Solar Guide

North Carolina’s Solar Energy System Property Tax Exclusion is a state tax benefit that reduces the property tax burden on solar panel systems. When you install a solar energy system on your property, this incentive excludes 80% of the system’s appraised value from your property tax assessment. This means you only pay property taxes on 20% of your solar system’s value, significantly reducing the ongoing tax costs associated with your clean energy investment.

The eligibility for this tax exclusion depends on how you use your solar system. If you own a residential solar system and use it primarily to offset your own electricity costs through net metering (where you receive credits from your utility company), your system qualifies as non-business personal property and is completely exempt from property taxes. However, if you use your solar system to generate income or claim business depreciation on your tax returns, it’s considered business property and subject to the 80% exclusion rather than full exemption. Commercial solar installations typically fall under the 80% exclusion category. The document doesn’t specify any deadlines or time limitations for this benefit, and county assessors will work with property owners to determine the appropriate tax treatment based on documentation like tax returns and utility agreements.

Solar for All (EnergizeNC) is a groundbreaking state program that received $156 million in federal funding from the EPA to help North Carolina families access affordable solar energy. The program is specifically designed to bring rooftop solar systems to low-income households across the state, helping them reduce their monthly energy bills while supporting clean energy adoption.

While the announcement doesn’t specify exact dollar amounts for individual homeowners, the program focuses on making solar accessible to families who typically face high energy costs as a significant portion of their household budget. The initiative prioritizes low-income and disadvantaged communities, including state and federally recognized Tribal lands. The program combines solar installation with existing energy efficiency efforts to maximize long-term savings for participating households.

To qualify for this program, homeowners must meet low-income requirements, though specific income thresholds haven’t been detailed in the initial announcement. The program is managed by a coalition led by North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality State Energy Office, working with several clean energy organizations. Interested homeowners can visit www.energizeNC.org to stay updated on program deployment and sign up for notifications about when applications will become available.

Duke Energy’s PowerPair program is a pilot incentive that helps North Carolina homeowners reduce the upfront cost of installing solar panels paired with battery storage systems. This utility program offers a one-time cash incentive of up to $9,000 to customers who install qualifying solar-plus-battery systems in Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress service areas. The exact incentive amount depends on the type of solar array and battery system you choose to install.

To participate, you must use a Duke Energy Trade Ally installer and apply through a random selection process that opens on May 10th with a four-week application window. Participants have two enrollment options: the residential solar choice rider (RSC) or the net metering bridge rider (NMB). If you choose the NMB option, you’ll be required to enroll in Duke Energy’s Power Manager and EnergyWise Home Battery Control programs, which provide additional monthly bill credits in exchange for allowing Duke Energy to temporarily use your battery’s stored power during peak demand periods (30-36 times per year). You can opt out of up to four events annually and still receive the monthly credits. Your battery system must have internet connectivity to participate in these demand response programs.

The Net Metering Bridge Rider (NMB) is a transitional solar compensation program offered by Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolina in North Carolina. This program replaced the traditional 1-to-1 net metering system that ended for new customers on October 1, 2023. Under NMB, homeowners with solar panels can still receive credits for excess electricity they send back to the grid, but at a reduced rate compared to the previous program.

Here’s how the financial benefits work: Any electricity your solar system produces that you don’t use immediately gets credited to your account at 3.4 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). These credits carry forward month to month and are settled monthly, meaning you don’t have to wait for an annual true-up. However, there are additional monthly charges – Duke Energy Progress customers pay a $28 minimum monthly charge plus $0.62 per kW of your system’s DC capacity, while Duke Energy Carolina customers pay a $22 minimum monthly charge plus $0.28 per kW of DC capacity.

To be eligible for NMB, you must be a Duke Energy Progress or Duke Energy Carolina customer who submitted an interconnection application starting October 1, 2023, and the program is available until the annual capacity limit is reached. Once that limit is met, new solar customers will need to enroll in the Residential Solar Choice program instead, which requires a time-of-use rate schedule with critical peak pricing. It’s important to note that customers who had solar installed under the previous 1-to-1 net metering program can keep those benefits until January 1, 2027, when they’ll need to transition to a new program.