New Hampshire Solar Incentives (2026): Bill Credits to 2040, Set by Your Utility and Town

From bill credits to the Eversource battery check: which New Hampshire programs are open?

Four things are open to new home systems. Three of them depend on where you live or who sends your bill.

None of these lowers the price of the panels. New Hampshire has no general sales tax, so solar equipment carries no sales tax to begin with.

How much is a net metering credit worth at Eversource, Liberty and Unitil?

Net metering means your utility credits you for solar power you send to the grid. Eversource, Liberty and Unitil all follow the same state rules. The rules cover home systems up to 100 kW, far larger than a house needs.

Each month the utility compares the power you took from the grid with the power you sent out. If you took more, you pay for the difference. If you sent out more, the extra becomes a dollar credit on later bills.

The credit is less than the full price you pay for power. It is built from three parts of your rate: all of the supply charge (the power itself, which utilities call default energy service), all of the transmission charge (moving power over long-distance lines), and 25% of the distribution charge (the local poles and wires).

Liberty’s tariff, its official rate book, shows how that adds up. Eversource and Unitil use the same formula with their own rates.

Example: 100 extra kWh in a month earn about $23.04 at Liberty. The supply rate shown applies from August 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027. For Eversource or Unitil, ask your installer to show the same three rates from your own bill.

Watch out: A solar home still pays a few small charges on every kWh it takes from the grid, even in a month when it sends out more than it takes. There is also a fixed monthly customer charge. Expect a small bill, not a bill of zero.

Why does the company that sells your power change your solar credit?

In New Hampshire you can buy power from your utility, from a community power program run by your town or county, or from a competitive supplier, a private company that sells power. Your utility delivers it in every case.

The supply part of the credit comes from whoever sells you power. If that is not your utility, the utility credits only transmission and 25% of distribution. At Liberty’s rates that is about 7.2 cents per kWh. So 100 extra kWh earn about $7.20, not about $23.04.

Your supplier can pay for the supply part, but it sets its own terms. The Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire runs community power for many towns. It says its net metered customers get no money for the supply part of their extra power, and it recommends that they stay on the utility’s default supply.

Community power programs enroll homes automatically. Homes marked as net metered are left out, but mistakes happen. Since August 18, 2026, state law lets a solar customer who was enrolled by mistake return to the utility’s supply and get up to 4 months of missed credits.

Watch out: Read the supply line on your bill before your system is switched on, and again after. If it names a company other than your utility, ask that company in writing what it pays for extra solar power.

What does New Hampshire Electric Cooperative credit for solar power?

New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC) is owned by its members and sets its own solar rates.

NHEC measures the power it delivers to you and the power you send out separately. It does not net the two over the month. Every kWh you send out earns 14.662 cents per kWh. Every kWh you take costs 24.713 cents, plus a member charge of $29.00 a month. Solar power you use at the moment your panels make it never reaches the meter, so it saves you the full rate.

Example: 100 kWh sent out earn $14.66.

• Large amounts: kWh sent out beyond 2,000 kWh earn 12.180 cents each. The rate sheet does not say over what period that amount is counted. Ask NHEC.
• Power from another seller: the part of the credit that NHEC calls Co-op Power, 10.546 cents, is then not paid. That leaves about 4.1 cents per kWh.
• Cash: after the March, June or September bill, you can ask for a check if your credit is at least $50.

Watch out: These rates took effect on August 1, 2026. NHEC changes its rates several times a year. Check its current Schedule of Rates before you rely on a quote.

Does your town exempt solar panels from property tax?

Only if its voters or council adopted the exemption. There is no statewide rule.

State law, RSA 72:62, lets each city and town choose to exempt a solar energy system from a property’s assessed value. The town’s vote also decides how much is exempt. The law itself sets no amount and no cap.

Two examples. Manchester adopted the exemption on February 3, 2015, at 100% of the assessed value of the equipment. Nashua exempts the value of the system and requires an inspection of the property.

It is not automatic. You apply to your town assessor by April 15 of the year you want the exemption, on the state’s Form PA-29. In a town without the exemption, a solar system can be added to your assessment.

Watch out: A home battery is a separate choice for each town. Form PA-29 lists its own local option for batteries, RSA 72:85. Ask your assessor whether your town adopted it before you count on it.

What does Eversource pay for a home battery?

Eversource pays a one-time incentive of $230 per kWh of battery capacity, up to $3,000. Example: a 10 kWh battery gets $2,300. A battery of about 13 kWh or more reaches the maximum. The money comes from the New Hampshire Clean Energy Fund and is limited. The program was taking reservations when we checked.

In return you enroll the battery in demand response. That means Eversource can draw power from your battery at the hours when the grid is under the most strain. You must stay enrolled for at least three years.

• Who can get it: Eversource customers who own an approved Enphase or FranklinWH battery bought after October 1, 2022.
• What Eversource does: it uses the battery about 40 times a year, June through September, between 3 and 8 p.m.. It does not draw the battery below 20%.
• When you are paid: a check arrives within four weeks after the battery is accepted. There are no yearly payments.
• A loan to go with it: Eversource customers can borrow $1,000 to $10,000 at 0.00% APR for an approved battery, through the National Energy Improvement Fund. Loan money is first come, first served.

Watch out: This incentive is for Eversource customers only. Liberty’s own battery program is closed to new applicants.

What if you rent, or want to sell your RECs?

These options are smaller. None is a payment to count on in a quote.

• Shared solar: a home without panels can join a group served by a larger solar project in the same utility area, called group net metering. What you save is set by your agreement with the project’s host, not by the state.
• Plug-in solar: from January 1, 2027, state law lets each metered customer use one certified plug-in solar unit of up to 1,200 watts, with no utility approval and no fee. It only lowers your own use. It earns no credit for power sent out.
• Selling RECs: a REC (renewable energy certificate) is proof that 1,000 kWh of power came from a renewable source. A typical 5.63 kW system makes about 7,426 kWh a year, so about 7 certificates. The Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire buys them from certified New Hampshire systems, with no fee. It posts prices by December 1 each year. Get the current price first.

Where New Hampshire homeowners lose a credit or an exemption

• Your power comes from community power or another supplier. The utility then pays no supply credit. At Liberty’s rates the credit falls from about 23.04 cents per kWh to about 7.2 cents per kWh.
• Your town has not adopted the solar exemption, or you miss April 15. Without an adopted exemption and an application on time, the system can be added to your assessment.
• You are an NHEC member with a quote built on Eversource rules. NHEC credits 14.662 cents per kWh for each kWh sent out. It does not net your use over the month.
• You want the battery incentive but Eversource does not send your bill. Only Eversource customers with an approved Enphase or FranklinWH battery qualify, and the fund is limited.
• Your system is much larger than your own use. Power you send out earns less than power you use yourself saves. At Liberty that is about 23.04 cents per kWh against 28.74 cents per kWh.

From quote to first credit: who files what in New Hampshire

1. Before you sign: find your utility and your supplier. Both are on your electric bill. If the supply line names another company, decide first whether to move back to your utility’s supply.You.
2. Before installation: the application to connect. Your installer files an interconnection application, the request to connect your system to the grid, with your utility. Liberty charges $200 for systems up to 25 kW. NHEC wants its application filed before any equipment is bought.Your installer.
3. After the town inspection: the meter. Once the system passes local inspection, the utility installs a meter that counts power in both directions.Your utility.
4. By April 15: the property tax application. If your town adopted the exemption, file Form PA-29 with the assessor.You.
5. Adding a battery with Eversource: reserve the money first. Your installer or the battery maker reserves the incentive. After the battery is approved to run, you enroll it in the maker’s app.Your installer, then you.

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