North Carolina Solar Incentives & Financing Guide (2026)

For homeowners purchasing a system directly, the residential 30% Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) has officially sunset. However, you can still capture these exact savings through solar leasing. The 30% tax credit remains active for commercial entities in the short term. However, through a legal safe harbor provision, our leasing partners claim the credit and pass those savings directly to you in the form of lower, fixed monthly rates.

While the residential tax credit has sunset for direct purchases by homeowners, the 30% Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) remains active for commercial entities. Through the legal safe harbor provision, our tier-1 leasing partners legally claim the 30% commercial credit when the purchase the solar equipment for your system.

Instead of keeping that windfall, they use those tax savings to write down the capital cost of your equipment. This allows them to pass the financial benefit directly to you in the form of a significantly lower, fixed monthly lease payment.

Our $0-Down Solar Leasing Program acts as an immediate utility inflation-buster:

• Immediate Savings: Your new, locked-in monthly solar lease payment is typically lower than your current Duke Energy bill from day one.
• Growing Annual Savings: While utility monopolies continuously raise their rates, your solar lease payment remains completely flat. Because your cost stays locked while grid prices skyrocket, your net savings actually increases with every future rate hike.
• Zero Maintenance Hassle: Because the system is leased, all ongoing maintenance, monitoring, and production guarantees are handled entirely by the provider—giving you total peace of mind.

Your savings actually accelerate. When you enter a $0-down solar lease, your monthly solar payment is completely locked in and predictable for the long term. Because utility monopolies like Duke Energy continuously implement multi-phase rate hikes, the gap between what you would be paying the utility company versus your low, fixed solar lease payment widens every year. Every time the grid utility raises its rates, your net monthly savings increase.

No. North Carolina revenue law provides a 100% property tax exemption for residential solar energy systems. While adding a custom solar array instantly increases your home’s actual market value and structural appeal to future buyers, local tax assessors are legally prohibited from factoring that solar upgrade into your property tax valuation. You get a higher home equity value without paying a single penny more in annual property taxes.