole term. | |||
Lease or PPA: what each must beat
Question | Lease | PPA |
|---|---|---|
It has to beat | Your whole monthly bill | Your price per kWh: about 15.5 cents per kWh at Georgia Power, about 11.4 cents at Cobb EMC (2024) |
After a cloudy month | Same fee | A smaller PPA bill |
Output risk | Yours, unless output is guaranteed | Mostly the company’s |
Georgia has no SREC or rebate for a leasing company to keep, so no money-flow chart is needed here. Compare loan terms and APRs in our solar financing guide.
Georgia Power or an EMC: The Credit Every Offer Is Priced Against
Georgia Power serves about half of Georgia homes. Member-owned co-ops, called EMCs (electric membership corporations), serve about 4 in 10. Each utility sets its own credit for the power you send out.
| Utility | Credit per kWh sent out | 100 kWh earn | Leased systems | Extra cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Powerabout half of homes | 7.22 cents per kWh | $7.22 | Credited either way | $100 once |
| Cobb EMCabout 4% of homes | 5.121 cents per kWh | $5.12 | Not stated | $100 once |
| Sawnee EMCabout 4% of homes | 3.79 cents per kWh | $3.79 | Allowed | Ask Sawnee |
| Walton EMCabout 3% of homes | 2.6 cents per kWh | $2.60 | Owner must run it | $800 metering |
| Jackson EMCabout 5% of homes | Not published | Ask Jackson | Member-owned only | $10 a month |
| Other EMC or city utility | Set by its board | Ask in writing | Ask in writing | Ask in writing |
Georgia Power: 3.2188 cents avoided cost for 2026 plus a fixed 4 cents, for systems up to 10 kW AC. Its June 26, 2026 filing would make about 7.93 cents per kWh in 2027. Walton’s rate runs through December 31, 2026. Sources: Georgia Power, Cobb EMC, Sawnee EMC, Walton EMC, Jackson EMC.
Georgia Power does not use classic net metering. Every kWh that leaves your home earns 7.22 cents per kWh, less than half of the about 15.5 cents per kWh its homes paid on average in 2024. A quote that values exports at your full bill rate is wrong. The same gap means a battery rarely pays off in savings alone; buy one for outages.
When $0-Down Solar Does Not Make Sense in Georgia
- You use little power by day. Most output would leave at the low export rate.
- You are on Jackson or Walton EMC and the offer is a lease or PPA. Get the co-op’s answer in writing first.
- An EMC home is quoted on Georgia Power numbers. Walton pays 2.6 cents per kWh, and Jackson charges solar homes $120 a year.
- You may move soon, or your roof needs work. A buyer must take over the contract, and re-roofing means paying to move someone else’s panels.
Georgia Offer Audit: From Pink Energy to Escalator Clauses
On August 18, 2022, the Georgia Attorney General warned about pitches promising free solar or a Georgia Power or EMC partnership. Installer Pink Energy went bankrupt and left customers with loans and no company to call. Check these before you sign.
- Loan, lease or PPA, in writing?
If it is called Georgia BRIGHT or a government program, stop. BRIGHT is paused and never sold door to door.
- Cash price next to the $0-down price?
The gap is the cost of financing. Compare with our Georgia cost guide.
- Which utility and export rate did the estimate use?
It should match the table above, not your full bill rate.
- Any escalator, and what is the last year’s payment?
Ask for the year-by-year schedule, the transfer rules and the buyout price. See solar lease exit options.
- Is the installer licensed?
Georgia has no solar license. Check the Class I or Class II electrical contractor license with the Secretary of State.
Walk away from a claimed utility partnership, a “government” slot, or a seller who will not put your export rate in writing.
Georgia Power says it has no exclusive partnership with any solar company. See the solar scam warning signs and our Georgia solar companies guide.
Get Georgia Quotes Side by Side: Cash, Loan and Lease
Ask each installer for the cash price, the $0-down payment and the export rate it assumed for your utility.
Start with your ZIP code
This is a commercial quote request, not a Georgia BRIGHT application. For program news, use the official Georgia BRIGHT page.
How EcoGen is paid
EcoGen America does not sell or install solar. When you request quotes, we pass your request to solar providers serving your area, and they pay us for the introduction. Providers can include installers, solar marketplaces and lead exchanges, and more than one may contact you. You never pay us.
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More Georgia Solar Guides
Georgia Free Solar FAQs
Can you really get free solar panels in Georgia?
Not today. Georgia BRIGHT, the only no-cost route, has been paused since August 7, 2025. Everything else sold as “free” is a loan, lease or PPA.
Can I get zero-down solar in Georgia?
Yes. Installers sell $0-down loans, leases and PPAs, and state law protects leases and PPAs for home systems up to 10 kW AC. On Jackson or Walton EMC, ask the co-op before leasing.
Is the Georgia “government solar program” real?
One real program exists, Georgia BRIGHT, and it is paused. The Attorney General warns that “government program” and utility-partnership pitches are a common deception.
Is there a solar tax credit for Georgia homeowners in 2026?
No. The federal home credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025, and Georgia’s state credit covered only systems switched on by December 31, 2014. In a lease or PPA, business credits go to the company.
Is a loan, lease or PPA better in Georgia?
For owners who can carry the payment, a loan usually keeps the most, because there are few incentives to share. A lease or PPA trades that for no repairs.
What happens to my lease or PPA if I sell my home?
The buyer must qualify and take it over, or you buy it out before closing. Get both terms before you sign.
Is Georgia Power Community Solar worth it?
Not to save money. A block costs $24 a month and makes about 165 kWh a month, and Georgia Power says the charge may exceed the credit. It suits renters who want to back solar.
Sources and review
Figures checked September 29 to October 1, 2026; Georgia BRIGHT rechecked October 5, 2026. The administrator’s current page always wins.
- Georgia Power, Residential Rooftop Solar FAQ (checked September 30, 2026)
- Georgia Power, tariff RNR-11, Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources (checked September 30, 2026)
- Georgia Power, Rooftop solar: How it works, schedule of fees (checked September 30, 2026)
- Georgia Power, Community Solar (checked September 30, 2026)
- Cobb EMC, Schedule DG-1, Distributed Generation Service, effective February 1, 2026 (checked September 30, 2026)
- Cobb EMC, I'm ready to install rooftop solar (checked September 30, 2026)
- Walton EMC, Selling Your Solar Power (checked September 30, 2026)
- Jackson EMC, Net Metering Rider, in the rate book filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission, Docket 31536 (read September 30, 2026 for the incentives database)
- Sawnee EMC, Net Metering Rider NEM-18 (read September 29, 2026 for the incentives database)
- Central Georgia EMC, PowerUp Lending Program (checked September 30, 2026)
- Official Code of Georgia, release 73: Title 46 (46-3-50 to 46-3-66) and Title 48 (48-5-41, 48-7-29.14)
- Georgia Attorney General, Carr Warns of Misleading Solar Power Offers, August 18, 2022
- Georgia Public Service Commission, Consumer Solar Information Portal
- Capital Good Fund, Solar for All: Georgia BRIGHT Communities Initiative (checked September 30, 2026)
- IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit (checked September 30, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, 2024 data, Sales to Ultimate Customers
- EcoGen Solar Cost Index, Georgia
- Georgia BRIGHT, program site (status and sign-up for alerts, checked October 5, 2026)
- Southern Environmental Law Center, Court strikes down EPA cancellation of the Solar for All program (September 2026)
- Georgia Secretary of State, State Board of Electrical Contractors (Class I and Class II licenses)
- WYSO, Bankrupt Pink Energy leaves residential solar customers dissatisfied, January 30, 2023
