Oregon solar rebates and incentives: 2024 guide

Solar panel systems in Oregon are expensive, but incentives from the state and federal governments can help you reduce the upfront cost. Between the federal tax credit and other state-specific incentives, you can save thousands on solar panels, making them well worth the investment. Here's how you can lower the cost of solar if you live in Oregon.

As an Oregon homeowner, you have access to some great incentives that can substantially improve your return on investing in solar panels. The four below are some of the most impactful ways to bring down your solar costs.

Residential Clean Energy Credit

The Residential Clean Energy Credit, formerly known as the federal investment tax credit (ITC), can reduce your solar panel system's cost by 30%. Your entire system qualifies for this incentive, including equipment, labor, permitting, and sales tax.

When you file your federal income taxes, you can claim this incentive as a credit towards your federal tax bill. Just keep in mind that to qualify for the ITC, you need to purchase your system either with cash or a solar loan–if you lease your system, you won't be eligible. 

You also need a high enough tax bill, though you can roll over any remaining credit year-to-year until the end of 2034 when the ITC expires. The only time you might be eligible for a direct payment for the ITC is if you're a tax-exempt entity, like a nonprofit organization.

Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program

If you add a battery to your solar panel system, you can receive a rebate of up to $5,000 for your solar panels and up to $2,500 for your battery. The amount you earn depends on the size of your solar panel system, your income status, and whether you're eligible for other incentives from your utility company (like some of the local rebates we list below).

*The net cost is calculated by subtracting any incentives by electric utility companies or by the Energy Trust of Oregon from the total project cost. The rebate amount cannot exceed $5,000.

**The rebate amount cannot exceed $2,500.

To qualify, an Approved Contractor must install your solar panels and battery at the same time. Your battery needs to be installed with "islanding" capability, which means it can serve as a backup power source to your home in the event of a grid outage. 

The Approved Contractor receives the rebates directly, which they pass onto you as savings on your solar panel system.

Solar Within Reach

Depending on your income, you may also qualify for additional cash incentives from Energy Trust of Oregon if you add a solar-only or solar-plus-battery system to your home. You must meet the following income qualifications:

If you're eligible, the amount of your cash incentive depends on your electric utility company and the size of your system.  If you're a Portland General Electric customer, you can earn $900/kW for solar, up to $5,400, and $750/kWh for storage, up to $10,000. If you're a Pacific Power customer, you can earn $1,000/kW for solar, up to $6,000, and $750/kWh for storage, up to $10,000.

Local rebates

Two local electric companies and one city in Oregon offer rebates when you install solar panels:

• Eugene Water & Electric Board provides a rebate worth $400/kW, up to $2,500 if you install a solar panel system.

• Salem Electric offers a rebate worth $300/kW for solar panel systems under 25 kW, up to 50% of the total cost or $1,500 (whichever is lower). 

The city of Ashland provides a fixed $600 rebate to customers who install a solar panel system.

Unfortunately, Oregon doesn't offer any sales or property tax exemptions for solar.

If your solar panel system is under 25 kW and connected to the grid, you can benefit from net metering, one of the best solar panel incentives available in Oregon. With net metering, you earn credits when you send excess electricity from your solar panels to the grid. When the sun isn't shining and you need to pull electricity from the grid, your utility will apply the credits to your bill. Net metering makes it so you will owe very little, or even nothing, on your electric bills with solar panels. 

You have 12 months to use your credits. If you have any credits remaining after March of each year, they'll be transferred to a low-income fund called the Low Income Energy Assistance Program. You can choose to change the month in which your credits expire, but you'll probably benefit the most by sticking with the default month.

In December 2023, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission approved Idaho Power to shift from net metering to net billing for customers in Idaho. They're trying to do the same thing in Oregon, which would become effective on June 1, 2024 as currently proposed, so if you're an Idaho Power customer, we recommend starting the solar process soon. Under net billing, your credits would be worth a lot less, meaning you wouldn't save as much on your electric bills. 

Learn more about Oregon's primary net metering programs:

In addition to solar incentives, Oregon also offers some great battery incentive programs to bring down the price of energy storage. As we explain above, you can get a rebate worth up to $2,500 for your battery with the Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program. You can also earn up to $10,000 in cash incentives with the Solar Within Reach program if you're income-eligible. All batteries above 3 kWh qualify for the 30% federal tax credit as well.