Key takeaways
- No Michigan program gives panels away today. MI Solar for All, the state’s federally funded low-income program, has been paused since the EPA’s termination letter of August 7, 2025, and no homeowner offer ever opened.
- “Free” solar in Michigan means a $0-down loan, lease or power purchase agreement (PPA). You pay over time, not upfront.
- Power you send out earns less than power you use. At DTE, 100 off-peak kWh cost about $18.44 to buy but earn $8.71 when exported.
- Oversized systems are the outflow problem. State rules cap a new home system at 110% of the electricity you used in the past 12 months, and every kWh past your own use earns the lower outflow credit.
- No federal tax credit for a home system you own that is installed after December 31, 2025.
About this review
Every Michigan rate, rule and program status here was checked against the utility tariff, statute or administrator page in the sources below. Utility and loan figures were checked between September 29 and October 1, 2026. MI Solar for All and the federal court rulings were rechecked on October 5, 2026. This guide explains offers and programs; it is not tax, legal or financial advice.
How we choose sources and correct errors: editorial process and content standards.
Michigan’s “free solar” pitches have a math problem the salesperson is counting on you not to check. Under the state’s distributed generation program, power you send to the grid earns an outflow credit below what you pay for power. So the big systems that make a $0-down deal look impressive are exactly the systems that underperform here.
What exists are contracts, and in Michigan the size of the system a contract puts on your roof matters as much as its price. Bigger is the sales default. Under outflow math, bigger is often just more of the wrong thing.
Why Oversizing Breaks the Free Pitch in Michigan
Michigan bills solar homes on inflow (power you buy) and outflow (power your panels send out). A kWh (kilowatt-hour, the unit on your bill) you use at home saves the full price, wires included. A kWh you export earns about the power supply part only. On DTE’s standard rate, the delivery charge alone is 9.726 cents per kWh.
How the system was sized | Where most of its power goes | What that means for a payment |
|---|---|---|
To your daytime use | Into your home, replacing power you would buy at full price | The safest value in the state |
Oversized “to maximize savings” | Out to the grid at the lower outflow credit | You pay full price for output that earns a discount |
To the payment the seller wanted | Wherever it lands | The contract wins and the roof loses |
The law sets an outer limit: a new system can be no larger than 110% of the electricity you used in the past 12 months (2023 Public Act 235). That is a ceiling, not a target: a household away all day can hit the cap and still export most of its output.
MI Solar for All: Michigan’s Low-Income Program, Paused
MI Solar for All, run by the state environment department (EGLE), was meant to fund solar and batteries for low-income households, with a rollout planned for 2026. The EPA’s termination letter came first.
MI Solar for All (EGLE)
The only statewide route that was set up to cut solar costs for income-qualified Michigan homes. It has no approved contractor list, so anyone selling “MI Solar for All” panels today is not part of it.
Michigan EGLE: MI Solar for AllRun by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). Checked October 5, 2026.
- Who it was for
- Households in low-income and disadvantaged communities
- What it planned
- Direct help with rooftop solar, community solar, storage and needed home upgrades
- How to hear first
- EGLE’s interest form and email bulletin
- Status
- Paused. EGLE’s own program page marks MI Solar for All paused after the EPA’s termination letter of August 7, 2025, and says EGLE is working with Michigan’s Attorney General on next steps. Michigan received $156 million for the program. EGLE’s Solar for Savings pilot is paused too. Nothing is open to apply for.
What the court rulings mean here. In September 2026, federal courts in Rhode Island (September 18) and Washington, DC (September 22) ruled that the EPA’s termination of Solar for All was unlawful. The EPA said it was considering an appeal. As of October 5, 2026, EGLE had not announced a restart. A ruling is not a reopened program. Until EGLE posts that it is taking applications, there is nothing to sign up for.
Zero-Down Solar in Michigan: Who Sizes the System, and Who Pays for It
Michigan allows all three $0-down routes. Leases are common, and the DSIRE incentives database lists third-party PPAs as authorized under 2008 Public Act 286 and an MPSC order. Michigan has no state rebate or credit market for a leasing company to keep. What differs is who picks the size and who carries the outflow risk.
| Contract | Who owns it | You pay for | The Michigan outflow risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0-down loan | You | The system, plus interest and any dealer fee in the price | Yours, but so is the sizing decision |
Pros and cons in Michigan: $0-down loanPros
Cons
Can fit if: the system is sized to your daytime use and the payment is close to what it saves at your utility’s real credit. | |||
| Solar lease | The company | The equipment, a set monthly fee | Yours: you pay rent on the company’s sizing decision |
Pros and cons in Michigan: leasePros
Cons
Can fit if: the year-one fee is well below your savings at today’s outflow credit, with every increase written out. | |||
| Power purchase agreement (PPA) | The company | Each kWh the panels make, at a set price | Yours: exported kWh cost the PPA price but earn less |
Pros and cons in Michigan: PPAPros
Cons
Can fit if: the PPA price, after any increase, stays below the outflow credit for the share you export. | |||
Lease or PPA in Michigan: where the outflow gap lands
Question | Lease | PPA |
|---|---|---|
A snowy month | Same fee, more power bought from the utility | Smaller PPA bill, more power bought from the utility |
A sunny June | Same fee; extra output earns outflow credit | You pay the PPA price for output that earns outflow credit |
If output falls short | You carry it, unless the lease guarantees output | The company carries more of it |
To compare loan terms, APRs and lifetime cost, use our solar financing guide.
DTE, Consumers, Lansing BWL or a Co-op: The Outflow Credit a Quote Should Use
DTE and Consumers Energy follow the state program; city utilities and co-ops set their own terms. A monthly fuel adjustment (the PSCR factor) moves DTE and Consumers credits slightly. October 1 started the cheaper season, which runs until June.
| Utility | Credit range on the standard rate | What most October to May exports earn | Only if you own it |
|---|---|---|---|
| DTE ElectricDetroit and southeast Michigan | 8.709 to 14.407 cents per kWh | 8.709 cents per kWh | Nothing extra |
| Consumers EnergyMuch of the Lower Peninsula | 8.2996 to 15.1904 cents per kWh | 8.2996 cents per kWh | Nothing extra |
| Lansing BWLCity-owned, Lansing area | 7.5 cents per kWh | 7.5 cents per kWh | Rebate of $500 per kW, up to $2,000; the form asks for a purchase invoice |
| Great Lakes EnergyCo-op, western and northern Lower Peninsula | 5.6 cents per kWh | 5.6 cents per kWh | Ask the co-op |
| Another co-op or city utilityEach sets its own rules | Ask in writing | Ask in writing | Ask in writing |
DTE: rate D1.11, on-peak 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday; 14.407 cents per kWh June to September on-peak, 10.319 cents per kWh October to May on-peak, effective March 5, 2026. Consumers: rate RSP, 15.1904 cents per kWh on-peak (2 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday) and 10.397 cents at other times from June to September, and 8.2996 cents from October to May, effective May 1, 2026 and confirmed on the rate sheet October 18, 2026. Application fee at DTE and Consumers: $50.
You Likely Will Not Come Out Ahead If
- You are waiting for a state giveaway. MI Solar for All is paused, and a seller cannot sell you a place in it.
- Your use is small or mostly in the evening. Output that leaves the house earns outflow credit, and a rising payment turns that into a loss.
- Nobody can tell you the outflow credit the model used. Then the savings were modeled on math Michigan does not use.
- Your roof has under 10 years left. Michigan winters make re-roofing under someone else’s panels everyone’s least favorite clause.
The Michigan Ten-Minute Audit
- What share of output does the model say you use at home?
Ask how that number came from your own 12 months of bills, not a state average.
- Which outflow credit did it use for your utility?
It should match the table above. A model that credits exports at your full bill rate is wrong in Michigan.
- How does the size compare with the 110% of the electricity you used in the past 12 months cap?
A proposal that ignores the cap was not built on Michigan rules.
- What is the cash price beside the payments, totaled over the term?
Use what solar costs in Michigan as the yardstick. A typical system there is 6.63 kW.
- Can the payment rise, and what happens when you sell?
Get the escalator, transfer rules and buyout price in writing. See solar lease exit options.
Stop if a seller says it is with MI Solar for All, DTE or Consumers, or will not put your utility’s outflow credit in writing.
Learn the solar scam warning signs and check bidders’ DTE and Consumers filing experience in our Michigan solar companies guide.
Get Michigan Quotes Sized to Your Usage
Send each installer your last 12 months of use. Ask for the system size against that use and the outflow credit it assumed.
Type your ZIP code to compare installers
This is a commercial quote request, not an application for MI Solar for All. Which installers and financing you see depends on your ZIP code and your home. For program news, use the official EGLE 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 Michigan Solar Guides
- Michigan solar guideUtilities, incentives and installers in one place
- Michigan solar incentivesOutflow credits by utility, the BWL rebate and the tax rule
- Cost of solar in MichiganThe cash price to hold a $0-down offer against
- Is solar worth it in Michigan?Payback when exports earn less than imports
- Michigan solar companiesInstallers who file DTE and Consumers applications
- Free solar panels in the USPrograms and offers in other states
Michigan Free Solar Questions
Are solar panels free in Michigan?
No. “Free” offers are leases, PPAs or $0-down loans. Under Michigan’s outflow crediting, the system size inside those contracts decides whether they ever pay.
Is there a no-cost solar program in Michigan?
Not one you can join today. MI Solar for All was planned for low-income households, but EGLE paused it after the EPA’s letter of August 7, 2025, and on October 5, 2026 it still had not reopened. Check claims on EGLE’s own page.
Can I get zero-down solar in Michigan?
Yes. Installers sell $0-down loans and leases, and PPAs are allowed. With a loan you own the system and choose its size. With a lease or PPA the company owns it. Either way, test the payment against your utility’s outflow credit, not your full bill rate.
What is the outflow credit, and why does it matter?
It is what your utility pays for power your panels send out, about the power supply part of the price. Credit you do not use keeps rolling forward on your bill, past year end too, with no annual cash-out. At DTE this winter, 100 exported off-peak kWh earn $8.71, while buying the same 100 kWh costs about $18.44. That gap is why right-sizing beats oversizing.
Does Michigan still have net metering?
Not for new systems. DTE closed it on May 9, 2019 and Consumers on January 1, 2021. Homes already on it keep those terms for 10 years from enrollment, then move to the outflow credit.
Who keeps the tax benefits in a Michigan solar lease?
The company that owns the system. The federal home credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025. A business credit follows the owner and helps you only if your payment reflects it.
Is $0-down solar ever right in Michigan?
Yes, for homes with high daytime use and a sound roof, on a fair deal sized to that use. The model should still work with your utility’s outflow credit and no assumed rate rises.
Sources and review
Michigan utility, loan and law figures were checked between September 29 and October 1, 2026. MI Solar for All and the Solar for All court rulings were rechecked on October 5, 2026. Rates and programs change; the utility’s or administrator’s current page always wins.
- DTE Electric Rate Book (Rider 18, Sheets D-112.00 to D-116.02; Rate D1.11, Sheet D-14.05)
- Consumers Energy Electric Rate Book (Rules C11.2 to C11.4)
- Michigan Public Service Commission, Distributed Generation Program
- Michigan Compiled Laws 460.1183 (legacy net metering)
- Lansing Board of Water & Light, Install my own solar
- Great Lakes Energy, Renewable energy
- Michigan Compiled Laws 211.27 (property tax)
- Michigan Saves, Home Energy Improvements
- Michigan EGLE, MI Solar for All
- IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit
- Michigan EGLE, FAQ: MI Solar for All (termination notice, no approved contractors)
- Lawyers for Good Government, Federal court rules EPA's termination of Solar for All unlawful (D.R.I., September 18, 2026)
- Utility Dive, Second federal judge overturns Solar for All cancellation (D.D.C., September 2026; EPA considering appeal)
- DSIRE, 3rd-Party Solar PV Power Purchase Agreement map (Michigan: 2008 PA 286; MPSC Order U-15787)
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