Vermont solar rebates and incentives: 2026 guide

Vermont doesn't offer the strongest solar incentive programs out there. But that doesn't mean solar isn't worth it—especially if your electric bills are eating up a big chunk of your monthly budget.

Solar's real value isn't about rebates. It's about taking control of your electricity costs for the next 25-30 years. As utility rates continue their steady climb, locking in lower energy costs now can deliver substantial savings over time. Even without robust state programs, many Vermont homeowners with decent sun exposure and moderate to high electric bills find that solar still pays for itself. Here's how you may be able to lower your solar costs in Vermont—and whether it makes sense for your home.

Unfortunately, Vermont doesn't offer many incentives for solar. But if your electric bills are high, going solar can still make sense.

In addition to the great rebates and incentives above, Vermont also offers tax exemptions for solar panel systems. The solar sales tax exemption ensures that you won't have to pay a sales tax on your system, while the solar property tax exemption means you don't need to pay a higher property tax for adding solar panels to your house.

If you connect your solar panel system to the grid, you can benefit from net metering, one of the best solar panel incentives available in Vermont. 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. 

All Vermont utilities have to offer net metering to customers. If your system exports more electricity to the grid than you import within a month, you'll receive credits at the blended residential rate, which is pretty close to the retail rate (what you pay for electricity). The blended residential rate is currently set at $0.18398/kWh.

Any credits that are older than one year will expire, but it's unlikely they'll last that long since you'll always use the oldest ones first. If you installed a solar panel system that's a bit too big for your annual electricity use and are worried that you won't use credits within one year, you can create a group. This means you can allocate a percentage of your bill credits to group members.

Learn more about Vermont's largest utility's net metering program:

In addition to solar incentives, Green Mountain Power (GMP) also offers some battery incentive programs to bring down the price of energy storage. 

BYOD program 

The Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD program provides an incentive for eligible batteries. You can earn a rebate of up to $10,500 by sharing your stored energy during peak times, or when energy demand is high. By sharing energy, you stay connected with backup power and help lower the costs for GMP customers in your area. 

The rebate amount is determined by how much energy you share during peak events, which can happen a few times per month. You earn $850 per kW for a three-hour supply and $950 for a four-hour energy supply. GMP also offers an additional $100 per kW incentive for those adding battery storage to their solar system in areas where it’s most beneficial.

Tesla Powerwall program

GMP also offers a special program to lease two Tesla Powerwalls for 10 years if you give them control of your battery during Peak Events. To participate, you'll pay GMP either $55 per month or a one-time $5,500 upfront payment. For reference, Tesla Powerwalls typically come with a 10-year warranty and two cost $14,731 after the federal tax credit, according to Tesla. 

The biggest thing to keep in mind with the BYOD Backup Only Option and the Tesla Powerwall program is that you're allowing GMP access to your battery when electricity costs the most. If you don't have solar or your solar panels aren't producing enough electricity to meet your consumption during Peak Events, you'll pay more for electricity.