Solar Incentives and Rebates in Maine (2026): Credits, Tax Rules and Recent Changes

Solar incentives in Maine in 2026 consist mainly of net energy billing, which gives you one kWh bill credit for every kWh your panels send to the grid, and a property tax exemption for qualifying solar equipment. We found no state cash rebate or state tax credit open to homeowners, Maine's federally funded Solar for All award was terminated in 2025, and the federal 25D credit is not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025.

Key takeaways

• Maine's net energy billing kWh credit program is open to all electric utility customers; unused credits expire after 12 months.
• Solar equipment can be exempt from property tax under 36 M.R.S. section 656 if you file with your local assessor by April 1 of the first year you claim it.
• The 2025 net energy billing law (LD 1777) mainly hits community solar and commercial projects; its new monthly project charge is zero for resources under 1 MW.
• The EPA terminated Maine's $62 million Solar for All award, announced by the state on August 8, 2025.
• For a Maine home system finished in 2026, the federal 25D credit is off the table; the IRS says it is not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025.

What solar incentives does Maine offer in 2026?

Maine supports rooftop solar mostly through billing rules rather than rebates. Here is where each piece stood when we checked in November 2026:

Program	Status as of November 2026	Who it helps
Net energy billing, kWh credit program	Active	All electric utility customers, including homeowners
Net energy billing, tariff rate program	Active, non-residential only	Businesses and other non-residential customers
Property tax exemption for solar equipment (36 M.R.S. 656)	Active; file by April 1	Owners whose solar energy is used on site or meets other listed conditions
Solar for All	Federal award terminated (state statement August 8, 2025)	No program open to homeowners listed
State rebate or state income tax credit	None found	None
Federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (25D)	Not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025	No new home systems

Net energy billing: Maine's main solar incentive

Maine's Department of Energy Resources describes the kWh credit program simply: each kWh your array sends to the grid earns one credit, and that credit offsets charges one-to-one in billing periods when you use more than your array makes. The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) lists the program as available to all electric utility customers, with projects under 5 MW. Unused credits expire after 12 months.

Because the credit is one kWh for one kWh, summer production can cover usage in darker months, as long as you use it within a year. A separate tariff rate program pays dollar credits, but the PUC limits it to non-residential customers.

The details, including how Central Maine Power tracks banked credits, are in our guide to net metering in Maine.

Maine's solar property tax exemption

Maine exempts qualifying solar equipment from property tax. Under 36 M.R.S. section 656, paragraph 1(L), for property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2025, solar energy equipment that generates heat or electricity is exempt if one of three conditions is met: all of the energy is used on the site; the equipment is collocated with net energy billing customers who subscribe to at least 50 percent of its output; or the energy goes through the utility's lines for bill credits and the interconnection agreement was signed before June 1, 2024. Maine Revenue Services' Property Tax Bulletin No. 29 (December 2024) says most residential arrays are collocated with the net energy billing customer, so the June 2024 date generally does not affect them. Your assessor decides whether your system qualifies.

The exemption is not automatic. You must file with your local assessor on or before April 1 of the first property tax year you claim it. Maine Revenue Services publishes the form, titled "Application for Renewable Energy Equipment Exemption." You do not need to refile every year, but the bulletin says an updated application is needed after a change in ownership or equipment. Ask your installer for the equipment list and costs so you can fill it out, and mark April 1 on your calendar for the year after installation.

How the 2025 net energy billing law affects homeowners

In 2025, Maine passed LD 1777, now Public Law 2025, chapter 430. According to the legislative summary, it:

• Bars utilities from signing new net energy billing agreements after December 31, 2025 with generators connected on the utility's side of a customer's meter.
• Adds a monthly fee, set by the PUC, for certain resources in the kWh credit program.
• Directs the state to design a successor program for front-of-the-meter distributed generation.
• Requires the PUC to adopt consumer protection rules for the kWh credit program.

The monthly fee is now in state law as the "net energy billing project charge" (35-A M.R.S. section 3209-F). It applies to distributed generation resources whose credits go to shared financial interest customers, such as community solar subscribers. Starting January 1, 2026, the statute sets it at $6.00 per kW of nameplate capacity for resources of 3 MW to under 5 MW, $2.80 per kW for 1 MW to under 3 MW, and zero for anything under 1 MW. Resources wholly owned by the customers who receive the credits are exempt.

Community solar developers challenged the law in federal court (Gray Yarmouth Road Solar LLC v. Maine Public Utilities Commission), and the court denied their request to block the project charge.

The practical takeaway: a rooftop system serving your own home is still treated as before, while new off-site community solar has become much harder to start.

What happened to Solar for All in Maine?

Maine was awarded $62 million under the federal Solar for All program to expand solar for lower-income households. The state's energy office posted a statement dated August 8, 2025 reporting that the EPA had terminated the award. It said the office remained committed to the program and was working on next steps with the Maine Attorney General's office. When we checked in November 2026, the page did not list any Solar for All program open to homeowners, so check it for updates before you plan around this program.

Federal solar tax credit status in Maine

The IRS's August 2025 FAQ says the Residential Clean Energy Credit "will not be allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025," and that an expenditure is treated as made when the original installation is completed. Maine homeowners finishing a system in 2026 cannot claim it. Make sure any installer quote for a new system leaves it out of the price and payback.

Consumer protections when you buy solar in Maine

Maine has disclosure rules even though it has few rebates. The Department of Energy Resources says anyone who sells or leases solar equipment installed on the customer side of the meter must give you a completed written disclosure you can keep, and it posts separate forms for ownership and leasing. Community solar providers must register with the PUC, disclose past enforcement actions and give prospective customers information about a project's costs and benefits.

1. Get at least two or three written quotes and ask for references.
2. Read the disclosure form before you sign, and never sign a blank one.
3. Report deceptive marketing to the Maine Attorney General's Office.
4. Run each bid through our solar quote checker.

Your savings depend on the retail price your credits offset. See our Maine electricity rates page for current figures.

How to claim Maine's solar benefits, step by step

1. Confirm your utility, CMP or Versant, and pull 12 months of usage so the system is sized to what you can actually use within the 12-month credit window.
2. Have your installer file the utility's net energy billing and interconnection agreements before the system runs.
3. Keep the signed solar disclosure form and your final invoice with your home records.
4. Before April 1 of the first tax year you want the break, file the renewable energy equipment exemption form with your town assessor.
5. Watch your first few bills to confirm exported kWh show up as credits.

Next steps

Look up expected output and costs on our Maine solar panels page, then estimate payback with the solar panel calculator, remembering that summer credits must be used within 12 months.