New Jersey Solar Rebates and Incentives
New Jersey waives sale tax, reduces property tax, provides rebates and offers production incentives to commercial and residential properties that purchase renewable energy systems. The financial incentives range from $100 to thousands, depending on the system and the program.
The state mandated that electric utilities produce 22.5% of their energy from renewable sources as part of the Solar Renewable Energy Certificate Registration Program. Utilities whose production portfolio does not meet the mandated 22.5% can purchase certificates from producers of renewable energy to offset their non-renewable production and meet the requirement.
New Jersey waives sales tax for solar panels, solar hot water and other renewable energy technologies. Property owners can also save on their property tax, under a program that excludes the renewable energy systems from the taxable assessment for a property.
Solar Rebate and Incentive Programs
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NJ Net Metering Rules
Program Type Net Metering Technologies Solar Thermal Electric, Photovoltaics, Landfill Gas, Wind, Biomass, Geothermal Electric, Anaerobic Digestion, Tidal Energy, Wave Energy, Fuel Cells using Renewable Fuels Amount No limit specified Who It Applies To Commercial, Industrial, Residential customers of investor owned utilities Required Documentation Must have an interconnection agreement with the electric utility Official Web Site www.njcleanenergy.com/renewable-energy/programs/net-metering-and-interconnection NJ’s net metering law enables customers to get full retail credit on their utility bill for each kilowatt hour of electricity produced in excess of their demand.
The utility tracks the difference between usage and production for each customer. For each customer who produces electricity, the kilowatts produced in excess of demand are credited to the customer’s account. The customer can draw on their credits to pay for usage during periods when their demand exceeds their production. At year-end, any balance in the customer account is paid to the customer at the wholesale price for electricity.
An interconnection agreement governs the relationship between the electric customers and their utility. The agreement specifies the technical, safety and testing requirements needed to connect the customer’s system to the electric grid.
To qualify, electric systems cannot produce more than 2 megawatts and cannot exceed the customer’s annual electric demands.
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NJ Sales Tax Exemption
Program Type Sale Tax Exemption Technologies Passive Solar Space Heat, Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, Solar Thermal Electric, Solar Thermal Process Heat, Photovoltaics, Solar Pool Heating Amount $1,200 Who It Applies To Commercial, Industrial, Residential Official Web Site www.njcep.com/srec The standard 7% sales tax is not required to be paid when purchasing solar energy equipment in NJ.
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NJ Property Tax Excemption for Renewable Energy Systems
Program Type Property tax excemption Technologies Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, Solar Thermal Process Heat, Photovoltaics, Landfill Gas, Wind, Biomass, Hydroelectric, Geothermal Electric, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Resource Recovery, Tidal Energy, Wave Energy , Direct-Use Geothermal Energy Amount 100% exemption for the value of the qualifying systems Required Documentation Must complete an application form and have the system assessed by the local assessor Official Web Site www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=NJ25F&re=1&ee=1 New Jersey property owners can get a property tax exemption for 100% of the value of their renewable energy systems.
Eligible renewable energy systems include solar photovoltaics (solar panels), wind, fuel cells, sustainable biomass, geothermal electric, landfill gas, hydroelectric, resource recovery, wave, and tidal systems that produce electricity. Systems that produce energy from solar thermal energy (e.g., solar hot water) or geothermal energy (e.g., geothermal heat pumps) are also eligible.
The value of the exemption is set by the local property tax assessor. The value of the system is subtracted from the assessed value of the property, reducing the amount of property tax owed.
To qualify, systems must meet technical guidelines that are still under development by the NJ Board of Public Utilities and the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
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Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) Registration Program
Program Type Production Incentive Technologies Solar Panels (Photovoltaics Amount Varies depending on market value; Approximately $490/MWh in April 2009, but trades up to $680/MWh have been reported. Required Documentation Documentation must be submitted within 120 days of purchasing the system Official Web Site www.njcep.com/srec The SREC Registration Program creates a marketplace that enables producers of solar electric power to be compensated for the power they produce.
Under NJ law, electric utilities who serve retail customers must produce 22.5% of their electricity from renewable sources. Utilities who do not produce sufficiently from renewable sources are allowed to purchase Solar Renewable Energy Certificates to offset their non-renewable production and reach their mandate.
Owners of private solar electric systems register with the SREC program, enabling them to sell certificates to utilities seeking offsets. The program tracks the amount of electricity produced, issues certificates and records sales of certificates from producers to purchasers.
Since the program is a marketplace, the amount paid for a certificate varies by supply and demand. Suppliers are given a certificate for each megawatt hour produced.
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Cool Advantage Program
Program Type Rebate Technologies Heat Pumps, Air Conditions Amount $100 - $500 Required Documentation Documentation of proper sizing and installation is required Official Web Site www.njcleanenergy.com/residential/programs/cooladvantage/cooladvantage-program The COOLAdvantage program provides rebates for energy-efficient central air conditioners and heat pumps. The rebate also applies to proper system sizing and other "best practices" that affect operating efficiency.
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Solar Domestic Hot Water Pilot Program
Program Type Rebate Technologies Solar Hot Water Heating Amount $1,200 Required Documentation Documentation must be submitted within 120 days of purchasing the system Official Web Site www.njcleanenergy.com/residential/programs/solar-domestic-hot-water-pilot-program The NJ solar hot water heating rebate is a pilot program that provides a $1,200 rebate to owners of single family homes who replace or retrofit electric hot water systems with solar hot water systems. The replacement system must be new and be installed by a licensed NJ Home Improvement Contractor who has a NABCEP certification. To be eligible, the home must be a customer of Atlantic City Electric, Jersey Central Power & Light, Public Service Electric and Gas, or Rockland Electric Company.
Participants in the NJ Energy Star Homes and Home Performance with Energy Star are eligible for this program.
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New Jersey Solar Power Financial Incentives
Financial Incentives
Industry Recruitment/Support
Production Incentive
Property Tax Exemption
Sales Tax Exemption
State Loan Program
State Rebate Program
- COOLAdvantage Program
- ENERGY STAR Homes Program
- Energy Star Product Rebates
- Home Performance with Energy Star Program
- New Jersey Comfort Partners Program
- New Jersey Customer-Sited Renewable Energy Rebates
- New Jersey SmartStart Buildings
- Pay for Performance Program
- WARMAdvantage Program
Utility Loan Program
Rules, Regulations & Policies
Appliance/Equipment Efficiency Standards
Building Energy Code
Energy Standards for Public Buildings
- Energy Efficiency in New School Construction
- High Performance Building Standards in New State Construction
Generation Disclosure
Interconnection
Net Metering
Public Benefits Fund
Renewables Portfolio Standard
Solar Access Law/Guideline
Related Programs & Initiatives
Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center
The U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC) provides a wide range of information and resources to enable the use of alternative fuels and other petroleum-reduction options, such as advanced vehicles, fuel blends, idle reduction and fuel economy. The AFDC site offers a database of state and federal laws and incentives related to alternative fuels and vehicles, air quality, fuel efficiency, and other transportation-related topics.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Green Power Network provides news and information on green power markets and activities, including opportunities to buy green power. This site provides state-by-state information on green power marketing and utility green power programs. In addition, the site lists marketers of renewable energy credits (RECs), also known as green tags or renewable energy certificates, which represent the environmental attributes of the power produced from renewable energy projects.
Weatherization Assistance Program
The U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) enables low-income families to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy-efficient. Through this program, weatherization service providers install energy-efficiency measures in the homes of qualifying homeowners free of charge. The WAP program web site offers a state-by-state map of opportunities, projects and activities.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America site provides state-by-state information on wind projects and activities, including wind working groups, validated wind maps, anemometer loan programs, small wind guides, state-specific news, wind for schools, workshops and web casts.
