Home » Free Solar Panels » Free Solar Panels in Vermont (2026): Who Holds the Vintage on a Zero-Down Deal

Free Solar Panels in Vermont (2026): Who Holds the Vintage on a Zero-Down Deal

Vermont fixes your adjustor values at enrollment, and the positive ones pay for 10 years from commissioning, which turns the signing date into an asset. Under a lease, that asset belongs to the company.

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Written by Dean MahmoudChief Executive OfficerDean Mahmoud is the CEO of EcoGen America. Since 2021, his work has connected homeowners with residential solar installers and involved direct rela...Learn more, Checked by Anders AlexanderEnergy consultant, Secretary of the WASEIA BoardAnders Alexander has worked in solar since 2013, from selling residential systems and directing installer sales teams to managing solar analysis software at EagleView and partnering on clean energy financing. He serves on the boards of the Washington Solar Energy Industries Association and Solar Washington.Learn more Last updated

Key takeaways

  • No program puts free panels on Vermont roofs today. The no-cost help is a bill credit: Washington Electric Co-op pays $45 a month for five years to members at or below 185% of the federal poverty level.
  • Vermont Solar for All is still paused, as it has been since August 7, 2025. Courts ruled the EPA termination unlawful in September 2026, but the state had posted no restart on October 5, 2026.
  • Zero-down solar in Vermont means a loan, a PPA or a lease. A third-party system can still credit your own electric bill.
  • Your application date sets your rate. New systems filed since August 1, 2026 earn about 15.71 cents per kWh for extra power on most utilities: the 20.71 cents per kWh base less a 5 cents per kWh siting charge.
  • The solar sales tax exemption did not expire. It sits in 32 V.S.A. § 9741(46) with no end date. Owned systems under 50 kW also pay no property tax.
About this review

We checked each Vermont figure against the Public Utility Commission, the utility tariff, the Department of Taxes or the program page linked under Sources. Rates and tax rules were read September 29 to October 1, 2026; program statuses were rechecked October 5, 2026. This page explains programs and contracts. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. See our editorial standards.

Vermont does something few states do with a home solar system: it fixes part of your rate on the day the application is filed. The adjustors, small per-kWh additions or deductions on top of a statewide base, stay with that system. Vermont keeps cutting them for newcomers, so the filing date, the vintage, is an asset.

Under a zero-down contract, the company files that application and prices its payment against it, while the credits land on your bill. First, the one route that costs a qualifying household nothing.

The Closest Thing to Free in Vermont: A Co-op Bill Credit

Washington Electric Co-op: ACRE solar bill credit

The Affordable Community Renewable Energy program (ACRE) gives income-qualified members $45 a month for five years from a shared solar project. Nothing goes on your roof and nothing is charged. You apply to the co-op, not through a solar company or EcoGen.

Washington Electric Cooperative: ACRE programRun by Washington Electric Cooperative. Program page rechecked October 5, 2026.

Who can apply
Washington Electric members with household income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level
Worth
$2,700 over the five years
Status
Taking applications on October 5, 2026, first come, first served until spots run out. Applying does not guarantee a spot. In June 2026 the co-op said the program was well over half full.

Vermont Solar for All: paused

The federal grant was meant to fund rooftop solar for low-income homeowners. No homeowner was paid before the EPA cancelled it, so anyone selling “Solar for All” today is not selling the program.

Vermont Department of Public Service: Solar for All VermontRun by the Vermont Department of Public Service. Page rechecked October 5, 2026 (last update September 12, 2025).

Paused since
August 7, 2025
Status
Paused until further notice. Federal courts ruled the EPA termination unlawful in September 2026 and the EPA may appeal. On October 5, 2026 the state page showed no restart.

GMP customers at or below 120% of area median income can ask about a no-cost battery lease, offered only while state grant money lasts; GMP did not say on October 5, 2026 whether any remains. Off-site community solar is closed to new projects filed since January 1, 2025.

Zero-Down Solar in Vermont: Loan, PPA, Lease or a GMP Battery

With a power purchase agreement (PPA), a company owns the panels and sells you the power per kWh (kilowatt-hour, the unit on your bill). A lease charges a monthly fee instead; ask whether one is offered, since the Vermont offers we could confirm are PPAs. Vermont installer AllEarth Renewables sells home PPAs whose net-metering credits land on the customer’s GMP bill. With no state rebate, the money questions are the filing date and who keeps the renewable energy credits (RECs, certificates that prove the power is renewable).

Zero-down routes in Vermont and the vintage decision behind each
RouteWho files and ownsWhere the net-metering credit goesAsk in writing
Zero-down solar loanYou own it; the installer files for youYour billThe filing date the quote assumes, and your REC choice
Pros and cons in Vermont: loan

Pros

  • No sales tax on the equipment (give the seller Form S-3E) and no property tax under 50 kW.
  • You decide the REC choice, once more within 120 days of switch-on.

Cons

  • No federal tax credit for systems finished after December 31, 2025.
  • Higher monthly payment than a long PPA.

Can fit if: the loan payment plus your remaining bill is below your bill today.
Power purchase agreement (PPA)The companyYour bill, while you pay the company per kWhThe price per kWh, its yearly increase and who keeps the RECs
Pros and cons in Vermont: PPA

Pros

  • You pay only for power made, so a snowy month costs less.
  • The company can claim a federal business credit homeowners lost.

Cons

  • You pay the PPA price for every kWh, but extra power earns about 15.71 cents per kWh at most.
  • If the RECs are kept, credits drop another 4 cents per kWh.

Can fit if: the PPA price, with increases, stays below what your utility charges per kWh.
Solar leaseThe companyYour bill, while you pay a monthly feeWhether a lease is offered at all, the escalator and the buyout
Pros and cons in Vermont: lease

Pros

  • A fixed fee, easy to budget.
  • Repairs and monitoring sit with the company.

Cons

  • You carry the risk of a dark winter: the fee does not drop with output.
  • The fee was set against a rate the PUC is now redesigning.

Can fit if: the final-year fee is still below the credits a December-to-July year really earns.
GMP battery leaseGreen Mountain Power owns two GMP-owned Tesla batteriesNo solar credit; backup powerInstaller charges above GMP’s share, and the exit fee
Pros and cons in Vermont: GMP battery lease

Pros

  • $55 a month for 10 years, or $5,500 once, for whole-home backup.
  • Works with or without panels.

Cons

  • GMP uses the batteries during its peaks.
  • Installer costs above GMP’s contribution are billed to you.

Can fit if: outages, not solar savings, are your main problem.

Compare loan terms in our solar financing guide, or see free solar offers nationwide.

The Enrollment Vintage Is the Asset

Vermont credits extra power at a statewide base, now 20.71 cents per kWh, then applies two adjustors set by your filing date. Negative adjustors, like both of today’s, last for the life of the system. The base moves for everyone every two years; the adjustors do not.

The siting adjustor. Rooftop systems up to 15 kW (Category I) filed since August 1, 2026 carry a 5 cents per kWh charge on all production. Those filed August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2026 carry 4 cents per kWh. On a typical 5.43 kW system making about 6,891 kWh a year, that one-cent difference is about $69 a year, kept for the life of the system. The full new charge is about $345 a year.

The REC adjustor. Give the RECs to the utility and the adjustor is zero. Keep them and the credit drops 4 cents per kWh, about $276 a year on the same system. Ask which choice your contract makes.

On 100 kWh of extra power a new system earns $20.71 at the base, less $5 for siting: about $15.71. Credits you do not use expire after 12 months.

The vintage may not last forever. On September 9, 2026 the PUC opened a rulemaking to redesign net-metering pay. It says existing systems should get a transition. A long contract payment does not adjust if the rules change.

Green Mountain Power, Burlington Electric or a Co-op: Your Credit

Green Mountain Power serves about 7 in 10 Vermont homes, so most quotes use its numbers.

What a new rooftop system earns for extra power, by Vermont utility (applications filed since August 1, 2026, RECs to the utility)
Utility
Credit per kWh
After the siting charge
Other help to price in
Green Mountain PowerMost of the state
20.71 cents
about 15.71 cents per kWh
Battery payment of up to $10,500 (BYOD) or a battery lease
Burlington ElectricCity of Burlington
about 16.59 cents
about 11.59 cents
Ask the utility
Vermont Electric Co-opNorthern Vermont
20.71 cents
about 15.71 cents per kWh
Battery credit, a bill credit of $34.56 a month in its example
Washington Electric Co-opCentral Vermont
20.71 cents
about 15.71 cents per kWh
ACRE bill credit for income-qualified members

GMP’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program pays $850 per kW of battery power that your battery can give for 3 hours in a row, or $950 per kW for 4 hours in a row, up to 10 kW, for letting GMP use your battery for 10 years. Its page showed enrollment open on October 5, 2026, and its tariff runs to September 30, 2028 unless the PUC orders otherwise. Smaller town utilities set their own figures.

You Likely Will Not Qualify If

  • You are not a Washington Electric member, or earn above 185% of the federal poverty level. Then every offer is a contract.
  • You want a share in an off-site solar farm. New off-site group systems have been closed since January 1, 2025.
  • A quote uses the older 4 cents per kWh siting charge. That window closed. A new application gets 5 cents per kWh.
  • You expect a tax credit. The federal one ended for systems finished after December 31, 2025, and Vermont’s 2025 Schedule IN-119 lists no credit for installing home solar.
  • You rent and cannot use the roof. Since July 1, 2026, plug-in panels up to 1,200 watts per meter are legal with 10 days’ notice to the landlord.

Five Answers to Get Before You Sign

  1. Which utility, and what rate did you model?

    On GMP, extra power earns about 15.71 cents per kWh after siting. In Burlington it is about 11.59 cents.

  2. What filing date and siting charge does the quote assume?

    Anything filed now gets 5 cents per kWh.

  3. Who keeps the RECs?

    Keeping them costs 4 cents per kWh on every kWh.

  4. What is the payment in the final year?

    In dollars, escalator included.

  5. Was sales tax charged?

    Equipment in a net-metering system is exempt under 32 V.S.A. § 9741(46). Give the seller Form S-3E.

Pause if a seller calls a contract “Solar for All”, quotes the old siting charge, or says the sales tax break ended on June 30, 2026.

That date belongs to a wood boiler exemption. See the solar scam warning signs and our Vermont solar companies guide.

Get Vermont Quotes Priced on Your Filing Date

Ask each installer for a cash and a zero-down price, both built on your utility’s current credit and REC choice.

Start with your Vermont ZIP

This is a commercial quote request, not an application for ACRE or any utility program. For the bill credit, use Washington Electric’s ACRE 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.

Read how we make money and our privacy policy.

More Vermont Solar Guides

Vermont Solar FAQs

Can I get free solar panels in Vermont?

Not as a giveaway. Income-qualified Washington Electric members can get a $45 a month for five years bill credit with no panels. Everyone else gets “free” solar through a PPA or lease, paid over time.

Can I get zero-down solar in Vermont?

Yes: zero-down loans, PPAs and, where offered, leases. Compare each with a cash price built on your utility’s credit.

Is Vermont Solar for All open again?

Not as of October 5, 2026. It has been paused since August 7, 2025. A September 2026 court ruling has not yet led to a posted restart.

Will my Vermont credit change over time?

Partly. The base resets every two years; your adjustors stay as filed. A PUC rulemaking may redesign pay, with a transition for existing systems.

Did the Vermont solar sales tax exemption expire?

No. The exemption in 32 V.S.A. § 9741(46) has no end date. Owned systems under 50 kW that are net-metered also pay no property tax under 32 V.S.A. § 3802(17).

Is solar still worth it in Vermont?

Power your house uses as it is made saves your full retail rate, and no rate review touches that. A system sized to your own use holds up best.

Sources and review

Checked September 29 to October 5, 2026. The administrator’s current page always wins.

Dean Mahmoud Headshot 2025

Written by

Chief Executive Officer

Dean Mahmoud is the CEO of EcoGen America. Since 2021, his work has connected homeowners with residential solar installers and involved direct relationships with installation companies. He writes about solar prices and financing and maintains the EcoGen Verified Installer Methodology.

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