Washington D.C. solar rebates and incentives: 2026 guide

Solar panels might seem expensive, but if you live in Washington, D.C., you're in luck. D.C. offers some of the most generous solar incentives in the country, helping thousands of homeowners reduce their upfront costs while locking in lower electricity bills for decades. 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 Washington D.C.'s solar incentives.

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

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs)

D.C. set a goal to produce 10% of its annual electricity from solar by 2041—and you can get paid to help. Under this program, you are granted one D.C. SREC for each megawatt-hour (MWh) of clean electricity your panels produce, which you can then sell in the SREC market. Most solar owners use a broker to handle the process—selling the SRECs to utility companies and paying you directly.

As of 2026, D.C. SRECs trade at $360–$400 per MWh, with the Solar Alternative Compliance Payment (SACP) ceiling set at $440—keeping them among the most valuable SRECs in the country. A 5 kW system generating about 6 MWh annually would earn roughly $2,160–$2,400 per year. Prices may step down gradually as D.C.'s solar capacity grows, so installing sooner captures more value.

Solar for All

Free solar panels are largely a myth—but Solar for All, administered by the D.C. Sustainable Energy Utility, is one of the few real exceptions. The program installs solar on qualified homes at no charge, and homeowners receive the full benefit of the electricity savings.

As of mid-2026, Solar for All is waitlisted for new applicants, with FY2026 funds largely reserved. To qualify, homeowners must receive assistance from a qualifying government program (such as SNAP or SSI) or have a household income below 80% of the local AMI. It's still worth applying and getting on the list—the DCSEU continues to process the queue as funding becomes available.

Solar Advantage Plus Program (SAPP)

The Solar Advantage Plus Program (SAPP), administered by the DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU), offers income-qualified D.C. homeowners up to $10,000 toward the cost of a solar or solar-plus-battery installation. Unlike a tax credit, SAPP is a direct rebate—you don't need to owe federal taxes to benefit.

To qualify, your household income must be at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), and you must own your home as your primary residence. The program is first-come, first-served with limited annual funding, so it's worth checking current availability at dcseu.com before signing a contract. SAPP stacks with D.C.'s SREC income and net metering savings, making it one of the most impactful solar incentives available in the District.

Yes, D.C. offers two solar tax exemptions worth knowing about. Rooftop solar tends to raise property values—but by D.C. law, homeowners are not taxed on any property value added by solar. D.C. also exempts qualifying solar equipment from its 6% sales tax, reducing your upfront system cost without any application required. Currently, there is no expiration date on the books for either policy.

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. 

Under net metering, your utility company (Pepco in D.C.) works like a bank account for all the energy your solar panels produce. When your panels generate more electricity than your home uses, the excess is sent to the grid and Pepco credits it to your bill. When you need grid power—at night, on cloudy days—Pepco draws against those credits. You won't pay for electricity until the credits run out. 

There are a few nuances here: 

• PEPCO gives you credits in kWh, not in dollars. That means you can only apply them against your actual energy usage. You'll still owe Pepco's fixed monthly customer charge—currently approximately $7.39 per month—regardless of how much solar you produce. 

• Credits roll over from month to month but expire at the end of a calendar year. If you have leftover credits at year-end, Pepco will pay out their cash value based on the generation (supply) portion of the retail rate—approximately 14.7¢/kWh as of July 2026—rather than the full retail rate of 23.9¢/kWh. The delivery and transmission portions are not paid out, so each unused credit is worth somewhat less than a purchased kWh. For most well-sized solar systems, leftover credits at year-end are minimal. 

D.C. doesn't have a broad battery rebate program available to all homeowners, but income-qualified residents have access to meaningful storage incentives—and batteries are becoming more valuable in D.C., even with favorable net metering in place.

Solar Advantage Plus Program

For income-qualified D.C. homeowners, SAPP is the most impactful battery storage incentive available. The program's $10,000 rebate covers solar-plus-battery installations—not standalone batteries—making it most valuable for homeowners going solar and adding storage at the same time. See the solar incentives section above for eligibility details and current availability.

Is battery storage worth it in D.C.?

D.C.'s net metering policy is among the most favorable on the East Coast—Pepco credits excess solar at the full retail rate of 23.9¢/kWh, which reduces the financial urgency of battery storage for most homeowners. That said, batteries are increasingly valuable for energy resilience, backup during outages, and optimizing SREC production by storing and self-consuming more of what your panels generate. Pepco does not currently offer a residential virtual power plant program, so battery economics in D.C. are primarily driven by self-consumption and backup value rather than grid dispatch incentives.