Nebraska solar rebates and incentives: 2025 guide

Cornhuskers looking to power their homes with clean, sustainable energy have access to a few cost-cutting solar incentives that can help speed up their payback period. While there aren’t many state-level incentives, the federal solar tax credit and Nebraska’s net metering programs can still save you thousands on your solar panel system.

As a Nebraska homeowner, you have access to some great incentives that can substantially improve your return on investing in solar panels. The federal tax credit is the most impactful way to bring down your solar costs.

Residential Clean Energy Credit

The Residential Clean Energy Credit, formerly known as the federal investment tax credit (ITC), can reduce your solar panel system's cost by 30%. Your entire system qualifies for this incentive, including equipment, labor, permitting, and sales tax. 

When you file your federal income taxes, you can claim this incentive as a credit towards your federal tax bill. Just keep in mind that to qualify for the ITC, you need to purchase your system either with cash or a solar loan–if you lease your system, you won't be eligible. 

You also need a high enough tax bill, though you can roll over any remaining credit year-to-year until 2035 when the ITC expires. The only time you might be eligible for a direct payment for the ITC is if you're a tax-exempt entity, like a nonprofit organization. 

Dollar and Energy Saving Loans

Dollar and Energy Saving Loans provide financing for homeowners looking to purchase a solar panel system. Offered through the Nebraska Department of Environment & Energy (NDEE) Planning & Aid Division, Dollar and Energy Saving Loans offer low-interest loans for residents implementing energy-saving improvements at their homes. Single and double-family homes qualify for up to $125,000 with interest rates of 5%, 3.5%, or less, with terms of up to 15 years.

If you connect your solar panel system to the grid, you can benefit from a solar buyback program known as net metering—arguably the best solar incentive of them all.

With net metering, your utility company works like a bank for solar power. If you make more solar power than your home can use at any given time, you can send that excess electricity back to the grid, and your utility company gives you an energy credit. When the sun isn't shining and you need to pull electricity from the grid, your utility draws against those credits. 

Depending on the weather, your energy use, and your solar setup, net metering makes it so you will owe very little, or even nothing, on your electric bill with solar panels.

Utility companies in Nebraska are required to offer net metering, and the programs are pretty solid. You’ll receive the retail rate of electricity (minus some fees) for every kWh you send to the grid up to 100% of your utility demand. If you send more electricity to the grid than you demand, you’ll be credited for your net excess generation (NEG). Here are a few more nuances to keep in mind:

• The value of net excess generation (NEG) credits varies from utility to utility: Check with your utility to understand the crediting structure. Generally, your net excess generation will be worth the utility’s avoided-cost rate. 

• Credits can be carried forward: At the end of every monthly billing cycle, if you’ve exported more solar power to the grid than you’ve used at home, you can keep your excess credits to cover future energy use. This allows you to save all those kWh produced in the sunnier months and apply them in the winter when your panels don’t produce as much electricity.

• Unused credits will be paid out at the end of a 12-month period: The rate at which your credits will be paid out depends on your utility. Generally, you’ll be compensated at the avoided-cost rate. 

Learn more about Nebraska's net metering programs:

Nebraska doesn't offer any state-specific battery incentives. However, all batteries above 3 kWh in size are eligible for the 30% federal tax credit. 

Solar batteries paired with solar panels can make good financial sense in Nebraska if your solar panels regularly generate more energy than your home needs or you experience frequent outages. It boosts your energy independence and provides backup power during an outage. However, with Nebraska’s favorable net metering policy, you may not see a strong return on your battery investment.