Connecticut · Loan program
CT Green Bank Smart-E Loan
Below-market financing for residential solar installs in Connecticut -- see the terms, who qualifies, and the payback impact below.
- Low-interest financing
- stated benefit
- Residential
- eligible customers
- 8.9 yr
- Connecticut baseline payback
- 4
- other Connecticut programs
What it means
In Connecticut, a 6 kW system already pays back in about 8.9 years on ~$2,047/year of modeled savings, and the CT Green Bank Smart-E Loan stacks on top of that, on top of any federal credit.
- Low-interest f…
- stated benefit
- 8.9 yr
- baseline payback (pre-incentive)
- 5
- Connecticut programs that stack
- full
- net-metering policy
Payback and savings are modeled from public NREL/EIA data; the program benefit is summarized from DSIRE and may change.
Program description
Connecticut Green Bank offers subsidized smart-E loans for solar and storage installations.
Program at a glance
- Program type
- Loan program
- Eligible customers
- Residential
- Stated benefit
- Low-interest financing
- State electricity rate
- 28.5¢/kWh
- Connecticut solar score
- 41/100
How Connecticut compares to the U.S. average
Why this incentive matters more (or less) here - Connecticut's solar fundamentals against the national average.
Source: NREL irradiance and U.S. EIA rates; payback modeled by PlainSolarData. Bars are scaled to the larger of the two values per metric.
Solar's trajectory in Connecticut
The market this incentive operates in: total installed solar capacity in Connecticut reported to the EIA.
Connecticut's solar incentive stack
How this loan program sits among Connecticut's 4 tracked programs, by type
- Tax exemption
Tax exemption
1 programs
- Loan
Loan
1 programs
- Rebate
Rebate
1 programs
- SREC
SREC
1 programs
What this shows Among Connecticut's 4 tracked incentive types, 1 are loan programs like this one -- financing rather than a direct credit or rebate, stacking with whatever else the state offers.
How this incentive fits Connecticut's solar picture
The CT Green Bank Smart-E Loan provides below-market financing for solar installation, one of Connecticut's solar incentive programs tracked in DSIRE. Eligibility is scoped to residential customers, with a stated benefit of Low-interest financing. DSIRE lists no scheduled sunset, though enabling legislation and appropriations can still be revised year to year.
That's the backdrop this incentive works against. Connecticut averages 4.1 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 28.5¢/kWh, producing an estimated 7,183 kWh/year and $2,047 of annual utility offset on a typical 6 kW system costing $18,300. That baseline already implies a 8.9-year simple payback and a 25-year modeled net of roughly $32,875 before this incentive - every dollar this loan program delivers compresses that payback further.
A handful of other levers are worth checking alongside this one. Connecticut has 5 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE, including adjacent options like CT Solar Property Tax Exemption, CT Residential Solar Investment Program, Connecticut ZREC/LREC Program. The state's net-metering policy is classified as full, which governs how excess generation is credited and often decides whether a given program is worth claiming for a specific household.
Your next step
- See Connecticut's full solar profile, score, irradiance, rates, payback, and every program you can claim. Connecticut solar data
- Run the savings calculator with your real bill to see how this incentive changes your own payback. ROI calculator
- Read how state and federal solar credits work together. Tax-credit guide
Estimates here are modeled from public data and are not financial advice; confirm program terms and your own eligibility before relying on a dollar figure.
Other Connecticut incentives
Frequently asked questions
What is the CT Green Bank Smart-E Loan?
How does the CT Green Bank Smart-E Loan work?
Who is eligible for the CT Green Bank Smart-E Loan?
How does this incentive affect solar ROI in Connecticut?
Are there other solar incentives in Connecticut?
Incentive data from the DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency); state solar economics from NREL and the U.S. EIA. See our methodology.