Texas solar rebates and incentives: 2026 guide

Solar panels might seem expensive, but if you live in Texas you're in luck. Your state offers some of the most generous solar incentives in the country, helping thousands of homeowners shrink their upfront costs while locking in decades of lower electricity bills. There are multiple ways to bring down the price of going solar—and start saving sooner than you might think.

Even better? The long-term savings from reduced electricity costs typically outweigh your upfront investment. Here's how to take advantage of Texas's solar incentives.

Incentives help bring solar's price tag down considerably in Texas. Here are the major ones to know about:

Local rebates

Want some money back on your solar panel system? Here are some of the electric companies in Texas that offer rebates when you install solar panels:

• American Electric Power SMART Source Solar PV Program: Depending on the size of your solar panel system, you could earn a rebate between $1,500-$3,000.

• Austin Energy Solar Photovoltaic Rebates & Incentives: You can earn a rebate worth $4,000 by installing a solar panel system at least 3 kW in size if you complete Austin Energy's solar education course. 

• New Braunfels Utilities: Depending on the size and angle of your solar panel system, you can earn up to $3,000 as long as your system is at least 3 kW. 

• Oncor Residential Solar Program: If your solar panel system is between 3-15 kW and installed with a battery, you may be able to receive a rebate. The rebate amount isn't disclosed and depends on many factors, including the solar panels and inverter you choose, the system's location, shade, and more. The program typically runs annually between February and November. 

• SMTX Solar PV Rebate: You can earn $1/W for installing a solar panel system, up to $2,500. The rebate amount can't exceed 50% of your system's installed cost. 

• Sunset Valley Rebate Program: If you live in the City of Sunset Valley and qualify for the Austin Energy solar rebate (see above), you can earn an additional $1/W, up to $3,000, as long as your system costs $6/kW or less.

In addition to the great rebates and incentives above, Texas also offers a solar property tax exemption. When you install solar panels, it generally increases the value of your home. But thanks to this exemption, you won’t have to pay extra taxes because of that increase.

Utility companies in Texas are not legally required to offer solar buyback programs—but many of them do anyway. These arrangements can help you squeeze the most value out of your solar panels by shrinking your utility bills as much as possible.

The best type of buyback program is known as net metering. Under this system, your utility company works like a bank for solar power—if you can’t use it all at home, you can send it to the grid for 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, the utility’s specific rules, and how much energy you use, net metering makes it so you will often owe very little, or even nothing, on your electric bills with solar panels.

Another type of solar buyback program, net billing, ditches the concept of banked energy credits and instead offers a partial dollar-based bill credit for every kWh you send to the grid. 

The details vary quite a lot between utilities and suppliers in Texas. Some utility companies will purchase your electricity at the wholesale rate (what they typically pay for electricity), which is significantly lower than the retail rate (what you pay for electricity). Others will pay a fixed rate. Some utilities also won't let you roll over credits month-to-month or year-to-year. Or, they'll pay you less for any electricity remaining at the end of a billing cycle, called net excess generation. 

The good news is that you might be able to shop around for a supplier that offers the best terms to customers with solar power.

Here are some of the solar buyback programs available in Texas for deregulated and regulated utility companies:

Deregulated utility companies

Depending on where you live, you may be able to choose one of these companies to supply your electricity plan:

Regulated utility companies

If you live in an area that's chosen to remain regulated, you won't be able to choose your electricity supplier. But, luckily, some regulated electric companies do offer solar buyback programs, including net metering:

Austin Energy Power Partner Battery

Customers of Austin Energy can receive a one-time upfront rebate of $500 for each battery installed, plus ongoing annual rebates, through the Energy Power Partner program. As of 2026, qualifying batteries include Enphase IQ; Franklin WH aPower X or aPower 2; Generac PWRCell 2 M2, M4, M5, M6; SolarEdge SE3000H-US, SE3800H-US, SE6000H-US, SE7600H-US, SE10000H-US, SE11400H-US; or Tesla Powerwall+, Powerwall 2, or Powerwall 3.

Joining the program means you grant Austin Energy 24/7 access to your battery’s stored energy, up to 40 times per year (excluding grid emergencies). The utility will let you know in advance and you can opt-out of any event, but doing so will affect your annual performance rebate. Speaking of, that’s a $75/kW payout you earn each year based on the maximum device size, backup reserve level, and average Power Partner event hours. For example, if your 13.5 kWh Tesla Powerwall has 20% reserve, you’re giving Austin Energy 10.8kWh of usable energy. With an average of 2.5 hours per peak event, you’d get a payout of $324 for that year based on the following calculations: 10.8 kWh / 2.5 = 4.3 kW, 4.3 kW x $75 = $324.

Oncor Residential Solar Program

Oncor’s Residential Solar Program allows homeowners to save on the installation of their solar-plus-storage system through incentives the utility pays to the service provider. To be clear, this means you won’t receive a rebate or other financial incentive directly. Rather, Oncor provides discounts to participating solar installers who then will pass those savings to you through lower installation costs. To qualify for this incentive, your system must be new, include energy storage (not eligible for solar-only), be 15 kW in size or smaller, and you must sign an Interconnection Agreement with Oncor. The program has recently gone through some changes, and as of 2026 Oncor does not publicly reveal how much eligible homeowners can save through.

GVEC Peak-Time Payback

GVEC members can enjoy initial and ongoing Peak-Time Payback rebates for each Enphase or Tesla Powerwall battery they install. To qualify, your battery must be one of the following: Enphase IQ Battery 3, Enphase IQ Battery 5, Enphase IQ Battery 10, Tesla Powerwall 2, or Tesla Powerwall 3.

Initial rebates vary by system type or battery brand, with calculations based on the installed kW of continuous rated output—not the kWh of storage—and capped at 23 kW. As of 2026, Enphase batteries receive a one-time upfront cash rebate of $220/kW while Tesla Powerwall batteries receive $515/kW upfront for the first eligible Powerwall; $220/kW upfront for each additional Powerwall. All eligible batteries also receive an ongoing $75/kW annually, prorated as a monthly bill credit. . As an example, if you install one Tesla Powerwall 3 rated at 11.5 kW, you’d receive an upfront rebate of $5,922.50, plus an annual rebate of $862.50, prorated as a $71.88 monthly bill credit.