North Carolina 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 increase your property’s value—but this incentive ensures you won’t pay property taxes on 80% of that added value. Only 20% of your solar system’s appraised value gets added to your property tax bill, which can result in significant savings over the life of your system.

To qualify for this exclusion, your solar system must be considered non-business personal property. This means you’re using the system solely for your home’s energy needs and participating in a net metering arrangement with your utility company (where you receive credits on your electric bill rather than cash payments). You cannot claim depreciation on the system as a business expense or report income from electricity production on your tax returns. If you use your solar system in connection with a business or to generate taxable income, the system would be classified as business property and wouldn’t qualify for this residential exclusion.

There are no application deadlines for this incentive—it applies automatically as long as your system meets the eligibility requirements. Your county tax assessor determines whether your system qualifies based on how you use it and report it on your taxes. The 80% exclusion continues for as long as you own the system and maintain its non-business use, providing ongoing property tax savings year after year.

Solar for All (EnergizeNC) is a $156 million state program designed to help North Carolina households—particularly those with low to moderate incomes—access rooftop solar energy and battery storage. 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 state- and federally recognized Tribal lands.

The program focuses on making solar accessible to households for whom energy costs represent a significant portion of their budget. EnergizeNC will provide financial assistance to help cover the costs of solar panel installation and associated battery storage systems, with the goal of delivering long-term utility bill savings. The program is designed to work alongside existing low-income energy efficiency efforts and will explore innovative financing approaches to maximize solar deployment for underserved communities. Over 70 organizations have expressed support for this initiative, demonstrating strong community backing.

Eligibility is primarily focused on low-income and disadvantaged communities throughout North Carolina. While specific income thresholds and application details are still being finalized as the program launches, homeowners interested in participating should visit www.energizeNC.org to sign up for updates and learn about enrollment opportunities as they become available. The program will also include workforce development initiatives to ensure quality installations and consumer protection measures to guarantee that systems perform as expected and deliver the promised financial and environmental benefits.

Duke Energy’s PowerPair program offers North Carolina homeowners a one-time incentive of up to $9,000 to help make installing a home solar system paired with battery storage more affordable. This pilot program is available to residential customers in both Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress service areas. The total incentive amount depends on the specific type of solar array and battery system you install.

To participate, you’ll need to work with a Duke Energy-approved Trade Ally installer and use equipment from their approved battery vendor list (not all systems qualify). The program uses a random selection process that opens on May 10, with a four-week application window available through the Duke Energy website. 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’ll be required to enroll in Duke Energy’s battery control program, which allows the utility to temporarily access your stored energy during peak demand periods (30-36 times per year). In exchange, you’ll receive additional monthly bill credits on top of your initial incentive. You can opt out of up to four events per year and still receive these credits. Your battery system will need internet connectivity to participate in the battery control program.

The Net Metering Bridge (NMB) program is a transitional solar compensation policy offered by Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolina in North Carolina. Starting October 1, 2023, this program replaced the previous 1-to-1 net metering option for new solar customers. Under NMB, your solar system offsets your electricity usage in real-time during the day, and any excess energy you send to the grid is credited to your account at a reduced rate of $0.034 per kilowatt-hour (3.4 cents/kWh). These credits carry forward month-to-month but are settled monthly, meaning they don’t accumulate over long periods.

In addition to the reduced export credit rate, NMB participants pay monthly fees based on their utility territory. Duke Energy Progress customers pay a $28 minimum monthly charge plus $0.62 per kilowatt of DC capacity per month, while Duke Energy Carolina customers pay a $22 minimum monthly charge plus $0.28 per kilowatt of DC capacity per month. The NMB program has limited annual capacity, and once that capacity is reached, new solar customers will need to enroll in the Residential Solar Choice (RSC) program instead, which requires participation in a Time of Use rate plan with Critical Peak Pricing. If you installed solar before October 1, 2023 under the previous 1-to-1 net metering program, you’re grandfathered in until January 1, 2027.