Salem, OR Solar Panels

The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) Solar + Storage Rebate Program offers residential homeowners in Salem a rebate of up to $5,000 for a solar electric system and up to $2,500 for a paired energy storage system. The program is set to temporarily reopen on June 15, 2026, with $1.1 million in available funding — but demand is expected to be extremely high, and funds may be exhausted within the first day.

Low- and moderate-income (LMI) households are eligible for significantly enhanced rebates worth up to 60% of the total system cost, which can reach up to $7,500 for solar. LMI eligibility can be established through qualifying Oregon Housing and Community Services programs, Oregon DHS/OHA programs, or by providing an Oregon Department of Revenue tax transcript proving household income.

To qualify, your system must be installed on real property in Oregon by an ODOE-approved contractor. The contractor must submit a reservation application before construction begins. For paired solar and storage systems, both must be purchased together from the same approved contractor. Rebates are issued to the contractor and passed on to you as an upfront discount.

The Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO) offers a flat $2,500 per-system cash incentive for residential solar installations in 2026. This incentive is available to customers of both Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power. The benefit is applied as an upfront discount on your purchase price — your contractor collects it on your behalf, so you see the savings immediately at the time of installation.

To qualify, you must be a current PGE or Pacific Power customer and have your system installed by an Energy Trust-approved Trade Ally contractor. Customers of smaller public utility districts (PUDs) or electric cooperatives generally do not qualify for ETO incentives, though local utility rebates may be available separately.

This incentive can be stacked with the ODOE Solar + Storage Rebate Program, allowing eligible homeowners to combine both state-level incentives for maximum savings. You can request a bid from qualified Trade Ally contractors directly through the Energy Trust website.

The Energy Trust of Oregon offers a cash incentive for battery storage systems at $400 per kWh installed, up to a maximum of $5,000 for standard-income customers. For example, installing a 15 kWh battery paired with a qualifying solar system would earn the full $5,000 incentive. This applies to customers of Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power.

The battery storage incentive can be claimed alongside the ETO solar incentive and the ODOE Solar + Storage Rebate Program, making it possible to stack multiple incentives for a solar-plus-storage system. Installation must be completed by an Energy Trust-approved Trade Ally contractor.

Income-qualified customers are eligible for significantly higher per-kWh incentives through the Solar Within Reach program (see separate listing). All systems must meet Energy Trust performance and equipment standards to qualify.

The Solar Within Reach program from Energy Trust of Oregon provides significantly enhanced incentives for income-qualified residential customers. Standard income-qualified customers of both PGE and Pacific Power can receive a $0.90 per Watt discount on solar installation, up to $5,500 per home. For battery storage, income-qualified PGE customers can receive up to $520/kWh (max $6,500), and Pacific Power customers up to $440/kWh (max $5,500).

Under expanded program tiers, PGE customers may qualify for up to $1,100/kW for solar (max $6,600) and $900/kWh for storage (max $11,700), while Pacific Power customers may qualify for up to $900/kW for solar (max $5,400) and $750/kWh for storage (max $9,000). A family of four with a gross annual income under approximately $120,000 often qualifies for these higher rebate tiers.

To access Solar Within Reach incentives, you must be a PGE or Pacific Power customer, meet the income eligibility guidelines, and have your system installed by an Energy Trust Trade Ally contractor. This program can be combined with the ODOE Solar + Storage Rebate Program for maximum savings. Contact Energy Trust directly or submit an online bid request to get connected with a qualified installer.

Portland General Electric’s Smart Battery Pilot Program offers residential customers an upfront rebate of $1,000 to $3,000 toward the cost of installing a qualifying battery storage system. In addition to the upfront incentive, participants can earn $1.70 per kWh during each Peak Time Event, when PGE remotely draws on your battery to help stabilize the grid during periods of high demand.

PGE expects to activate enrolled batteries approximately 15 times per year, primarily during very hot or cold days when grid stress is highest. This means participants can earn ongoing bill credits in addition to the initial installation rebate, providing long-term financial value beyond the upfront incentive.

Eligibility requires being a PGE residential customer and installing a compatible battery system. This program can be combined with Energy Trust of Oregon battery storage incentives for additional savings. Visit the PGE website to check current compatible battery models and enrollment availability.

Salem Electric offers a solar rebate of $300 per kW installed for qualifying residential and small commercial solar systems. The maximum incentive is $1,500, and the rebate cannot exceed 50% of the total project cost. Funding is subject to availability, so early application is recommended.

To qualify, your solar system must be 25 kW or less in nameplate capacity and must comply with Salem Electric’s Net Metering Policy. The system must be connected to the grid under a net metering agreement. Salem Electric is a member-owned electric cooperative serving the Salem, Oregon area.

Customers in Salem interested in this rebate should contact Salem Electric directly before installation to confirm current fund availability and program requirements. This rebate can potentially be combined with state-level incentives such as the ODOE Solar + Storage Rebate Program for additional savings.

Under Oregon Revised Statute §307.175, any increase in your home’s real market value resulting from the installation of a qualifying solar energy system is fully exempt from property tax assessment. This means that even though solar panels can meaningfully increase your home’s value, your annual property tax bill will not go up as a result. The exemption applies to solar, wind, geothermal, water, fuel cell, and methane gas systems used to generate electricity or heat/cool a home.

The financial benefit is ongoing for the life of your system. Based on Oregon’s average property tax rate of 0.82%, a typical solar installation could save approximately $255 per year on property taxes, or up to $378 per year for a solar-plus-battery system — adding up to roughly $5,100–$6,300 in total savings over the life of the equipment. The exemption only applies to systems that are net-metered or primarily intended to offset on-site electricity use.

Important: Homeowners in Salem must apply for this exemption through their county assessor’s office on or before December 31 of the year in which the system was installed — it is not entirely automatic in all counties. Additionally, this exemption is currently scheduled to expire for systems installed after July 1, 2029. Homeowners who install before that deadline and receive the exemption will retain it for the lifetime of their system, creating a strong incentive to act before 2029.

Oregon is one of only a handful of U.S. states with no general state sales tax. As a result, all solar equipment — including panels, inverters, racking, batteries, and installation labor — is automatically exempt from sales tax. There is no application to file or special exemption to claim; the savings are built in at the point of purchase.

This provides an immediate and meaningful cost advantage compared to purchasing solar in most other states, where sales tax on equipment alone can add thousands of dollars to the total project cost. For example, in a state with a 7% sales tax, a $25,000 solar system would incur $1,750 in sales tax — a cost Oregon residents simply don’t face.

This benefit applies equally to all Oregon residents regardless of income, utility provider, or location, and requires no action on the part of the homeowner or installer. It effectively lowers the baseline cost of going solar in Oregon compared to the national average.

Oregon’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) policy requires major utilities — including Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power — to offer net metering for residential solar systems up to 25 kW. Under net metering, excess electricity your solar panels send to the grid earns you credits on your utility bill. When your panels aren’t producing enough (e.g., at night or on cloudy days), those credits offset the electricity you draw from the grid, potentially reducing your bill to near zero.

Credits accumulate throughout the year and are reconciled at an annual true-up each March. Any unused credits remaining after the March billing period are transferred to a low-income assistance program (the Low Income Energy Assistance Program) rather than paid out in cash. Note: PGE has transitioned to a “net metering 2.0” structure where exported energy is credited at an avoided-cost rate (approximately 4–5 cents/kWh) rather than the full retail rate (~12 cents/kWh), so system sizing to maximize self-consumption is important for PGE customers. Pacific Power credits excess generation at the full retail rate for applicable kWh-based components.

Salem Electric also offers net metering for qualifying systems in the Salem area. All net-metered systems must meet the utility’s interconnection requirements and be installed by a licensed contractor. Oregon does not currently have an SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Credit) market, as the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard does not include a specific solar carve-out.