Oregon solar rebates and tax credits calculator

Solar incentive

Federal ITC 30% (tax credit)

State tax credit: No

Net metering (by utility)

Calculate for your home's location

There can be solar tax credits and incentives available at the federal, state and local levels. The calculator above will show you the value of all incentives your home is eligible for.

Summary of Oregon solar incentives 2024

If you go solar in Oregon, you can be sure the state will support you for the long haul. Residential solar programs here have been progressive, and there are sizable solar incentives to claim here. Read on to learn why going solar in Oregon in now one of the surest investments you can make.

Oregon offered some new low income and battery storage rebate programs in 2020. It was a step in the right direction, though available funds were lacking, as both programs were fully subscribed very quickly, and are no longer available. Hopefully the positive impacts from the program can be reworked into a more meaningful pool of solar funds in the coming years.

On this page, you can:

  1. Learn what solar incentives are available to Oregon homeowners

  2. See what Oregon solar incentives you qualify for based on your utility company and city

  3. Find out how much these incentives and/or Oregon solar tax credits will reduce your cost to go solar and add batteries

Federal solar investment tax credit

The federal solar investment tax credit will have the biggest impact on the cost you will face to go solar in Oregon

If you install your photovoltaic system before the end of 2032, the federal tax credit is 30% of the cost of your solar panel system. This is 30% off the entire cost of the system including equipment, labor, and permitting.

Example: If your solar energy system costs $20,000, your federal solar tax credit would be $20,000 x 30% = $6,000.

The federal tax credit falls to 26% starting in 2033.

Net energy metering in Oregon

With net metering in some states, you get full retail rate credit for the amount of electricity you send back into the grid with your solar panels.

With net metering, if you generate more power than you need with your solar panels, you’ll get a credit on your next month’s bill. Thankfully, Oregon provides your credits at 100% of the retail rate. 

However, you can’t keep carrying the credits over indefinitely. At the end of each billing year, you forfeit extra solar energy credits to the utility, and the money they would have saved you goes to the utility's low-income programs instead. That's actually a wonderful idea, so kudos, Oregon!

Oregon solar rebates

The Energy Trust of Oregon provides a nice solar rebate to PGE and Pacific Power customers. The amount is $300 per kilowatt (kW), up to a maximum of $2,400. So, to max out this credit, you could shoot for an 8-kW solar installation. 

When you claim your rebates, the only downside is your performance payment renewable energy certificates (RECs) will be owned by the utility. RECs are credits that can be sold to utilities so that they can meet their renewable portfolio standards. If you take the Oregon Energy Trust rebate, the utility will already own your RECs, so you can’t go selling them to someone else.

A new statewide solar rebate program was available in Oregon in 2020, but had a meager budget of $2 million for the year. The incentive included solar power and battery storage with enhanced rebate amounts for low and moderate income residents. 

The program allocated $200 per kilowatt (kW), up to 40% of the total costs, or $5,000, whichever was less. 

You could have expected about $1,200 in credits through this program with a typical 6kW home solar installation (6kW * $200 per kW).

The rebates low- and moderate- income residential rebate was $1,800 per kilowatt, up to 60% of cost, or $5,000, whichever was less. This amount of funding definitely had the potential to change some lives.

Unfortunately, this rebate program had a tiny budget of just $2 million, and was closed to new applications in April of 2020. With a bigger budget it could be much, much more successful in helping people go solar. We’ll see what happens with the program budget in 2021 and beyond.

Learn more: Oregon’s statewide solar + storage rebate program

Low income program

The Energy Trust of Oregon debuted a new low-income solar program in 2020 called “Solar Within Reach”. It provides a hefty rebate incentive of $1,500 per kW, up to $9,000. 

That, when combined with the other $2,400 rebate on an 8kW system and the 26% Federal Tax Credit are enough to almost cover the entire cost of your solar energy system.  

To qualify, you’ll need to be at or below gross annual maximum income amounts which increase depending on the number of people living in your home. For program details, check out the Energy Trust’s Solar Within Reach website

Cost of solar panels in your part of Oregon after all applicable solar incentives

Solar prices near you

Cost range of local prices

$20,716-$25,320

Payback period

11.9-14.5 years

Net profit (savings less system cost)

$31,060-$37,962

Average size system installed in OR in 2024

11.8kW

Solar panel cost calculator

Best 10 solar companies in Oregon

36 solar companies in Oregon provide pricing on SolarReviews. Here are the best rated companies near you.

Solar guides for your Oregon city

For more information about going solar near where you live, check out the following resources:

Find local city information

 

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