Pennsylvania solar rebates and incentives: 2026 guide

Solar panels might seem expensive, but aside from electric bill savings, there are additional incentives that can help lower the cost. In Pennsylvania, solar incentives like SRECs, a state building grant, and net metering makes solar worth a serious look, especially when pinned against rising electric rates. Here's what actually applies right now.

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

Solar Alternative Energy Credits (SRECs)

Under Pennsylvania's Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, your system earns one SREC (also called Solar Renewable Energy Credit) for every 1,000 kWh it produces. You register generation data through PJM's Generation Attribute Tracking System, and a broker or aggregator sells the credits to utilities that need them to meet the state's renewable energy quota. The value of SRECs are market-driven and always changing (similar to stocks), but as of 2026 credits are close to $22 per kWh.

High Performance Building Program (HPB)

Administered jointly by the PA Department of Community & Economic Development and the Department of Environmental Protection, HPB offers grants and low-interest loans toward the construction or major renovation of high-performance buildings. For commercial buildings, grants top out at 10% of eligible project costs or $500,000, whichever is lower. Individual homeowners can also access loans up to $100,000. In practice this program is a much better fit for a whole-home efficiency renovation than for a standalone rooftop solar install, since qualifying usually means meeting a full building-performance standard, not just adding panels.

Yes, and it remains one of the state's strongest incentives. If you connect your solar panel system to the grid, you can benefit from net metering, allowing you to 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. 

Pennsylvania has one of the strongest net metering programs in the country: You’ll earn credits at the retail rate of electricity for each kWh of electricity your system produces, up to 100% of your annual utility electricity demand. If you send more electricity to the grid than you demand over the course of a year, you’ll be credited based on the “price-to-compare,” which represents the generation and transmission components of the utility’s retail rate but does not account for distribution. 

Learn more about these net metering programs:

No, Pennsylvania doesn't currently offer any state-specific battery incentives. That means if you add a battery today, you're paying for backup power and self consumption value rather than stacking rebates or earning additional savings.

One thing to keep an eye on: PEDA Solar for All. This program was terminated before it really got started in August 2025, after federal funding was cut. However, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's administration have talked about funding a version of it through the state budget.

If you're looking for solar installers in Pennsylvania, here are some popular suggestions: