Salem, OR Solar Panels

The Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO) offers a standard solar rebate of $2,500 per system for qualifying residential customers of Portland General Electric (PGE) or Pacific Power. The incentive is applied directly by your contractor as an upfront discount on your installation invoice, so you never have to wait for a check — the savings are immediate.

To qualify, you must be a current PGE or Pacific Power customer and purchase (not lease) your solar system through an ETO-approved Trade Ally contractor. Customers of smaller public utility districts (PUDs) or electric cooperatives generally do not qualify for ETO funds, though local utility rebates may be available. The system must meet ETO’s technical requirements.

It’s important to note that ETO operates on a tiered “Step” funding system — once a funding bucket is depleted, incentive rates may decrease. Homeowners in Salem who act earlier in the year typically secure higher rebate amounts. Contact an ETO Trade Ally contractor or visit the ETO website to confirm current funding availability before signing a contract.

The Solar Within Reach program is Energy Trust of Oregon’s income-qualified solar incentive, designed to make rooftop solar accessible to moderate- and lower-income households. Eligible PGE customers can earn $1,100 per kW installed, up to $6,600, while eligible Pacific Power customers can earn $900 per kW installed, up to $5,400. These rates are substantially higher than the standard ETO rebate and can cover a significant portion of a typical system’s cost.

Eligibility is based on household income and size. A family of four with a gross annual income under approximately $120,000 may qualify. You must be a customer of PGE or Pacific Power and purchase your system through an ETO-approved Trade Ally contractor — third-party owned systems (leases/PPAs) are not eligible. The incentive is paid directly to your contractor and deducted from your upfront cost.

Total incentives through Solar Within Reach can reach up to $10,000 when combined with battery storage incentives (see the ETO Battery Storage incentive entry). Because funding is limited and first-come, first-served, it’s advisable for residents of Salem to apply as early in the year as possible. Visit the ETO website or call an ETO Trade Ally to verify your income eligibility and current funding availability.

The Energy Trust of Oregon provides cash rebates for battery storage systems installed alongside a qualifying solar installation. PGE customers can receive $400 per kWh of battery capacity installed, up to a maximum of $5,000. Pacific Power customers can receive $320 per kWh, up to a maximum of $4,000. For example, a 15 kWh battery paired with a qualifying solar system would earn a PGE customer the full $5,000 rebate.

To qualify, you must be a PGE or Pacific Power customer, and the battery must be installed as part of a consumer-owned (purchased) solar project through an ETO-approved Trade Ally contractor. Third-party owned systems are not eligible. The rebate is applied directly to your contractor invoice, reducing your upfront cost immediately.

Battery storage incentives can be stacked with the standard ETO solar rebate or the Solar Within Reach income-qualified rebate, maximizing your total savings. As with all ETO programs, funding is subject to availability and operates on a tiered step system — earlier applicants in the year are more likely to secure the highest rebate levels.

Income-qualified homeowners who meet the Solar Within Reach eligibility criteria can access enhanced battery storage rebates through Energy Trust of Oregon. Qualifying PGE customers can receive $520 per kWh of battery installed, up to $6,500, and qualifying Pacific Power customers can receive $440 per kWh, up to $5,500. These rates are significantly higher than the standard ETO battery rebates.

Eligibility mirrors the Solar Within Reach solar program: you must be a PGE or Pacific Power customer, meet the household income thresholds (based on income and household size), and install through an ETO-approved Trade Ally contractor with a consumer-owned system. The battery must be paired with a qualifying solar installation.

When combined with the Solar Within Reach solar incentive, total ETO incentives for income-qualified households in Salem can reach up to $10,000 or more. These incentives are paid directly to your contractor as an upfront cost reduction. Contact an ETO Trade Ally or visit the ETO website to confirm your eligibility and current funding levels before committing to a project.

The Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program, administered by the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE), provides rebates for residential solar and battery storage installations. For low- and moderate-income households, the rebate can cover up to 60% of the total system cost. Standard (non-income-qualified) households were previously eligible for rebates of up to $5,000 for solar and up to $2,500 for battery storage.

As of April 2026, the program is in a transitional phase: earlier funding rounds were fully reserved, but ODOE has recovered some funds from canceled or incomplete projects and is working to relaunch the program later in 2026. The agency is updating its rulemaking and program administration details before opening new reservations. Homeowners in Salem interested in this program should monitor the ODOE website for announcements about the new application window.

This state program can be stacked with Energy Trust of Oregon incentives, potentially providing substantial combined savings — especially for income-qualified households. To stay informed about the relaunch, visit the official ODOE program page or contact ODOE directly at [email protected].

Salem Electric offers a solar rebate of $300 per kW of solar installed, up to a maximum of $1,500 (or 50% of total project cost, whichever is lower). This incentive applies to net-metered solar systems with a nameplate capacity of 25 kW or less, making it well-suited for typical residential installations in Salem.

The rebate is subject to fund availability and cannot exceed 50% of the total project cost. Homeowners should contact Salem Electric before installation to confirm current funding availability and to ensure their system and contractor meet program requirements.

Salem Electric customers are not eligible for Energy Trust of Oregon incentives (ETO serves only PGE and Pacific Power customers), making this local utility rebate the primary cash incentive available to Salem Electric customers. Combining this rebate with Oregon’s property tax exemption can still result in meaningful savings on a solar installation.

Oregon’s Net Energy Metering (NEM) policy allows residential solar customers with systems of 25 kW or less to receive credits for excess electricity their panels send to the grid. Credits are applied at the full retail electricity rate (a 1:1 credit), meaning every kilowatt-hour you export is worth the same as a kilowatt-hour you consume — maximizing the financial value of your solar production. You have 12 months to use accumulated credits; any remaining credits after the March annual reset are transferred to a low-income energy assistance fund.

Net metering terms vary slightly by utility: PGE customers receive kWh credits applied against future bills, with the annual reset each March. Pacific Power customers receive cumulative kWh credits at the full retail rate, also resetting in March. When you sign your net metering agreement, your credit rate is locked in for the life of your system.

Important note for 2026: PGE has discussed potential future reductions to net metering credits (by 20–30%), but no proposal has been finalized or approved by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) as of this writing. Homeowners in Salem who install solar and lock in a net metering agreement before any policy change would be protected under their existing contract terms. Oregon does not have a Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) market, as the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard does not include a solar-specific carve-out.

Under Oregon Revised Statute §307.175, the value added to your home by a solar energy system is fully exempt from property taxes. This means that even though solar panels can increase your home’s market value, your property tax assessment will not increase as a result of the installation. For a typical home in Salem, this can represent hundreds of dollars in annual tax savings over the life of the system.

The exemption applies to solar systems that are connected to the grid for net metering purposes. Homeowners should apply for the exemption through their county assessor’s office on or before December 31 of the year in which their solar system was installed. The exemption is not automatic in all counties, so it’s important to file the application to ensure you receive the benefit.

Be aware that Oregon’s solar property tax exemption is currently scheduled to phase out for systems installed after July 1, 2029. Homeowners who install before this deadline and receive the exemption will retain it for the lifetime of their system. This creates an added incentive to install sooner rather than later to lock in this long-term tax benefit.

Oregon is one of the few U.S. states with no general sales tax. As a result, all solar panels, inverters, batteries, and installation labor are automatically exempt from state sales tax — no application or special exemption filing is required. This provides an immediate cost savings 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 a typical Salem residential solar installation costing $15,000–$25,000 before incentives, the absence of sales tax represents a savings of roughly $1,200–$2,000 compared to a state with a typical 6–8% sales tax rate. This benefit applies to all Oregon residents regardless of utility provider, income, or location.

No action is required on the homeowner’s part to claim this benefit — it is automatically applied at the point of purchase. This makes it one of the simplest and most universally available solar incentives in Oregon.