New Hampshire

New Hampshire’s Property Tax Exemption for Solar Energy Systems allows cities and towns to offer property tax relief for homeowners who install solar energy systems. This local option exemption means that the value added to your property by installing solar panels won’t increase your property tax assessment. Each municipality decides whether to adopt this exemption and determines the specific amount exempted from property taxes.

To qualify, you must own real property equipped with a solar energy system as defined in New Hampshire law. There are no statewide dollar limits on this exemption, as each town or city sets its own parameters. Before installing solar, check with your local tax assessor to confirm if your municipality has adopted this exemption, what the specific terms are, and if there’s an application process. Remember that since this is a local option, the availability and amount of the exemption varies throughout New Hampshire.

Net Metering in New Hampshire allows solar homeowners to receive credit for excess electricity their system sends back to the grid. This program operates slightly differently across the state’s four utility companies (Eversource Energy, Unitil Energy Services, Liberty Utilities, and NH Electric Cooperative), but the core benefit remains the same: you can offset your electricity costs with the solar energy you produce.

When your solar panels generate more electricity than you’re using, that excess power flows back to the grid, and you receive credits on your monthly bill. For Eversource, Unitil, and Liberty customers, excess generation is credited at nearly a 1:1 ratio (with small non-bypassable charges of 0.5-2 cents per kWh). If you produce more than you consume in a month, you’ll receive monetary credits ranging from approximately 13-21 cents per kWh depending on your utility. NH Electric Cooperative customers receive about 14.76 cents per kWh for exported electricity.

To be eligible for the full credit amount, you must purchase your electricity through your utility’s Default Energy Service. Customers using competitive retail suppliers won’t receive the Default Energy Service portion of the credit, which can significantly reduce the value of your excess generation.

Your credits will roll over year to year, accumulating over time. If you build up more than $100 in credits, you can request a payment following the March billing cycle each year. This flexibility allows you to benefit from seasonal variations in solar production throughout the year while maintaining the value of your excess generation.