Solar Grants for Homeowners in MA, RI, CT and NJ

What counts as a solar grant?

A grant is money you don't pay back and don't have to earn over time. It's usually a set amount paid once, often to your installer, so it comes off the price of your system before you pay.

Most solar help works differently, and that's where the confusion starts. There are three main kinds:

• Grants and rebates lower the price up front. You get them once.
• Tax credits lower the income tax you owe. They only help if you owe tax, and you claim them when you file.
• Performance incentives pay you for the electricity your panels produce, month after month, for a set number of years.

All three put real money in your pocket. The difference is timing. A grant helps on day one, while a performance incentive pays out over 15 to 20 years. When you hear "solar grant," it's worth asking which of the three someone actually means.

Is there a real solar grant in Rhode Island?

Yes. Rhode Island's Renewable Energy Fund (REF) offers a small-scale solar grant for homes, and it's the one true solar grant in the states Evergreen Solar serves. Rhode Island Commerce runs it, and its 2026 rounds pay:

• $1.65 per watt of solar, up to $14,500 per home system
• A flat $5,000 for solar paired with a battery

That's a big step up from 2025, when the grant was $0.65 per watt up to $5,000. Funding is first come, first served, in rounds, and your installer applies for you. If a round's money runs out, your contract should let you wait for a later round or go ahead without the grant. The last 2026 round closes October 16, 2026. As of October 15, 2026, Rhode Island Commerce hadn't announced 2027 rounds or grant levels, so ask your installer what's open when you sign.

The grant stacks with net metering, which credits your bill for the extra power your panels send to the grid. Our Rhode Island solar incentives page covers both.

What do Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey offer instead?

These three states don't run a solar grant for homes, but each one pays homeowners in a steady way. The main programs are incentives, not grants: they pay for what your panels produce, or they lower your taxes.

Massachusetts. SMART 3.0 pays a flat rate on every kilowatt-hour your system produces, on top of net metering. Customers of Eversource, National Grid and Unitil qualify, and your installer applies. Owners can also claim the 15% state income tax credit, and unused credit carries forward three years. Our guide to SMART 3.0 has the details, and Massachusetts solar incentives covers the rest.

Connecticut. The Residential Renewable Energy Solutions (RRES) program launched in January 2022 for a six-year run. It pays Eversource and UI customers for 20 years in one of two ways: buy-all, where the utility buys all your solar power at a set rate, or netting, where your home uses your solar power first and the extra you send to the grid earns bill credits at your retail rate. Rates change each program year, so check the current rate in your quote. See Connecticut solar incentives.

New Jersey. Your system earns one SREC-II certificate for every megawatt-hour (1,000 kWh) it produces. For home systems registered from July 27, 2026, each one is worth $77, paid for 15 years. Our New Jersey solar incentives page explains how it works with net metering.

Is there a federal solar grant for homeowners?

No. The federal government doesn't offer homeowners a solar grant. What it offers is a tax credit, and how you can use it depends on how you pay.

If you lease or sign a power purchase agreement (PPA), the system still qualifies for a 30% federal credit. That value comes to you as a lower monthly payment or rate, which often makes a lease or PPA a better deal than buying. The company that owns the system claims the credit and builds it into your price. Our article on the solar lease tax credit walks through it.

If you buy with cash or a loan, the 30% homeowner credit (Section 25D) ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025. Buyers still get the state incentives above, which is why many people now compare ownership with a lease or PPA before deciding. Our guide to paying for solar in 2026 lays out each option.

Two federal programs come up often in grant searches, and neither helps a typical home:

• Solar for All, an EPA program that funded state solar efforts for income-qualified households, was terminated in August 2025.
• USDA REAP (Rural Energy for America Program) offers grants and loan guarantees to agricultural producers and rural small businesses. Homes aren't eligible, so a residential system doesn't qualify.

How do you spot a fake "free government solar" pitch?

Because "solar grant" sounds like free money, it's a favorite line in door-to-door and robocall sales. The Federal Trade Commission is blunt about it: some government-funded programs help households that qualify, but going solar isn't free, and claims that a government program will cover the whole cost are lies.

Watch for these warning signs:

1. No program name. A real grant has a name and an official website, like Rhode Island's Renewable Energy Fund. "A new government program" isn't one.
2. The pitch says it covers everything. No program in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut or New Jersey pays for a whole home system.
3. Pressure to sign today. The FTC warns against anyone who rushes you or asks you to sign on a tablet without showing you the full agreement.
4. Claims of a federal grant. There isn't one for homeowners.

A $0-down lease or PPA is a real, legitimate way to go solar, but it's a contract with payments, not a grant. Our article on free solar panel offers explains the difference.

How do you claim the incentives you qualify for?

In all four states, most of the paperwork runs through your installer. Here's who does what:

• Rhode Island REF grant: your installer applies in an open round.
• Massachusetts SMART 3.0: your installer applies and gives you a Customer Disclosure Form. You claim the 15% state tax credit yourself when you file, if you own the system.
• Connecticut RRES and New Jersey SREC-II: your installer applies.
• Who gets paid: production payments such as SMART 3.0 and SREC-IIs go to the system owner, Connecticut Netting bill credits land on your own bill, and Buy-All payments can be split under a lease or PPA.

If you own your system, these payments and credits come to you. If you lease or sign a PPA, their value shows up as a lower payment or rate. Either way, a good proposal lists each incentive as its own line, with the program's name, so you can check it.

For the full picture of what's available this year, see our guide to 2026 solar incentives. Questions about your home? Call Evergreen Solar at (508) 507-2908.

Frequently asked questions