Selling Solar Power Back to the Grid in New England and New Jersey

What does selling solar power back to the grid mean?

On a sunny afternoon, your panels often produce more electricity than your home is using. That extra power flows out through your meter to the grid, and your neighbors use it. In return, your utility gives you credit for it. That's what people mean by selling power back to the grid.

In practice, you're rarely sent a check for each kilowatt-hour (kWh). Most homes are paid in bill credits, which cover the power you pull from the grid at night or on cloudy days. This setup is called net metering, and it's the main way solar lowers your electric bill.

When your system is connected, the utility installs a meter that counts power in both directions: what you take from the grid and what you send back. Your bill then nets the two. Summer exports build up credits, and those credits help cover the shorter, darker days of a New England winter.

Most of the states we serve also pay a separate incentive, and Connecticut offers a fixed-rate alternative. Here's how it works in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey, as of October 2026.

How does Massachusetts credit the power you export?

Massachusetts uses net metering. When your system sends power to the grid, your utility (Eversource, National Grid or Unitil) puts a credit on your bill. Home systems of 10 kW or less on a single-phase connection, which covers most houses, keep full-value credits, and unused credits roll over to future bills.

On top of that, the state's SMART 3.0 program pays a flat rate for every kWh your system produces, not just what you export. For home systems of 25 kW AC or less that enroll in 2026, that's $0.03 per kWh, or $0.06 for income-qualified households, for up to 20 years. Our SMART 3.0 guide covers how it works, and net metering in Massachusetts explains how the credits show up on your bill.

Homes served by a municipal light plant follow their town utility's own rules and aren't eligible for SMART 3.0.

How does Rhode Island credit extra solar power?

Rhode Island Energy credits net-metered homes in two tiers, set by state law:

• Up to 100% of your own usage, each kWh you produce earns a credit equal to the sum of four per-kWh charges on your bill: last resort service (the supply charge), distribution, transmission and transition. That's most of what you pay per kWh.
• Beyond 100% of your usage, extra production earns an excess credit at the wholesale rate, which the law ties to the ISO New England energy clearing price. That's well below what you pay for power.

The excess credit applies to home systems of 25 kW or smaller. The utility may carry unused credits forward month to month, and after the annual reconciliation, you can cash out a remaining credit balance.

Rhode Island's extra payment comes upfront instead of over time. The Renewable Energy Fund's small-scale solar grant pays owners $1.65 per watt, up to $14,500, in its 2026 rounds, plus a flat $5,000 for solar plus storage. Funds are first come, first served. See Rhode Island solar incentives for the rest.

How does Connecticut pay for solar exports?

Connecticut replaced traditional net metering with the Residential Renewable Energy Solutions (RRES) program, which launched in January 2022 as a six-year program. When you enroll through Eversource or United Illuminating, you pick one of two options, and either one runs for 20 years:

• Netting. Your home uses its solar power first. Power you export earns an on-bill credit at your retail rate, including both supply and delivery charges, and excess credits carry over month to month. For 2026 enrollments there's no separate certificate payment on Netting, and PURA added a production charge of $0.0402 per kWh, locked for 20 years.
• Buy-All. The utility buys all the power and RECs your system produces at one fixed rate, locked for 20 years from the year you enroll. You keep buying the power your home uses at your normal rate.

PURA, the state regulator, resets both rates each year for new enrollees, and its December 2025 decision set the rates for systems enrolling in 2026. PURA designed the two options to pay back about the same, so the choice often comes down to whether you'd rather have a rate locked for 20 years (Buy-All) or credits that rise and fall with retail electric prices (Netting). If you plan to add a heat pump or an electric car, ask how each option would handle your higher usage. Your installer should show you both options side by side, with the same production estimate. Our Connecticut solar incentives page covers the other programs.

How does net metering work in New Jersey?

New Jersey credits each kWh you send to the grid at the full retail rate, up to the total electricity your home uses over a 12-month period. Credits carry from month to month. At the end of that 12-month period, any credits left over are paid at the wholesale avoided-cost rate, which is much lower.

New Jersey's extra payment is the SREC-II, from the state's Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) program. Your system earns one SREC-II for every 1,000 kWh (1 MWh) it produces, for 15 years. For home systems registered from July 27, 2026, each SREC-II is worth $77, down from $85 before that date.

One thing to watch: the state passed its 5.8% net metering threshold in energy year 2024, and the Board of Public Utilities is reviewing how net metering should work for new customers. Ask your installer which rules apply on the date your system is approved. More on the state's programs is on our New Jersey solar incentives page.

How do the four states compare?

The pattern is the same everywhere: the power that offsets your own bill is worth the most. Exports beyond your yearly use earn less in Rhode Island and New Jersey, and Connecticut's RRES program caps system size based on your past usage.

How does it work if you lease or sign a PPA?

You still benefit from the power you send back. With a lease or a power purchase agreement (PPA), the export credits generally land on your own electric bill, the same as if you owned the panels. Production payments like SMART 3.0 and SREC-IIs go to the company that owns the system, and their value comes back to you as a lower monthly payment or rate. With a lease or PPA, Buy-All payments can be split between bill credits for you and the company that owns the system; ask how your contract divides them.

Because these systems also qualify for the 30% federal credit, lease and PPA customers get a discounted rate that's often a better deal than buying. Evergreen Solar offers cash, loans, leases, PPAs and prepaid PPAs, and our solar financing guide compares them. For the full list of programs, see the 2026 solar incentive guide.

Frequently asked questions