Delaware solar rebates and incentives: 2026 guide

Solar panels might seem expensive, but if you live in Delaware, you're in luck. Your state offers some of the most generous solar incentives in the country, helping thousands of homeowners shrink their upfront costs while locking in decades of lower electricity bills. There are multiple ways to bring down the price of going solar—and start saving sooner than you might think.

Even better? The long-term savings from reduced electricity costs typically outweigh your upfront investment. Here's how to take advantage of Delaware's solar incentives.

Incentives help bring solar's price tag down considerably in Delaware. Here are the major ones to know about:

Green Energy Program Rebates

Under the Delaware Green Energy Program, most (but not all) of the electric utility companies in the state offer direct grants (basically rebates) to homeowners who install solar panels. The details depend on your utility company, but they’re all tied to the size of your solar array.

• Delmarva customers can apply for a rebate of $0.70 cents per watt of installed solar capacity, up to a maximum rebate of $6,000 (roughly an 8.5 kW solar array). As part of the deal, you’ll need to sign over your SRECs (more on those below). 

• For customers of the Newark municipal electrical company, the rebate is $1 per watt up to 5 kW, then $0.50 per watt thereafter. Recipients get to keep their SRECs.

• Delaware Electric Coop customers may receive $0.35 cents per watt for the first 5 kW, then $0.20 per watt thereafter. 

You aren’t strictly guaranteed to receive these rebates; there’s a limit on the annual funding for the program, though we can’t find evidence that the program has ever run short by the end of a calendar year. Some utilities also warn that it could take up to two years to receive your rebate.

Customers of the municipal utilities in Dover, New Castle, Clayton, Lewes, Middletown, Milford, Smyrna, and Seaford are not eligible for rebates.

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) 

In simple terms, SRECs are a way to get paid extra cash for generating solar energy. For every megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity that your solar panels generate, you’ll be awarded one SREC. At the end of a year, you can sell your SRECs for cash. (You can learn more about all the technical details, financial fine-print, and market-making goals of SRECs here.)

The price you can sell your SRECs for changes over time. For the first 10 years of your contract, the price is determined annually by the SREC Delaware program. (For the last few years, the price has stayed steady at about $30 per SREC.) For years 11 to 25 of your contract, you can sell SRECs for a flat rate of $10 each. So for a 5 kW rooftop system that generates about 6 kWh annually, you can earn about $180 per year for the first 10 years. Not bad.

Low- to Moderate-Income Solar Pilot Program

Free solar panels are largely a myth—but a program for low- and moderate-income homeowners in Delaware is one of the few exceptions.

This pilot program provides low-income homeowners with a free 4 kW system. Moderate-income households can qualify for 70% off a system as large as 6 kW system. Learn more and apply through the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

If you connect your solar panel system to the grid, you can benefit from net metering—which is really the ultimate incentive for rooftop solar, even more than big rebates and tax credits. 

Under net metering, the sun doesn’t need to shine all the time to get massive value from your solar panels. Your electric utility company essentially works like a bank account for all the energy your solar panels produce.

When the sun shines, your home’s electrical system first takes as much power as it needs from the solar panels. If the panels make any excess energy, it gets sent back onto the grid, and your utility company gives you full credit for all of it on your energy bill. 

When the sun isn’t shining and you need grid electricity to power your home, the utility company just starts drawing against your credits. You won’t pay for electricity until those credits run out.

In Delaware, the net metering rules work the same way across all electric utilities, including Delmarva, Delaware Electric Coop, and the municipal electric companies.

A few nuances to keep in mind:

• No matter who your utility company is, net metering is available for residential systems only up to 25 kW.

• Solar metering in Delaware is credited in kWh, rather than dollars. Any monthly fixed costs (like meter connection fees) may need to be paid in cash—kWh credits won’t apply.

• Solar credits reset at the end of a set 12-month period. If you don’t use them up, they vanish with no rollover or cash payout. However, you do get to pick your “true up” month, when the counter starts and eventually resets. (Conventional wisdom is that you should pick March or April.) You can change your mind about the true-up date once.

To qualify for net metering, your total system capacity can only be predicted to generate 110% of your previous 12 months electricity use. So if you just bought a heat pump and a couple electric vehicles, you’re going to want to wait to see your annual usage before you think about installing solar—otherwise, you may not be allowed to install a net-metered system large enough to cover all your demands for electricity.

Keep in mind that Delaware is actively evaluating its net metering policies. Per Senate Joint Resolution No. 1, passed in January 2025, all electric utility companies offering net metering have to participate in a cost-benefit study. The results of the study will be published in April 2025 and could lead to potential net metering policy changes. So if you’re thinking about going solar in Delaware, stay tuned for possible updates.

No, Delaware doesn't offer any state-specific battery incentives. Solar batteries don’t make much financial sense for Delaware homeowners anyway; because the net metering policy is so consumer friendly, you don’t really benefit from hoarding your solar power. None of the utility companies in Delaware currently offer a virtual power plant program for homeowners, either. 

That said, keep an eye out for the results of 2025’s senate-mandated cost-benefit study, which might trigger policy changes to net metering down the line. If net metering becomes less favorable for consumers in the future, installing a battery with your solar panels could be a good way to save more money.