2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Camden, NJ - Tax Credits & Rebates

What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in Camden?

Source: https://www.dsireusa.org/

The phrase "solar incentives" refers to a wide range of financial incentives implemented to make installing and using solar panels more affordable. This is done to encourage people to switch to renewable energy. Various kinds of incentives, like cash back, discounts or monthly utility bill credits, might be available to you. Certain incentives may be provided via the New Jersey government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• Net Metering: Don't forget to talk with your Camden utility company about signing a net metering agreement. This allows you to receive credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy your solar panels generate. You could receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and similar performance-based incentives may be available to you if your solar system produces over a specified (usually small) amount of electricity. This category of incentives is typically handled at the state level. You can sell any SRECs you have to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you make is generally considered part of your taxable income.
• Rebates: Solar rebates can be provided by your county or state, or by your local utility company. These rebates work as partial refunds that are applied after you pay for solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions (not deductions) in the amount of tax that you owe the federal government.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panels could qualify for both sales tax and property tax exemptions. Sales tax exemptions are applied at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions allow you to exclude the value that solar panels add when calculating property taxes on your home.

Federal Solar Incentives

When you think about solar incentives, you likely think of federal incentives first. The solar incentive that you may be most familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC can be applied to the total cost of installing solar panels, including the panels themselves as well as equipment, labor and accessories. You can claim this credit for panels installed after January 1, 2006, on a primary or secondary residence that you own, as long as it is located in the United States. Originally set at 30% of total costs, the credit has fluctuated over time, and you may qualify for different amounts depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum claim amount.

To find out exactly how much the ITC could save you, talk to your local Camden solar panel installer.

The ITC has been renewed and expanded following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. The new Clean Energy Credit extends until 2035. Homeowners can now apply for a 30% credit for solar systems that began installation on or after January 1, 2022, and will be done by December 31, 2032. The credit will then see a slight annual decrease until it expires. Beginning in 2023, it will also be easier to claim credits for energy storage systems with the new act.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. To fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, talk to your local Camden solar installers.

State & Local Solar Incentives

In addition to federal solar incentives, there are often also state ones. Rebates, tax credits and more might be available at a more local level. Some incentives are ongoing, while others are offered for only a limited time. These local incentives may come from the New Jersey government, or from your specific county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Camden

There are many types of solar incentives: those provided by the federal government, those given by the New Jersey government and those offered by local utility companies, to name a few. Solar energy use has grown enormously in the last 15 years, partially due to these incentives. We recommend talking to your local Camden solar installation expert for more information about these incentives and to be sure that you're getting all the money you can for your solar panels.