Wilmington, NC Solar Panels

North Carolina’s Solar Energy System Property Tax Exclusion helps homeowners save money on their annual property taxes when they install a solar energy system. When you add solar panels to your home, they typically increase your property’s value. Normally, this would mean higher property taxes. However, this state program excludes 80% of your solar system’s appraised value from property taxation, significantly reducing the tax impact of going solar.

To qualify for this exclusion, your solar system must be classified as business personal property. This means you need to either claim depreciation on the system on your federal tax return (Schedule C) or recognize income from selling electricity back to your utility company. If you participate in a simple net metering arrangement where you only receive credits on your utility bill—without claiming depreciation or reporting income—your system is considered non-business personal property and is already fully exempt from property taxes (meaning you pay no property tax on it at all).

There are no application deadlines for this ongoing program, as it applies automatically based on how you use and report your solar system. Your county tax assessor will determine your eligibility based on documentation such as your tax returns, utility company agreements, and system purchase receipts. It’s important to understand how you plan to use your solar system before installation, as this will affect whether you receive the 80% exclusion or full exemption from property taxes.

Solar for All (EnergizeNC) is a $156 million state program designed to help North Carolina households—particularly those with low and moderate incomes—access affordable rooftop solar energy. Led by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s State Energy Office in partnership with Advanced Energy, the NC Clean Energy Technology Center, and the NC Clean Energy Fund, this program aims to reduce energy costs for families while supporting clean energy growth across the state, including on Tribal lands.

The program focuses on deploying rooftop solar systems and energy storage for low-income homes, with the goal of lowering monthly utility bills and providing long-term energy savings. EnergizeNC will work alongside existing energy efficiency programs to maximize affordability. The initiative also aims to expand accessible home energy financing options for households statewide. While specific dollar amounts for individual households haven’t been detailed in the announcement, the program is designed to overcome traditional market barriers and make solar accessible to communities that have historically faced challenges in adopting clean energy.

Eligibility is primarily focused on low-income and disadvantaged communities throughout North Carolina. The program will work with community stakeholders to ensure benefits reach those who need them most. Homeowners interested in this program should visit www.energizeNC.org to stay updated on deployment timelines and sign up for program announcements. As this is a newly awarded federal grant that will be rolled out over time, specific application deadlines and detailed eligibility requirements will be announced as the program launches.

The Duke Energy PowerPair program is a pilot incentive that helps North Carolina homeowners lower the upfront cost of installing solar panels paired with battery storage. This one-time incentive provides up to $9,000 based on the type of solar array and battery system you install. The program is available to residential customers in Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress service areas in North Carolina.

To participate, you must use a Duke Energy Trade Ally installer (an approved solar and battery installer), and your equipment must meet Duke Energy’s eligibility requirements. Applications are accepted through a random selection process that opens periodically—the first window opened on May 10, 2024, and ran for four weeks. You can choose between two enrollment options: the Residential Solar Choice rider (RSC) or the Net Metering Bridge rider (NMB). If you select the NMB option, you’re required to enroll in Duke Energy’s Power Manager or EnergyWise Home Battery Control program, which provides additional monthly bill credits in exchange for allowing Duke Energy to temporarily access your battery’s stored electricity during peak demand periods (30-36 times per year). You can opt out of up to four events annually and still receive credits.

Visit duke-energy.com/PowerPair to sign up for program updates, view the approved battery vendor list, and check equipment eligibility. Since this is a pilot program with limited capacity, early application during the selection windows is important.

The Net Metering Bridge Rider (NMB) is a transitional solar compensation program available to Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolina customers in North Carolina who submit interconnection applications starting October 1, 2023, until the annual capacity limit is reached. Under this program, your solar system offsets your electricity consumption on a monthly basis. Any excess solar energy you produce beyond what you use in a given month is credited to your account at a rate of $0.034 per kilowatt-hour (3.4 cents/kWh), which can be applied to future bills.

In addition to the reduced credit rate for excess generation, NMB participants pay monthly fees that vary by utility territory. Duke Energy Progress customers pay a minimum monthly charge of $28 plus $0.62 per kilowatt of DC system capacity each month. Duke Energy Carolina customers pay a $22 minimum monthly charge plus $0.28 per kilowatt of DC system capacity monthly. Credits are settled on a monthly basis rather than carried forward indefinitely, meaning any unused credits are valued at the lower export rate each month. This program replaced the previous 1-to-1 net metering option, which closed to new customers on October 1, 2023, though existing participants in that program are grandfathered until January 1, 2027. Once the annual capacity for NMB is filled, new solar customers will need to enroll in the Residential Solar Choice program instead, which requires participation in a Time of Use rate plan with Critical Peak Pricing.