Incentive data current as of June 2026. Federal tax credit status reflects the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025. Duke Energy export credits and PowerPair capacity reflect North Carolina Utilities Commission filings under Docket E-100 Sub 180.
For a North Carolina Buyer in 2026, the Only Federal Money Runs Through a Lease
The federal residential tax credit is gone for anyone who buys this year. The Section 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit returned 30% of a purchased system’s cost as a federal tax credit. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21) ended it for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, with no phase-down. A North Carolina homeowner who buys or finances a system this year pays the full price and claims nothing on a federal return for it.
If your system was installed and running before that date, you can still claim the credit on your 2025 return and carry any unused portion forward. For a 2026 purchase, that door is closed.
One federal credit survived, but it does not go to you. Section 48E, the commercial Clean Electricity Investment Credit, still reaches solar that a third party owns. In North Carolina that means a lease, because residential power purchase agreements are not legal here. In those deals the solar company owns the equipment, claims the credit, and may pass some of that value back through a lower monthly payment. The credit goes to the owner of the system, and under a lease that owner is not you.
That single change has made ownership the first thing to settle before you compare quotes. A cash or loan purchase now stands on its own price, while a lease is the only structure that still touches federal money in 2026. If a no-money-down pitch is on your table, it helps to understand how no-money-down solar offers work in North Carolina before you sign.
Find out what North Carolina programs are available to you!
PowerPair Is North Carolina’s Largest Incentive, and It Runs First-Come
Duke’s PowerPair program is the most valuable incentive a North Carolina homeowner can still claim, worth up to $9,000. It pays a one-time rebate for installing solar and battery storage together: $0.36 per watt of solar (AC) up to $3,600, plus $400 per kWh of battery up to $5,400. To earn either piece, the panels and the battery have to go in as one project.
The programs below differ most in how reliably you can claim them in 2026.
Incentive | Type | Who Collects It | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
Federal Residential Credit (Section 25D) | 30% income tax credit | Homeowner who buys | Ended December 31, 2025; unavailable for 2026 purchases |
Federal Commercial Credit (Section 48E) | Investment tax credit | Third-party owner (lease only) | Still available to leased systems |
Duke PowerPair | One-time solar-plus-battery rebate | Homeowner in Duke territory | First-come; capped; Progress territory waitlisted |
Property Tax Exclusion (G.S. 105-275(16)) | Standing tax exclusion | Homeowner | In place; 100% of added residential value |
PowerPair’s real limit is its funding pool, not who qualifies. It runs first-come, first-served against a fixed pool, and only part of that pool remains. In Duke Energy Carolinas territory, 7,210 kW of the 30 MW residential allocation remained as of February 2026, with enrollment set to resume June 21, 2026. In Duke Energy Progress territory the funding is fully allocated; Duke stopped taking applications on November 7, 2025 and opened a waitlist. A headline value of $9,000 means little if the allocation for your territory is closed the week you apply.
PowerPair also locks the battery into the decision. You cannot take the solar portion alone. For most North Carolina homeowners that pairing costs little, because Duke’s export rules already make a battery more useful here than in a full-retail state.
G.S. 105-275(16): North Carolina’s Property Tax Exclusion Has No Cap or Clock
A solar system raises your home’s value, and in North Carolina that added value does not raise your residential property tax. Under North Carolina General Statute 105-275(16), the non-business personal property exclusion leaves 100% of the value a homeowner’s solar equipment adds out of the tax assessment. No form, no funding cap, no waiting list.
This is the one incentive on the list with no timing risk for residential owners, and it is worth separating from the headlines about a phase-out. House Bill 729, filed in 2025, would phase down the separate 80% exclusion that applies to business-owned solar under subsection (45). It amends the business provision, not the 100% residential basis, so a homeowner’s exclusion is not what that bill reduces.
Who owns the equipment sets how the exclusion applies. A homeowner who buys the system holds it as non-business personal property, so the county assessor leaves its full added value out of the taxable basis, and there is no annual renewal to file once the system is in place. A third-party-owned system on the same roof, the kind behind a lease, sits on the business side of the statute, where the separate 80% exclusion under subsection (45) applies and where House Bill 729 would take effect.
You will not see a check or a line on a quote, and you will not pay more property tax in any year because panels are on your roof.
Duke’s 4.53-Cent Export Credit Replaced Full Retail Net Metering
How much a North Carolina solar system saves comes down to how your utility prices the power you send back. Full retail net metering for Duke customers closed to new solar on October 1, 2023. New systems now take one of two plans: a flat-rate Net Metering Bridge or the time-of-use Residential Solar Choice.
Under both plans, the power your panels export earns the Net Excess Energy Credit, set at each utility’s avoided cost. Duke Energy Carolinas credits exports at 4.53 cents per kWh and Duke Energy Progress at 3.40 cents, against a statewide average residential rate of 14.59 cents. Measured against that average, an exported kilowatt-hour earns 69% less than one you use at home in Duke Energy Carolinas territory and 77% less in Duke Energy Progress territory. Your own Duke rate sets the exact gap, but in both territories a battery is worth more than it would be in a full-retail state: power you store and use at home offsets the full retail rate you would otherwise pay, while power you export earns only a few cents.
The flat-rate Bridge is itself on a clock. The Net Metering Bridge closes to new applicants on December 31, 2026. After that date, new Duke solar customers move onto the time-of-use Residential Solar Choice plan, which prices both the power you buy and the power you self-supply by time of day. For a 2026 buyer, the plan you end up on depends on when your interconnection is approved.
Dominion Keeps One-for-One Credit; Co-ops Set Their Own
Not every North Carolina homeowner lives under Duke’s export rules. In the northeastern counties served by Dominion, full retail net metering still applies, so a Dominion customer is credited at the same rate they pay, one-for-one, for power sent to the grid. That single difference makes solar economics stronger in Dominion territory than anywhere Duke serves.
Electric cooperatives and municipal utilities set their own terms, and most credit exported power at an avoided-cost rate rather than retail. EnergyUnited, for example, credits exports at 5.06 cents per kWh. The figure varies by cooperative, so a co-op member needs to read their own rate schedule rather than assume Duke’s numbers or Dominion’s apply.
Utility or Territory | Export Regime | Credit on Exported Power | What’s Changing |
|---|---|---|---|
Duke Energy Carolinas | Net billing (Bridge or Solar Choice) | 4.53 ¢/kWh (NEEC) | Bridge closes to new applicants Dec 31, 2026 |
Duke Energy Progress | Net billing (Bridge or Solar Choice) | 3.40 ¢/kWh (NEEC) | Bridge closes to new applicants Dec 31, 2026 |
Dominion (Northeastern NC) | Full retail net metering | Retail rate, one-for-one | Unchanged for now |
Co-ops and Municipals | Avoided-cost buyback | 5.06 ¢/kWh (EnergyUnited; varies) | Set by each utility |
Your utility, then, is the first fact that sets what solar is worth to you. Two identical homes with identical systems can see returns years apart depending on which side of a territory line they sit, which is one reason a single statewide payback figure is misleading. For a closer look at how those returns differ, see whether solar is worth it for your home.
North Carolina’s 4.35% Yearly Rate Increase Makes Your Incentives Worth More
Every incentive that offsets your electric bill grows more valuable as the rate you avoid climbs, and North Carolina’s rates have been climbing steadily. Residential rates in the state have risen at a compound 4.35% a year over the past five years. The statewide residential rate of 14.59 cents per kWh still sits below the national average of 17.91 cents, leaving North Carolina 33rd among the states and 18.5% under the U.S. figure.
Lower-than-average rates have two effects. They mean the power you offset is worth less per kilowatt-hour than in California or Massachusetts, so each incentive that trims your bill returns fewer dollars here than in a high-rate state. They also mean the steady annual increases matter more over a system’s life, because each rate hike widens the distance between buying grid power and supplying your own.
The gap between the rate you avoid and the rate you are paid for exports matters most here. When you are credited 4.53 cents for power you could have used to avoid a 14.59-cent purchase, sizing a system to your own use rather than to fill the roof protects more of its value. The cost side of that decision appears in detail in what solar costs in North Carolina.
Ownership, Duke Territory, and the 10 kW-AC Cap: What Decides Your Eligibility
Three facts about your home settle which programs you can claim. Take them in order, because each one rules options in or out.
Ownership sets your federal options. Buy the system with cash or a loan and you own it, which in 2026 means no federal credit at all. Sign a lease and the installer owns it, claims the Section 48E commercial credit, and may reflect part of that value in your payment. Buying and leasing send the federal benefit to different parties; which is better depends on your situation.
Your utility territory controls PowerPair access and your export credit. A Duke Energy Carolinas or Progress customer is the only one who can apply for PowerPair, and is also the one living under the Net Excess Energy Credit rather than retail crediting. A Dominion customer keeps one-for-one credit but has no PowerPair. A cooperative member has neither and should confirm their own export rate.
System size is what clears or trips PowerPair’s caps. The rebate caps at 10 kW-AC of solar and 13.5 kWh of battery. Most North Carolina homes need a system in the 8-to-9 kW range to cover a normal year of use, so the cap rarely binds for a right-sized residential project, though an oversized system can leave part of itself outside the incentive.
Beyond these, local programs change from year to year. Some cooperatives and cities run their own rebates or battery offers, and the cleanest way to confirm what applies to your address is to check the current North Carolina listings on DSIRE, the state and federal incentive database. When you reach the point of comparing installers, the same eligibility details are worth confirming with each one, and comparing vetted North Carolina solar installers is a good place to start.
When North Carolina’s Incentives Won’t Reach You
Some North Carolina homeowners will not capture much incentive value, and these are the situations that close most of the doors.
- You are on a cooperative or municipal utility. No PowerPair, no Duke export plan, and an avoided-cost credit rather than retail. Solar can still work, but the incentive support is limited and the case rests on using your own power.
- You rent, or you may move within a few years. A purchased system’s value is tied to long ownership, and the incentives that remain reward owners who stay.
- Your home uses very little electricity. When you export a large share of your production at the Net Excess Energy Credit instead of using it at retail value, the return shrinks, and a low-usage home exports more of what it makes.
- You sign a lease expecting the tax credit. The Section 48E credit goes to the system’s owner. Under a lease, that is the company, not you, even when the value is folded into your rate.
For renters and homeowners whom solar does not fit, community solar and a future purchase stay open, and the DSIRE listing above is the place to watch for new local programs.
Incentive confusion is what scammers rely on. The collapse of Pink Energy, formerly Power Home Solar, drew hundreds of complaints to the North Carolina Department of Justice, and the state Attorney General continues to warn homeowners about door-to-door “free solar” pitches. An offer that leans on a federal credit you cannot claim, or a rebate that has already closed in your territory, is the first sign to slow down and verify.
Check Which North Carolina Incentives Your Address Still Qualifies For
Incentive eligibility in North Carolina turns on your utility, your ownership plan, and the calendar. Enter your ZIP code to see which programs, export rules, and rebate windows apply where you live, and whether the PowerPair allocation for your territory is open right now.
Find out what North Carolina programs are available to you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for a system you buy. The 30% Section 25D residential credit ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. A leased system can still reach the Section 48E commercial credit, but the solar company claims it, not you.
No. The state of North Carolina does not offer a solar income-tax credit or statewide cash rebate in 2026. The meaningful support comes from Duke’s PowerPair rebate, available only in Duke territory, and the residential property tax exclusion.
No. This is a local-option exemption. You must check with your city or county’s tax office to determine if it is offered in your area.
It depends on your Duke territory. Duke Energy Carolinas had 7,210 kW of its residential allocation left as of February 2026 and was set to resume enrollment on June 21, 2026. Duke Energy Progress is fully allocated and stopped taking applications on November 7, 2025, leaving only a waitlist.
No. Under North Carolina General Statute 105-275(16), 100% of the value residential solar adds to your home is excluded from your property tax assessment, with no application required. House Bill 729 would phase down the separate 80% exclusion for business-owned systems, not the residential basis.
Full retail net metering closed to new Duke solar on October 1, 2023. New systems now export power for the Net Excess Energy Credit, 4.53 cents per kWh for Duke Energy Carolinas and 3.40 cents for Duke Energy Progress, under either the Net Metering Bridge or the Residential Solar Choice plan.
For PowerPair, yes. The rebate pays only when solar and storage are installed together. A battery is also worth more under Duke’s export rules, since power you store and use at home offsets the full retail rate while exported power earns only a few cents.
References & Research Sources
EcoGen America reviewed federal tax guidance, North Carolina net metering materials, utility incentive resources, state statutes, utility avoided cost rate schedules, state solar incentive databases, and federal electricity data for this article. Sources were accessed June 10, 2026, unless another publication, release, effective, or update date is listed below.
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS). FAQs for Modification of Sections 25C, 25D, 25E, 30C, 30D, 45L, 45W, and 179D Under Public Law 119-21. Fact Sheet FS-2025-05. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- North Carolina Public Staff. Net Metering in North Carolina. North Carolina Utilities Commission Docket E-100, Sub 180. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- Duke Energy. PowerPair Solar and Battery Incentive. Residential solar and battery incentive program resource. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes § 105-275: Property Classified and Excluded from the Tax Base. Property tax exclusion statute. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- North Carolina General Assembly. House Bill 729: Phase Out Solar Property Tax Exclusion. Proposed legislation related to North Carolina’s solar property tax exclusion. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC). EnergyUnited Avoided Cost Rate Schedule. Docket EC-82, Sub 25. Effective February 1, 2026. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE). North Carolina Solar Incentives and Programs. State solar incentive and policy database. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Electric Power Monthly. Federal electricity generation, sales, revenue, and price data resource. Accessed June 10, 2026.
