New York
New York solar in 2026
New York is the inverse of Arizona. The sun is the weakest of any state we cover, and the incentives are the strongest. A Syracuse roof produces 35 percent less than a Tucson roof, yet the Syracuse homeowner can claim a state tax credit that the Tucson homeowner would trade for in a heartbeat. Whether the trade works out depends on your utility, and after the rate increases of the past year, it increasingly does.
The incentive stack, biggest first
| Incentive | Value | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| State tax credit (Form IT-255) | 25% of cost, max $5,000 | Nonrefundable, 5 year carryforward, principal residence. Also applies to lease and PPA payments in some cases, which almost no other state allows (NYS Tax Department) |
| Property tax exemption (RPTL 487) | 15 years, 100% of added value | Statewide default, but towns can opt out. Check the official opt-out list before assuming yours participates |
| NY-Sun rebate | Varies by region and income | Standard residential blocks are exhausted in Con Edison and Long Island territory and on their final blocks upstate. Low income SEEF incentives in Con Edison territory run $0.80/W (NYSERDA dashboards) |
| Sales tax exemption | 4% state sales tax waived | Statewide for residential systems; some localities add their own exemption |
| Federal 25D credit | Ended December 31, 2025 | Only third party owned systems still capture federal value through 48E (CRS) |
Stack the IT-255 credit on a typical 12.35 kW purchase and the state covers $5,000 of a $34,085 system. That is the single largest direct state subsidy in any of the five states on this site, and it is why New York purchase math survived the federal credit's death better than most places.
Rates: the 12 percent problem, or gift
Whatever you think of your utility, the direction is not subtle. The statewide average went from 26.69 to 29.93 cents in twelve months. Con Edison's residential supply plus delivery stack in the city runs far above that average, while National Grid upstate charges a $19 monthly basic charge plus around 10 cents per kWh in delivery before supply costs land on top. Every point of increase makes a kWh you generate yourself worth more.
One New York specific drag: Con Edison charges solar customers a Customer Benefit Contribution of roughly $1.84 per kW of system size per month under its Phase One net metering structure, per its 2025 statement, versus about $0.92 under the older VDER alternative. On an 8 kW system that is a real monthly line item, and it exists mostly downstate. We have not verified the 2026 CBC figures, so confirm the current number on your first post solar bill.
Sources: EIA Table 5.6.A; Con Edison electric rates; National Grid upstate SC-1 rates.
Production: honest numbers for a cloudy state
We ran PVGIS ourselves on August 17, 2026, and the results will not flatter anyone's brochure. Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse cluster below 1,200 kWh per kW per year, lake effect clouds doing their work. New York City is the sunniest place in the state, which surprises people who have never compared a January in Queens with one in Oswego.
| City | kWh per kW per year | Annual output, 12 kW system |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | 1,314 | 15,768 kWh |
| Albany | 1,255 | 15,060 kWh |
| Rochester | 1,198 | 14,376 kWh |
| Buffalo | 1,192 | 14,304 kWh |
| Syracuse | 1,180 | 14,160 kWh |
Method: PVGIS v5.2, NSRDB radiation database, south facing, 30 degree tilt, 14 percent losses. Model runs by Solar Learning Lab. A 12 kW example matches the EnergySage state average of 12.35 kW.
Does weak sun plus strong incentives pencil?
This is the state where the calculator earns its keep, because the inputs pull hard in opposite directions. Costs are the highest of our five states at $2.76/W cash median. Production is the lowest. But the offset rate is nearly 30 cents and climbing, and the state hands back up to $5,000. The IT-255 credit is already wired into the cash and loan columns below.
Slider bounds come from our PVGIS runs across five New York cities. Syracuse sits at the bottom of the range, New York City at the top.
National cash median was $3.50 per watt for 2024 installs (LBNL). Massachusetts quotes often run higher. Use your quote.
Assumptions you can change
Use the rate on your actual lease or PPA quote. There is no published statewide average we trust enough to hardcode.
Cash purchase
$8,901 after state credit
- Year 1 benefit
- $141/mo
- Payback
- 6 years
- 20 year net position
- $32,137
No federal credit, but New York's own credit survives: 25 percent of cost up to $5,000 on Form IT-255. That is the largest state solar credit of any state we cover.
Solar loan
$126/mo 15 yr payment
- Year 1 net
- $15/mo
- Upfront
- $0
- 20 year net position
- $18,289
We price loans at $3.96 per watt: the EnergySage New York cash figure plus the $1.20 national loan-over-cash spread LBNL documents, since dealer fees get built into loan pricing.
Lease / PPA
$0 down you buy the power
- Year 1 net
- $28/mo
- Upfront
- $0
- 20 year net position
- $9,712
The provider keeps the federal 48E business credit and prices some of it into your rate. Note that the IT-255 state credit also covers lease and PPA payments in some situations, which is unusual. Confirm with a tax professional.
Estimates, not quotes. Inputs use the New York average rate from EIA (Table 5.6.A, May 2026), our own PVGIS production runs, and EnergySage August 2026 cost data. Con Edison charges solar customers a monthly Customer Benefit Contribution per kW that this calculator does not model. We are a solar installer and we also partner with other solar companies. See our disclosures.
Before you sign in New York
- If your town is on the RPTL 487 opt-out list, your property taxes can rise with the install. This is a five minute check against the state list that some installers skip.
- The NY-Sun era is ending for standard residential customers. If a quote includes an NYSERDA rebate, ask which block it draws from and whether funds are actually committed (NYSERDA).
- Con Edison customers should ask for the CBC math in writing: dollars per kW per month, and which netting structure the quote assumes. The difference between Phase One and VDER compounds over 25 years.
- The IT-255 credit is nonrefundable. If your state tax liability is small, the credit carries forward five years, but a retiree with low taxable income may never use all $5,000. Model your own liability, not the brochure's.
Rated installers, anchored downstate
NYSERDA keeps a list of participating NY-Sun contractors, and that is the eligibility screen. Reputation is a different question, so we pulled Google ratings for the New York City metro, where most of the state's residential volume sits. Upstate homeowners should treat this as a pattern to copy rather than a shopping list: demand the same rating depth from Albany, Buffalo or Hudson Valley outfits, and confirm NY-Sun participation either way.
Mpower Solar
Brooklyn, NY
4.8(303 Google reviews)
Brooklyn SolarWorks
Brooklyn, NY
4.9(260 Google reviews)
Solar Pro
Brooklyn, NY
5.0(95 Google reviews)
Sunday Energy
Brooklyn, NY
5.0(28 Google reviews)
Jersey Solar Power Systems
Jersey City, NJ
4.8(10 Google reviews)
Scores shown are Google Maps ratings captured August 17, 2026 using DataForSEO. Listing order was not sold to anyone and should not be read as an endorsement. Cross-check NY-Sun participation and recent feedback first.
Go deeper: New York City
The five boroughs play by their own rules: Con Edison rates well above the state average, a monthly charge just for being a solar customer, and Department of Buildings filings that want an engineer's stamp. Our city guide covers the CBC, the Value Stack and who actually has a roof for this: New York City solar in 2026.
Price a system against these numbers
Four questions, then an estimate built on this page's EIA and PVGIS data. We are a solar installer and we also partner with other solar companies. Details in our disclosures.
What does your monthly electric bill look like?
New York average is $167 per month (EIA, 2024).