New Jersey homeowners with solar systems routinely earn $3,000+ per year in income \u2014 just from selling certificates that prove their panels generated electricity. Not from electricity savings. From certificates. On top of the electricity savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That number stopped me when I first researched it. I’m in Austin, paying $0.117\/kWh for electricity. New Jersey homeowners pay about $0.18\/kWh and have access to one of the most valuable solar incentive structures in the country. When I ran the NJ numbers out of curiosity, the payback period came out shorter than mine in Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Northeast has a reputation as a marginal solar market \u2014 not enough sun, too cold, too cloudy. That reputation is outdated and, in the case of New Jersey especially, simply wrong. Here’s what the numbers actually look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, New York and New Jersey get fewer peak sun hours than Texas or Arizona. New York City averages 4.0\u20134.2 peak sun hours per day. Northern New Jersey averages 4.1\u20134.3. Austin averages 4.9. Phoenix averages 5.8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The difference is real \u2014 roughly 15\u201320% less solar resource than Texas, 30\u201335% less than Phoenix. A 9.6kW system that produces 14,300 kWh\/year in Austin would produce approximately 12,000\u201312,500 kWh\/year in northern New Jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s what matters more: electricity in New York costs $0.21\u20130.24\/kWh. In New Jersey, $0.17\u20130.19\/kWh. In Austin, $0.117\/kWh. Every kWh my panels produce in Austin saves me roughly half what the same kWh would save a New York homeowner. Lower sun hours plus higher electricity rates can produce better economics than more sun plus cheaper electricity \u2014 and New Jersey adds a third variable that changes everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Jersey’s Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program \u2014 now transitioning to the Transition Renewable Energy Certificate (TREC) system for newer installations \u2014 creates a second revenue stream for solar homeowners entirely separate from electricity savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s how it works: for every 1,000 kWh your solar system produces, you earn one SREC (or TREC). New Jersey utilities are required by state law to source a percentage of their electricity from solar \u2014 and if they can’t generate it themselves or buy certificates from solar homeowners, they pay a penalty. That requirement creates a market for SRECs, and New Jersey’s market has historically been one of the most valuable in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SREC prices in New Jersey have ranged from $150 to $300+ per certificate over the past several years. TREC prices under the newer program are set administratively \u2014 currently at approximately $152\u2013$198 per TREC depending on project category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The math on a 9.6kW system in northern New Jersey:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On a system costing $28,000 gross ($19,600 after 30% ITC), that’s a payback period of roughly 4.6 years<\/strong>. That’s faster than my Texas payback, with 20% fewer sun hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New Jersey also offers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The SREC\/TREC program has evolved over time and the specific program available to new installations depends on when you interconnect and which NJ Clean Energy program you enroll in. Check the NJ Clean Energy Program<\/a> for current rates \u2014 but the structure of certificate-based income on top of electricity savings is what makes New Jersey consistently one of the top 3 solar ROI states in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New York doesn’t have the SREC income stream that makes New Jersey exceptional, but it has a combination of high electricity rates, a meaningful upfront incentive, and full retail net metering that produces solid economics \u2014 particularly in the New York City metro and Long Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NY-Sun Megawatt Block Incentive:<\/strong> New York’s NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) administers the NY-Sun program, which provides upfront incentives for residential solar on a declining block structure \u2014 as more solar is installed in each utility territory, the per-watt incentive steps down. Current residential incentive rates vary by utility territory but have ranged from $0.20 to $0.40 per watt for recent residential installations. On a 9.6kW system, that’s $1,920\u2013$3,840 in direct state incentive off the system cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Property tax exemption:<\/strong> New York offers a 15-year property tax exemption for solar installations \u2014 the solar-attributable increase in your home’s assessed value is excluded from property taxes for 15 years after installation. On a system that adds $15,000\u2013$20,000 to home value in a high-tax county like Westchester or Nassau, this is genuinely valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Net metering:<\/strong> New York maintains full retail net metering under its Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) framework, though the specifics of export compensation vary by utility and customer type. Con Edison, NYSEG, Central Hudson, and PSEG Long Island all participate in net metering programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Long Island situation:<\/strong> Long Island electricity rates \u2014 among the highest in the continental US at $0.24\u20130.28\/kWh through PSEG Long Island \u2014 make Long Island one of the strongest solar markets in the country on pure electricity cost savings alone, even before NY-Sun incentives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New York City specifically:<\/strong> New York City limits rooftop solar opportunities because most NYC residents live in apartments and don’t control their roofs. For NYC homeowners (primarily in Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx), solar works. For renters and condo owners, community solar subscriptions are the relevant alternative \u2014 a topic worth its own exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NY payback estimate (Westchester County, Con Edison territory):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Good, not spectacular. But in Nassau or Suffolk County on Long Island at $0.26\/kWh, the same analysis produces a 5.4-year payback \u2014 among the best in the Northeast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nNew York: NY-Sun and High-Rate Economics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nHow the Northeast Compares to Sun Belt States<\/h2>\n\n\n\n