Find out what New Jersey programs are available to you!
PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, and Rockland Electric rates and SREC-II values current as of June 2026, per New Jersey Board of Public Utilities auction filings, the New Jersey Clean Energy Program’s ADI pricing, and EIA electricity data.
How New Jersey’s Solar Incentives Pay You: SREC-II Income and Full-Retail Net Metering
New Jersey supports solar through recurring value. There is no statewide cash rebate that lowers your purchase price on the day the panels go up. The money arrives over months and years instead, through production income, bill credits, and tax savings.
That structure is the reason the federal credit’s expiration changed less here than in states that leaned on upfront subsidies. A homeowner who owns the system collects a 15-year SREC-II income stream and full-retail net metering for the life of the system, and those benefits do not depend on a one-time tax event. What the system costs upfront is a separate question, covered in our guide to what a New Jersey solar system costs.
The table below sorts the active incentives by how the value reaches you and who collects it.
Incentive | How It Works | Who Collects It | Reliability and Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
SREC-II (SuSI) | $85 per certificate, one per MWh produced, paid for 15 years | System owner (the company under a lease or PPA) | Capacity blocks can fill; value can change by board order |
Net metering | Full retail 1:1 bill credit on exported power | System owner | Stable; under BPU review, no successor proposed |
Sales tax exemption | 100% off the 6.625% state sales tax at purchase | The buyer | Permanent, automatic |
Property tax exemption | Added home value is not taxed | The owner | Permanent, no sunset |
Community solar | 15% to 25% bill-credit discount, no system on your roof | The subscriber | Permanent program; capacity allocated by utility |
Federal 48E credit | Federal commercial credit (Section 48E) on a leased or PPA system | The third-party owner | Construction must start by July 4, 2026 |
Two themes run through that table. The recurring incentives reward long-term ownership, and who owns the system decides who collects the money. Both matter most for anyone weighing a lease or a power purchase agreement.
The Federal Solar Tax Credit in New Jersey
If you buy or finance a solar system in New Jersey in 2026, there is no federal tax credit to claim. The 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D ended for any system placed in service after December 31, 2025, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with no phase-down. If your system was installed and running before that date, you can still claim the credit on your 2025 return, and any unused amount carries forward.
One federal credit survives, and it does not come to you directly. Section 48E, the commercial Clean Electricity Investment Credit, still reaches residential solar when a third party owns the system through a lease or a power purchase agreement. The lease or PPA company claims this federal commercial credit and can pass some of that value through as a lower monthly payment, as long as construction starts by July 4, 2026.
Ownership is the catch that matters most in New Jersey. When you sign a lease or PPA, you also hand that company your SREC-II income and your net-metering credits, because both go to the system’s owner. The federal value comes bundled with giving up New Jersey’s strongest state incentives. We walk through that trade in our guide to how $0-down solar works in New Jersey.
The SuSI Program and SREC-II: New Jersey’s $85-per-MWh Income for 15 Years
New Jersey’s most valuable solar incentive is an income stream. Through the Successor Solar Incentive program, known as SuSI, a net-metered residential system earns one SREC-II certificate for every megawatt-hour it generates, and each certificate pays $85. The rate is fixed, and the qualification life runs 15 years from registration.
The dollars add up steadily. A typical New Jersey home uses 7,944 kWh a year, and a 5.92 kW system sized to match that usage produces 7,945 kWh annually. At that output, the system earns $675 in SREC-II income each year, which comes to $10,125 across the full 15-year term.
The income goes to the system’s owner. Under a lease or PPA, the company keeps it. SREC-IIs are registered through the GATS tracking system, which your installer handles, and the income is federally taxable, reported on a 1099 when it tops $600 in a year.
Availability and reliability are not the same thing here. The $85 rate is not guaranteed to last: New Jersey resets the value by board order at least once every three years, and the last residential change took effect in March 2023, so the next reset could land at any time. Annual capacity blocks can also fill, and applications surged after the federal credit ended, so an open registration window is not guaranteed either. A common misconception puts the SREC-II at a lower value; that figure reflects a separate cut to the community solar program, and the residential value remains $85. Confirm the live rate and block status before you count on it.
Net Metering in New Jersey – Full Retail 1:1 Credit (N.J.A.C. 14:8-4)
All four of New Jersey’s investor-owned utilities credit the solar power you export to the grid at the full retail rate, one for one, under N.J.A.C. 14:8-4. When your panels make more than your home uses, the surplus becomes a credit; when you draw from the grid at night, that credit is applied first, and you pay only the difference.
Credits accumulate through a 12-month annualized period that you choose. At the end of that period, any net excess is paid out at the utility’s avoided cost of wholesale power, a rate far lower than retail. A system sized to your annual use captures the most value, and New Jersey caps system capacity so it cannot exceed your yearly needs.
At a 23.23¢/kWh retail rate, full one-for-one crediting is a far stronger deal than the net-billing structures some states use, where exports earn only a wholesale rate. It also shapes the case for adding a battery, which we cover under storage below. Whether all of this adds up to a sound investment for your home is the subject of our guide on whether solar pays off in New Jersey.
New Jersey is reviewing its net-metering rules in an open Board of Public Utilities docket, but no successor tariff has been proposed, and new customers still receive full retail credit. Systems keep the terms in effect when they interconnect, so today’s full-retail treatment is locked in for those who connect under it.
New Jersey Solar Tax Exemptions
Two permanent tax exemptions lower the cost of going solar with no application drama. Both are written into state statute, and neither has a funding cap.
The sales tax exemption removes New Jersey’s 6.625% sales tax from solar equipment at the point of purchase, under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.33. Your installer simply does not charge it, which saves $1,150 to $1,750 on a typical system.
The property tax exemption keeps the value solar adds to your home out of your assessment, under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.113a. You file Form CRES with your municipal assessor, and the exemption has no sunset. This one carries extra weight in New Jersey, where the effective property tax rate of 2.23% is the highest in the country. A system that raises your home’s value would normally raise your tax bill; this exemption prevents that for the life of the system.
New Jersey Utility Rates and the BGS Auction: Why Rising Bills Make These Incentives Worth More
An incentive that offsets your electric bill grows more valuable as that bill climbs, and New Jersey bills have been climbing. New Jersey runs a deregulated supply market, where the four utilities buy default electricity through an annual Basic Generation Service auction, and new supply rates take effect each June 1.
The June 2025 rates jumped hard, with the Board of Public Utilities reporting estimated bill increases of 17% to 20% across the four utilities. The February 2026 auction came in flatter by comparison, setting supply rates effective June 1, 2026 of 10.938¢/kWh for PSE&G, 11.327¢ for JCP&L, 11.275¢ for Atlantic City Electric, and 12.057¢ for Rockland Electric.
Utility | Supply Rate (Eff. June 1, 2026) | Avg. Monthly Residential Bill | Share of NJ Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
PSE&G | 10.938¢/kWh | $180.23 | 56% |
JCP&L | 11.327¢/kWh | $137.47 | 28% |
Atlantic City Electric | 11.275¢/kWh | $201.76 | 14% |
Rockland Electric | 12.057¢/kWh | $168.93 | 2% |
The average monthly bills above are all-in figures meaning they include supply, delivery, and fixed customer charges, which vary by utility. That is why a utility with a lower supply rate can still show a higher total bill, and why the bills do not track the supply column in order.
Even with the flatter 2026 supply rates, the longer trend runs upward – New Jersey’s residential rates have grown at 4.06% a year over the past five years. Each increase widens the gap between buying power from the grid and making your own, which is the gap net metering and SREC-II income help you capture.
Who Qualifies for New Jersey Solar Incentives?
Eligibility in New Jersey turns on three things: whether you own the system, which utility serves you, and how big the system is. Each one decides which incentives reach you.
Owning Your System Keeps the SREC-II Income in New Jersey
When you buy or finance a system with a loan, you own it, and you collect everything: the SREC-II income, full-retail net metering, and both tax exemptions. With the federal credit gone for owners in 2026, what you forfeit by not owning is the New Jersey income stream, not a federal one, which raises the stakes on the lease-versus-buy choice the federal-credit section laid out. The longer you hold the system, the more that 15-year SREC-II stream and the lifetime of net-metering credits compound in your favor rather than the company’s.
Your New Jersey Utility Sets Your Net-Metering Terms: PSE&G, JCP&L, ACE, and RECO
If your power comes from one of the four investor-owned utilities, PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric, or Rockland Electric, you get full-retail net metering and access to SuSI. Municipal electric utilities set their own rules and fall outside Board of Public Utilities jurisdiction, so their terms differ, sometimes steeply. Confirm your utility before you assume any of these programs apply to your home.
System Size and New Jersey’s January 2026 Interconnection Tiers
New Jersey caps a net-metered system at the capacity needed to cover your annual electricity use, so a right-sized system beats an oversized one. Sizing to your usage also keeps year-end excess, paid at the low avoided-cost rate, to a minimum. The January 2026 interconnection rules streamline review for residential-scale systems, and a typical 5.92 kW home system clears the simplest tier.
When New Jersey’s Solar Incentives Won’t Reach You: Vineland’s Grid Cap, Small Roofs, and Leased Systems
New Jersey’s incentives are valuable, but they do not reach everyone, and knowing who they skip saves disappointment later.
Municipal utility customers can be shut out of the standard programs. Vineland’s municipal utility, for example, sits outside Board of Public Utilities rules and has said it cannot support new residential generation above 5 kW of AC capacity, below what a typical home system needs. SuSI and statewide net metering do not apply the same way in that territory.
Renters and condo owners without control of a roof cannot host a system and collect these incentives at all. Homes with low usage or small roofs can struggle to reach payback within the panel warranty, especially where fixed monthly charges, not kilowatt-hours, dominate the bill. Aging or specialty roofs, such as the slate or cedar shake common in older North Jersey towns, may need replacement or specialty mounting first, which can erase the savings if you skip that step.
Leasing is the other way the incentives slip past you, since a leased or PPA system routes the state income stream to the company rather than the household. If owning is not an option, the cleaner fallback is community solar, which needs no roof at all and keeps a bill credit in your name.
Before signing with any installer, check its record: New Jersey has seen real consumer-protection failures, including the Chapter 7 bankruptcy of Vision Solar and multi-state enforcement actions against large installers. Our guide to vetting New Jersey solar installers before you sign covers what to look for.
Local New Jersey Solar Programs Worth Checking
Beyond the statewide incentives, New Jersey runs local and utility-specific programs that fit homeowners the main stack misses.
Community Solar in New Jersey: A 15% to 25% Bill Discount With No Installation
For renters, shaded roofs, or anyone who cannot install, the Community Solar Energy Program is the practical alternative. You subscribe to a share of a larger project and receive credits on your bill, with no equipment, no credit check, and the freedom to cancel anytime. Subscribers see bill reductions of 15% to 25%, and low-income households receive at least a 25% discount, with at least 51% of capacity reserved for them. In March 2026, the state approved a 3,000 MW expansion, the largest in its history.
Vineland’s $0.50-per-Watt Rebate and Other Municipal Utility Programs
A few municipal utilities offer their own incentives. Vineland’s utility pays a rebate of $0.50 per watt, up to $5,000, even as it limits new generation capacity. PSE&G, the largest utility, offers an EV charger rebate of up to $1,500 plus a service-upgrade rebate of up to $5,000, though its off-peak charging credit closed to new applicants in January 2026. These programs change frequently, so confirm current terms directly with your utility.
Battery Storage and the Garden State Energy Storage Program
New Jersey approved the Garden State Energy Storage Program in June 2025, and a residential battery incentive is expected under its second phase. As of mid-2026, those rules are not published and the dollar amounts are unknown, so treat any installer-quoted figure with caution. For a flat-rate customer under full-retail net metering, a battery earns little to nothing from rate arbitrage, because your exported power already earns the retail rate, so its value rests on backup and resilience rather than incentive income.
One exception is worth watching: PSE&G launches a whole-house time-of-use rate on June 1, 2026, with much higher summer on-peak prices from 4 to 9 PM than off-peak, which sharpens the case for storing cheap power and using it during that window. For anyone on a time-of-use rate, a battery can shift usage off the peak and earn its keep that way.
See Which New Jersey Solar Incentives You Can Apply For
Eligibility in New Jersey depends on your utility territory, your roof, and whether you plan to own or lease. Enter your ZIP code to see which incentives apply to your address, what your SREC-II income could look like, and whether your home is a fit before you talk to an installer.
Find out what New Jersey programs are available to you!
Frequently Asked Questions About New Jersey Solar Incentives
Not for systems you own. The 30% residential credit under Section 25D ended on December 31, 2025. A leased or PPA system can still capture the federal commercial credit under Section 48E, but the company that owns the system claims it, as long as construction starts by July 4, 2026.
Each SREC-II pays $85, and a system earns one for every megawatt-hour it produces. A typical 5.92 kW home system earns $675 a year, or $10,125 across the 15-year term. The rate can change by state board order, so confirm the current value before you rely on it.
Yes. All four investor-owned utilities credit exported solar power at the full retail rate, one for one, under N.J.A.C. 14:8-4. Credits roll over for a 12-month period, and any year-end excess is paid at the lower avoided-cost rate.
No. Under a lease or PPA, the company owns the system and keeps the SREC-II income, the net-metering credits, and the federal 48E credit. Owning the system, with cash or a loan, is the only way to collect those benefits yourself.
The sales tax exemption is automatic; your installer leaves the 6.625% sales tax off solar equipment at purchase. The property tax exemption needs one step: file Form CRES with your municipal assessor to keep the added home value out of your assessment.
The original SREC program closed to new systems on April 30, 2020, and its successor, the TREC program, closed in August 2021. SuSI and its SREC-II certificate are the current program for new residential systems.
References & Research Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). New Jersey Electricity Profile 2024. State Electricity Profiles; 2024 data. Released November 10, 2025. Accessed June 23, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS). One, Big, Beautiful Bill Provisions. Federal tax guidance resource covering clean energy credit changes, including Sections 25D and 48E. Accessed June 23, 2026.
- New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP). Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) Program. Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI) Program resource for SREC-II incentive registration and payment structure. Accessed June 23, 2026.
- New Jersey Administrative Code. N.J. Admin. Code § 14:8-4.3: Net Metering General Provisions, Annualized Period Selection. Net metering regulation for Class I renewable energy systems. Accessed June 23, 2026.
- New Jersey Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Exemption Administration. Tax Topic Bulletin S&U-6; guidance including solar energy device sales tax exemptions. Revised June 2024. Accessed June 23, 2026.
- New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA). Application for Certification of Renewable Energy System(s). Renewable energy property tax exemption guidance and certification materials under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.113a. Published December 2, 2009. Accessed June 23, 2026.
