New Hampshire's solar incentives have shifted from cash upfront to bill credits over time
The state rebate is gone, and so is the federal credit for most 2026 buyers
New Hampshire's Residential Renewable Electrical Generation Rebate was repealed by Senate Bill 303 in 2024, effective that June, and struck from RSA 362-F:10. It is not coming back for new 2026 projects, and there's no pending legislation to restore it. On top of that, the federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) expired for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, so most homeowners doing a cash or loan purchase in 2026 won't see a credit at either level. Per the New Hampshire Department of Energy's own distributed generation materials, net metering remains the state's primary ongoing solar incentive now that the rebate is gone. Run your own numbers with the federal ITC calculator before assuming you qualify, since lease and PPA arrangements can still route through a separate commercial-side credit that the installer claims, which is worth asking about if ownership structure is flexible for you.
NEM 2.0 net metering is the main ongoing value, but it isn't full retail, and it isn't universal
New Hampshire's alternative net metering tariff, generally called NEM 2.0, credits exported solar at 100% of the energy and transmission charge plus 25% of the distribution charge rather than the full retail rate most net metering programs use. In practice, this works out to roughly 75% to 85% of retail for most customers, depending on how a given utility splits its rate structure, with some guides citing figures nearer 69% for specific accounts, so treat any single percentage as an estimate until your utility confirms it. One real exception worth flagging: NEM 2.0 applies only to Eversource, Unitil, and Liberty Utilities, the state's three investor-owned utilities, not to New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, which operates largely outside PUC rate regulation as a member-owned co-op and sets its own separate net metering terms, so NHEC's roughly 12% of state customers shouldn't assume the NEM 2.0 figures apply to them. Systems interconnected under NEM 2.0 are grandfathered through December 31, 2040, which is a long runway for planning around.
No sales tax anywhere in the state, and a property tax exemption if your town opted in
New Hampshire has no state sales tax at all, so this isn't a solar-specific exemption, it's just how the state works, and it applies automatically to equipment and labor. Property tax is more conditional: RSA 72:62 lets individual towns adopt a local-option exemption that keeps an assessor from adding your system's value to your taxable property value. Estimates of statewide adoption vary by source, commonly cited somewhere between 60% and 70% of towns, so this is genuinely a call-your-town-office situation rather than something you can assume from a statewide guide. Understanding how net metering and property tax exemptions interact can help you prioritize which to confirm first. The property tax exemption savings calculator can help once you know your town's status.
The Eversource battery rebate is a real, separate incentive worth checking
Eversource's New Hampshire Clean Energy Fund battery storage program pays an upfront rebate of $230 per kWh of enrolled battery capacity, capped at $3,000 per residential account, funded through the Clean Energy Fund. In exchange, you commit to sharing a portion of your stored energy with Eversource during a limited number of summer demand response events, typically for a minimum of three seasons, and your battery has to come from an approved manufacturer list. It's a genuine cash-back program if you're already adding storage, though funding has historically been limited, so check current availability with Eversource before finalizing your battery purchase decision. The savings with battery vs without battery comparison can help you see whether adding storage still makes sense once you factor in this rebate.