New Jersey · Directly Licensed
Commercial Solar and Battery Storage Incentives in New Jersey
New Jersey pays commercial solar a fixed price per megawatt hour for 15 years, in writing, through the SuSI program's SREC-II certificates. Add full-retail net metering, a commercial power price near 17 cents, and the federal credit's December 31, 2027 completion deadline, and the 2026 math is concrete. This page covers what each program pays, who qualifies, and the primary source behind every number. GEC holds a direct professional license in New Jersey.
Updated July 7, 2026 · Every figure sourced
What incentives can a New Jersey business claim on commercial solar in 2026?
Three, each captured separately. The SuSI program pays a fixed $110 per megawatt hour for 15 years on commercial rooftop systems under 1 MW dc, and $100 on systems from 1 to 5 MW dc. The federal Section 48E credit pays 30 percent of project cost, more where the address qualifies for the Energy Community bonus. And net metering credits production at the full retail rate within the billing year.
The federal clock is the 2026 constraint. Solar projects beginning construction now must be operating by December 31, 2027 to claim the credit, which is a workable runway for a commercial system that starts engineering soon.
How much does New Jersey's SREC-II program pay?
New Jersey's Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI) program, run by the Board of Public Utilities, pays commercial projects through the Administratively Determined Incentive: one SREC-II per megawatt hour of production, at a price fixed for 15 years at registration. Unlike a market-traded SREC, the number does not move after you register.
| Commercial project type | Under 1 MW dc | 1 to 5 MW dc |
|---|---|---|
| Rooftop, carport, canopy | $110 per SREC-II | $100 per SREC-II |
| Ground mount | $90 per SREC-II | $85 per SREC-II |
Two 2026 facts matter for a commercial buyer. First, the BPU's May 21, 2026 order reviewing the program cut only the residential rate and left every commercial value unchanged, noting that commercial registration was running below its capacity target. Second, the tiers are measured in DC capacity. A 1.5 MW AC system usually carries enough DC array to land in the 1 to 5 MW dc tier at $100, while smaller systems, roughly under 0.75 MW AC, capture the $110 rate. The non-residential capacity block grows to 150 MW for Energy Year 2027 and registration is first come, first served.
Primary sources: the NJ BPU order of May 21, 2026 and the NJ Clean Energy Program ADI page.
How do the federal credit and New Jersey net metering work in 2026?
The federal Section 48E credit pays 30 percent of qualified project cost, with a 10 point Energy Community bonus where the project address qualifies, verified against the current IRS lists rather than assumed. The 2025 federal tax law set a hard timeline: solar projects beginning construction after July 4, 2026 must be placed in service by December 31, 2027 to claim the credit at all. Battery storage runs on its own Section 48E schedule and is not subject to the solar date. Sources: IRS Notice 2025-42 and 26 U.S.C. Section 48E(e)(4).
Net metering credits a commercial customer-generator at the full retail rate within the billing year, per the NJ Clean Energy Program. Excess left at the annual true-up pays out at the wholesale rate, and a system may not be sized beyond the facility's annual consumption. The engineering consequence is the same one GEC applies everywhere: size the system to the building's real load. New Jersey's investor-owned utilities are PSE&G, Jersey Central Power & Light, Atlantic City Electric, and Rockland Electric, and the program works the same way in each territory. New Jersey also exempts solar equipment from state sales tax and exempts the added value of a certified renewable energy system from local property tax assessment.
The price backdrop: New Jersey's average commercial electricity rate was 16.77 cents per kilowatt hour in April 2026 per the U.S. Energy Information Administration, well above the national commercial average. Every kilowatt hour the roof produces is a kilowatt hour not bought at that rate.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Incentive eligibility and final value depend on your facility, your tax position, and program availability at the time of filing. GEC confirms the specifics for your site during the assessment.
The Storage Outlook
Where does commercial battery storage stand in New Jersey?
Honestly: the state incentive is not here yet, and it is visibly coming. New Jersey's Garden State Energy Storage Program funded its first phase in 2026 with hundreds of megawatts of grid-scale awards, but that phase applies to projects of 5 MW and larger. The second phase, aimed at commercial behind-the-meter batteries, has been signaled by the BPU and its rules are not final as of July 2026.
What a commercial buyer can do today is design for it. A solar project engineered now with storage in mind captures the federal credit on the solar under the 2027 deadline, keeps the battery decision on its own federal timeline, and is positioned to move when the BPU opens the commercial phase. GEC tracks the storage docket and folds it into every New Jersey assessment.
How does GEC deliver a New Jersey project?
New Jersey is one of the ten states where General Energy Corporation holds direct professional licenses. GEC is an engineering-first EPC, headquartered in Illinois, that has designed and built commercial energy systems since 1985 with engineering in-house rather than subcontracted.
A New Jersey engagement starts with the facility's utility bill and load profile. GEC models the correct SREC-II tier from the actual DC design rather than a brochure assumption, verifies the Energy Community designation at the address, sizes the system inside the net metering consumption limit, and returns the numbers with every incentive on its own line, each with its source.
New Jersey commercial solar, answered
Find out what your New Jersey facility qualifies for
One utility bill is enough to start. GEC models your SREC-II tier from a real system design, verifies the Energy Community designation at your address, and checks the December 2027 timeline against your facility, with every number sourced.