Connecticut Solar Incentives (2026): One Payment Plan, Locked for 20 Years

What does Connecticut pay solar homes in 2026?

Five things matter. None of them is a check for buying panels.

The federal tax credit is $0 for systems finished after December 31, 2025. Connecticut has no state income tax credit for home solar. A few towns run their own electric utility and have their own rules.

Buy-All or Netting: how do Connecticut’s two solar payment plans work?

Both plans belong to one program, Residential Renewable Energy Solutions. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), the state’s utility regulator, sets its rates once a year. Eversource and United Illuminating (UI) run it.

Buy-All. The utility buys every kWh your panels make at 32.89 cents per kWh. The money arrives as a credit on your electric bill. You still buy all the power your home uses at the normal price. If your credits are larger than your bills, you can ask for the extra in cash once a year. Example: 1,000 kWh of solar power earns $328.90.

Netting. Solar power you use at home lowers your bill right away. Extra power goes to the grid and earns a dollar credit at the full price you pay for electricity at that moment. Credits roll over from month to month. They are paid out only when you close the account. In return you pay a charge of 4.02 cents per kWh on every kWh your panels make, used at home or sent out. Example: 1,000 kWh of solar power carries a charge of $40.20.

A typical Connecticut system of 6.45 kW makes about 8,346 kWh a year. On Buy-All that is about $2,745 in credits in the first year, before you pay for your own power. On Netting the charge for the year is about $336.

Both utilities use the same rate and the same charge. The rates are also the same if a solar company owns the system. That is a lease or a PPA (power purchase agreement), where you pay the company each month for the panels or for their power. In that case, ask in writing who receives the Buy-All credits.

Watch out: You cannot switch plans later. Which plan pays more depends on your electric rate, your own use and how long you stay. For that math, see is solar worth it in Connecticut.

Connecticut’s solar rates reset each January: what is locked, and what is not?

The year your application goes in decides your numbers.

• Locked: your plan and your rate, for 20 years from the day the utility approves your application.
• Not locked until you apply: the rate itself. PURA sets new rates every year. The rates on this page are for complete applications sent in 2026. An application sent in 2027 gets the 2027 rates. PURA had not published them on October 1, 2026.
• The program: a 2026 state law keeps both plans open to new homes until December 31, 2028, or until PURA orders a replacement program, whichever comes first. PURA has until December 1, 2027 to decide on that replacement.
• After the 20 years: PURA must set a new price for your solar power. It has not done so yet.
• Your system size: up to 25 kW, and no more than 5% above your highest 12 months of use in the past 5 years. Planned electric cars and a heat pump can be added to that use.

Watch out: A quote written late in the year can slip into next year’s rates. Ask your installer when the complete application will be sent.

Does Connecticut pay more to lower-income homes and distressed towns?

Yes. Two add-ons raise the Buy-All or Netting rate. You can get one of them, not both.

• Lower-income homes: a household income at or below 60% of the state median income, the middle household income in Connecticut, earns 5.5 cents per kWh more on Buy-All or 3.5 cents per kWh more on Netting. Example: 1,000 kWh on Buy-All earns $55 extra.
• Distressed towns: homes in a town on the state’s list of distressed municipalities earn 2.75 cents per kWh more on Buy-All or 1.75 cents per kWh more on Netting. The state updates this list of towns under economic strain, so check it for yours.

Watch out: Solar for All, a planned program for low-income homes, never opened for single-family homes. The federal government moved to end its grant on August 7, 2025. There is nothing to apply for now.

How does Energy Storage Solutions pay for a home battery in Connecticut?

In two parts: a small price cut at install and yearly payments after that. The program changed on April 1, 2026. Older guides still show $250 to $600 per kWh upfront, with a cap of $16,000. That offer is closed to new homes.

• At install: $30 per kWh of battery size comes off your price. Homes the program counts as Grid-Edge get $130 per kWh. Your contractor can check if your address is one. Example: a 13.5 kWh battery gets $405 off.
• For 10 years after that: on some summer and winter days, when the grid is busy, the utility draws power from your battery. You are paid for the average power your battery gave on those days, counted in kW. For a battery, kW is how much power it can give at one moment. The rate is $300 per kW a year. Example: an average of 5 kW earns $1,500 a year, or $15,000 over the full term.
• Higher rates: $450 per kW if you live in a distressed municipality, and $550 per kW if you are on an Eversource or UI low-income discount rate.
• Who can join: Eversource and UI customers who put in a new battery through an Eligible Contractor, a company on the program’s approved list. The battery can be owned or leased, with or without solar panels. State law ends the program on December 31, 2035.

Watch out: The yearly payment depends on what your battery really delivers. A battery that is empty or offline on those days earns less. Some battery makers also keep part of the payment. Ask your contractor for both numbers in writing.

Which Connecticut taxes does solar skip, and which forms do you need?

Two taxes. Neither exemption is automatic, and each has its own form.

What if Wallingford, Groton or Norwich sends your electric bill?

A few Connecticut towns run their own electric utility. Their customers are outside Buy-All, Netting and Energy Storage Solutions. Each town utility sets its own rules. The two tax exemptions above are state law and still apply.

• Wallingford Electric Division: it has its own net metering, which means your extra solar power earns credits on your bill. Extra kWh in a month carry forward as kWh credits. Any surplus left on the April bill is paid out at the average daytime wholesale price, the price utilities pay for bulk power. The system must be owned by the customer.
• Groton Utilities: its SolarPlus pilot pays a rebate of $1,000 per kW of solar, up to $10,000 or 50% of the installed cost, whichever is less. It is for systems under 12 kW that you own, not lease. It is first come, first served, and the utility does not post how much money is left. Reserve the rebate before you install.
• Norwich Public Utilities and the other town utilities: each sets its own credit rate and rebate, if any. Ask your utility for both in writing before you sign.

Watch out: A quote that shows Buy-All or Netting income for a town-utility address is wrong.

What else applies to a Connecticut solar home?

Two smaller rules. Neither pays money.

• Homeowner associations: since January 1, 2026, association rules cannot ban rooftop solar on a single-family detached home. If the board does not answer your application within 60 days, it counts as approved. Older associations can vote to opt out until January 1, 2028, so ask your board first.
• Plug-in solar: since October 1, 2026, Eversource and UI customers can use one certified plug-in solar device of up to 1,200 watts per meter with no utility approval and no fee. It earns no payment for extra power.

When a Connecticut solar incentive will not reach you

• Your system is connected before the application is in. A system that is connected without a Buy-All or Netting application cannot join later.
• A town utility sends your bill. Wallingford, Groton, Norwich and the other town utilities are outside the state plans and the battery program.
• Your battery quote uses the old numbers. The offer of $250 to $600 per kWh upfront, with a cap of $16,000 closed on April 1, 2026. A battery not installed by an Eligible Contractor gets nothing at all.
• A form is missing. Without Form CERT-140 the seller charges sales tax. Without Form M-44 by November 1, your town can tax the panels for that year.
• Your quote still subtracts a federal tax credit. It is $0 for a system you own that is finished after December 31, 2025. Ask for a new quote.

Who files what for a Connecticut solar home, and when

1. Before you sign: choose Buy-All or Netting. Ask which year’s rates the quote uses. If your income or your town may qualify for an add-on, tell your installer now.You, with your installer.
2. At the sale: hand over Form CERT-140. This is what keeps the 6.35% sales tax off the invoice.You fill it in. The seller keeps it.
3. Before the system is connected: the application goes in. Your installer sends it to Eversource or UI online and names your plan on it. This step cannot be done afterward.Your installer.
4. Adding a battery: enroll through an Eligible Contractor. The contractor sends in your enrollment, and the first part of the payment comes off your price. The utility pays the yearly part after each summer and winter.Your Eligible Contractor.
5. After switch-on: file Form M-44 with your town assessor. Do it by November 1 of the first assessment year after your install. You file once.You.

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