Vermont Solar Incentives (2026): Bill Credits and Tax Exemptions

What does Vermont give solar homes, and how does it reach you?

Four programs matter for a home system. Only one pays cash, and only to battery owners.

None of these pays a rebate for the panels themselves. Your utility’s name is at the top of your electric bill.

How much is a Vermont net metering credit worth?

Net metering means your utility credits you for solar power. In Vermont the Public Utility Commission (PUC), the state’s utility regulator, sets the rules for every utility.

Solar power you use in the same month lowers your bill directly. Power beyond your monthly use becomes a dollar credit. The credit is your utility’s residential rate or the statewide rate of 20.71 cents per kWh, whichever is lower.

A new system of 15 kW or less also pays a siting charge of 5 cents per kWh. The PUC calls it a siting adjustor. It applies to every kWh your panels make, not only the extra. The PUC puts the result at about 15.71 cents per kWh.

Example: for 100 kWh of extra power, the base credit is $20.71. The siting charge on those 100 kWh is $5. That leaves about $15.71.

Green Mountain Power serves about 7 in 10 Vermont homes. The figures assume you give your RECs to the utility (see below).

Watch out: Credits are not cash. Unused credits expire after 12 months. They also cannot pay some fixed charges. Green Mountain Power lists its customer charge, energy efficiency charge and assistance-program charges. Vermont Electric Co-op lists its customer charge and energy efficiency charge.

Why does your application date matter in Vermont?

Your siting charge is set by the date your complete application is filed with the PUC. It then stays with the system for its whole life.

Buying a home that already has panels? Ask for its Certificate of Public Good, the PUC approval for that system. It shows which charges the system carries.

• Filed August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2026: a siting charge of 4 cents per kWh.
• Filed on or after August 1, 2026: a siting charge of 5 cents per kWh.
• The base credit: 20.71 cents per kWh since August 1, 2026. It also applies to systems that were already running, and the PUC can change it again.

Watch out: More change may come. On September 9, 2026 the PUC opened a rulemaking to redesign net metering credits. It says any new framework should give existing systems a transition. Nothing is decided yet.

Which taxes does solar skip in Vermont?

Two. One needs a form at the right moment. The other needs nothing from you.

Is the Green Mountain Power battery payment still available?

Yes. The program is called Bring Your Own Device. Its tariff, the utility’s official price sheet, ran out on September 30, 2026. Green Mountain Power (GMP) posted a renewed tariff, in effect since October 1, 2026, that keeps the program open until September 30, 2028 unless the PUC orders otherwise. The payment levels did not change.

How it works: you buy a home battery and let GMP use it during peak hours for 10 years. In return GMP pays you upfront: $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, on up to 10 kW. For a battery, kW is how much power it can give at one moment. Homes in areas where GMP’s power lines are near their limit get $100 per kW more. The most you can get is $10,500.

• Who can join: GMP customers who own the home, buy a compatible battery, and have a GMP smart meter and reliable internet.
• What GMP does: it expects to use your battery 5 to 8 times a month, for 3 to 6 hours each time.
• What it costs you: a software fee of $3.97 a month. If you leave early, you repay part of the payment.
• Not a GMP customer: Vermont Electric Co-op has its own home battery program. It pays a monthly bill credit, or an upfront payment with a smaller monthly credit, when you let the co-op use your battery at peak times. The co-op’s own example for a 27 kWh battery is a bill credit of $34.56 a month, or $1,447.20 upfront plus $17.28 a month. Your battery must hold at least 10 kWh. The co-op can change these rates each year. Washington Electric Co-op lists a battery program as coming soon, with no payment terms yet. Do not plan on it.

What if you rent or have a lower income?

Vermont has little here. These are the smaller options that are real.

• Plug-in solar: since July 1, 2026, state law lets you plug certified solar panels of up to 1,200 watts into a household outlet, with no PUC permit and no utility approval. Renters must give the landlord 10 days’ notice first. Power it sends to the grid earns no credit, and you cannot combine it with net metering.
• Washington Electric Co-op members: a household income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level can qualify for a bill credit of $45 a month for five years. Spots are limited. The co-op said the program was well over half full in June 2026, and it has not published a newer count. The grant money must be spent by December 31, 2026.
• Association or town rules: Vermont law says deed restrictions, association rules and town bylaws cannot prohibit solar panels.

Watch out: Vermont Solar for All, the planned program for low-income homes, has been paused since August 7, 2025. There is nothing to apply for now.

You are unlikely to collect if

• Your quote uses old or wrong credit numbers. Applications from August 1, 2026 carry the 5 cents per kWh siting charge. Burlington Electric’s base credit is about 16.59 cents, below the statewide rate.
• You do not hand over Form S-3E in time. The form must reach the seller at or before the sale. Without it, sales tax is charged.
• You are counting on the GMP battery payment. It is only for a battery you own, in a home you own, and the battery must be on GMP’s list of compatible models. The renewed program runs until September 30, 2028. Check the list before you buy.
• You want a share in a solar array somewhere else. New off-site group projects are closed for applications filed on or after January 1, 2025. You can still ask an existing group to add your meter.
• You are a co-op member hoping for the low-income bill credit. Washington Electric Co-op said the program was well over half full in June 2026. Applying does not hold a spot.

The paperwork, in order

1. Before you sign: check the numbers in your quote. Ask which siting charge it uses and whether you keep the RECs. Both change your credit.You, with your installer.
2. At or before the sale: give the seller Form S-3E. This is what removes the sales tax.You fill it in. The seller keeps it.
3. Your installer files with the PUC. Every net-metered system needs a Certificate of Public Good (CPG), the PUC’s approval. For roof systems, and ground systems up to 25 kW, your installer files a net-metering registration in ePUC, the PUC’s online filing system. Larger ground systems need a full CPG application. Systems over 15 kW need utility interconnection approval, the utility’s permission to connect, before filing.Your installer.
4. After switch-on: read your first bills. Check the credit rate and the siting charge. You have 120 days to change your REC choice, once.You. Your utility applies the credits.
5. Adding a battery: confirm the GMP program first. If it is still running, you enroll the battery with GMP online after it is installed. Enphase and FranklinWH batteries enroll through the maker’s app.You or your installer.

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