Solar Incentives: G

Reading a DSIRE incentive listing

Every program in the DSIRE registry — including the 2 listed here under "G" — carries the same core metadata: the issuing authority (state energy office, public utility, co-op, or federal agency), the eligible sectors (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, schools, government, nonprofit, multifamily), the incentive type (tax credit, rebate, grant, loan, net metering, RPS, property-tax or sales-tax exemption), and the current status (active, expired, or pending implementation). When two states use the same incentive name, the DSIRE identifier disambiguates them.

A typical residential applicant interacts with three or four programs simultaneously: the federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (30% through 2032 under the Inflation Reduction Act), a state-level income tax credit or rebate, a utility-administered rebate or PBI, and a net-metering or net-billing tariff that determines how exports are valued. Property-tax exemptions and sales-tax exemptions further reduce out-of-pocket cost but rarely require a separate application — they flow through automatically at assessment or point of sale, depending on state law.

Commercial and non-profit applicants face a different stack: the federal Investment Tax Credit (still 30% under IRA but with direct-pay options for tax-exempt entities), accelerated depreciation (MACRS plus bonus depreciation), state PBIs or grants, RPS-driven SREC markets in compliance states, and any utility green-tariff or community-solar purchase agreement that can monetize generation without on-site installation. The DSIRE database flags which programs accept commercial applicants and whether direct-pay or transferability provisions apply.

Use the alphabetical index above to navigate the catalog, or sort by state or type to compare across jurisdictions. Solar incentive policy is volatile — caps fill, step-down schedules trigger, legislatures add or sunset programs between sessions — so confirm current amounts, eligibility, and deadlines with the administering agency before relying on any specific dollar figure for project planning.

Verifying status before you apply

The DSIRE registry updates on a rolling schedule as program administrators submit changes, but there is always a lag between a statutory amendment and its reflection in the public feed. Before submitting an application or signing an installer contract that assumes a specific incentive amount, confirm three things directly with the issuing authority: that the program is currently funded (rebate budgets exhaust mid-year and may be paused until the next appropriation), that your specific equipment and installer qualify (some states require Energy Star or NABCEP-certified components, others maintain installer registries), and that the deadline window aligns with your project timeline (many credits require commissioning by year-end to be claimed on that tax year's return).

Several letters in the alphabet concentrate program names from specific incentive families. Letters that cluster around "Renewable," "Residential," "Solar," and state-name prefixes typically contain the largest number of listings because state legislatures favor those naming conventions. Smaller letters often contain niche programs — university-research grants, single-utility pilots, or expired demonstration programs that DSIRE retains for historical reference. The status field on each program page indicates whether the program is currently accepting applications.