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Solar and batteries for homes and businesses

Rules checked October 7, 2026

Parcel & Grid started with landowners weighing utility-scale leases. This page covers the other two scales: rooftop or on-site systems for a home, and larger systems for a business, farm shop, or building. Every rule links to its source.

Jump to: Which scale? · Texas · Illinois · Arizona · Federal credits · Utility application links

Residential, commercial, or utility-scale?

Utility-by-utility application links for all three scales are on the utility links page.

Solar and batteries for Texas homes

• Selling extra power: Texas has no statewide net metering rule. Where you can choose your electricity provider, a customer with rooftop solar sells surplus power to the retail electric provider "at a value agreed to" between them, so buyback depends on the plan you pick (PURA 39.916(j); Oncor: thinking about solar). City utilities and electric co-ops set their own terms; for example, Austin Energy credits solar production at a Value of Solar rate of 12.89 cents per kWh (Austin Energy).
• Connecting: under the Public Utility Commission rule for utilities it regulates, a pre-certified system is to be interconnected within four weeks of a complete application (six weeks otherwise), and the utility may not charge a study fee for pre-certified systems up to 500 kW that meet the rule's screens (16 TAC 25.211; current text (Cornell LII)). The commission has been rewriting these rules (Project 54233; discussion draft). Your utility's application steps are on our utility links page.
• Solar salespeople must register: since September 1, 2026, people selling or leasing most residential solar systems must register with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The contract must name the electrical contractor and license number (or list the contractors one will be chosen from), and a buyer or lessee can cancel by the fifth business day after signing (TDLR announcement; TDLR program page; SB 1036 bill analysis; enrolled text).
• HOAs: a property owners' association generally may not prohibit or restrict solar devices, with listed exceptions (for example, panels above the roofline or frames not in silver, bronze, or black). It may choose where panels go on the roof unless another spot would raise estimated annual production by more than 10% (Property Code 202.010).
• Property tax: the added value from a solar or wind device built mainly for on-site use is exempt from property tax; apply to the appraisal district on Comptroller Form 50-123 (Tax Code 11.27; Comptroller exemptions page).
• Home batteries: ERCOT's pilot for aggregated home batteries and other distributed resources reported 249 MW of its 500 MW limit in August 2026 and described itself as "nearly fully subscribed under current participation caps" (ERCOT ADER pilot update).

Solar and batteries for Texas businesses

• Interconnection: the same commission rule covers on-site generation of 10 MW or less connected below 60 kV at utilities it regulates; larger or non-certified systems can be charged study fees set in the utility's tariff (16 TAC 25.211). Owners of facilities of 1 MW or more also register with the commission (PUCT distributed generation).
• Franchise tax: a business may deduct 10% of the amortized cost of a solar energy device from its apportioned margin, amortized over at least 60 months (Tax Code 171.107).
• Property tax: the on-site-use exemption above also applies to business property (Tax Code 11.27).
• Seller registration: TDLR's residential solar program does not cover systems on nonresidential property (what TDLR regulates).

Texas county pagesTexas utility application links

Solar and batteries for Illinois homes

• Net metering changed in 2025: customers who began net metering on or after January 1, 2025 get credits only against the per-kWh supply portion of the bill and pay delivery charges in full; customers connected before then keep full net metering for the life of the system unless they take the utility's generation rebate (220 ILCS 5/16-107.5(n); ComEd net metering FAQ; Ameren: customer-owned solar).
• Utility rebate: customers who would have qualified for net metering can receive a distributed generation rebate of $300 per kW until December 31, 2029 and $250 per kW after; the system must have a smart inverter installed and operating (220 ILCS 5/16-107.6). A customer with pre-2025 full net metering who takes this rebate loses that status (ComEd net metering FAQ).
• Home batteries: for customers eligible for net metering, a battery is compensated at a base $300 per kWh of capacity until a "threshold date" set by the 2026 energy law; other storage rebates are $250 per kWh (16-107.6). Ameren Illinois says that since June 1, 2026, battery rebate eligibility requires enrolling in a utility-managed virtual power plant program (Ameren DER bulletin 2026-04).
• Illinois Shines: the state program pays for the system's renewable energy credits (one per megawatt-hour), and only through an Approved Vendor; incentives are paid to the vendor, and "savings may be passed on to customers" (Illinois Shines FAQ; find an Approved Vendor). For systems up to 25 kW under 2026 contracts, 50% is paid at energization and the rest over six years (Small distributed generation).
• Sales rules: you must sign the program's disclosure form before the contract; vendors may not knock on doors before 9 a.m. or after 7 p.m., call the program a "tax credit" or "rebate," or advertise "free" or "$0" solar unless the customer will owe nothing at all (Consumer Protection Handbook 2026-27).
• Community solar and Solar for All: customers can subscribe to a community solar project in their own utility territory (Illinois Shines: community solar). Illinois Solar for All serves low-income households, defined by income that does not exceed 80% of area median income (20 ILCS 3855/1-56; IPA: Illinois Solar for All).
• Connecting: most home systems qualify for Level 1 review (export of 25 kW or less, nameplate 50 kW or less, inverter-based, certified equipment) with a $50 application fee (83 Ill. Adm. Code 466.80; Appendix A). To get net metering, the system must be installed by a state-certified installer or a certified self-installer (220 ILCS 5/16-128A).
• HOAs: an association may not prohibit solar; it must adopt a written energy policy within 90 days of a request, and placement rules may not cut production by more than 10%. Buildings over 60 feet tall and shared roofs are excluded (765 ILCS 165/15; 165/20; 165/45).
• Property tax: an owner can ask the chief county assessment officer for an alternate valuation that values the home as if it had a conventional system instead of solar, whichever is lower (35 ILCS 200/10-10).

Solar and batteries for Illinois businesses

• Bigger systems, more review: Level 2 applications cost $100 plus $1 per kVA, Level 3 $500 plus $2 per kVA, and Level 4 $1,000 plus $2 per kVA (83 Ill. Adm. Code 466, Appendix C).
• Illinois Shines pays by size: 2026-27 credit prices for distributed generation fall as projects get larger, from $70.37 to $80.77 per credit for systems up to 10 kW to $31.96 to $37.39 for 2 to 5 MW, depending on utility group (2026-27 REC prices).
• Net metering and rebate: the same post-2025 supply-only crediting and the per-kW rebate apply to non-residential customers who qualify (16-107.5; 16-107.6).
• 2026 energy law: the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (Public Act 104-0458) took effect June 1, 2026 and changed incentive and storage rules (Illinois Power Agency).

Illinois county pagesComEd (PJM)Ameren Illinois (MISO)

Solar and batteries for Arizona homes

What you are paid for extra solar depends on whether your utility is regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission (APS, Tucson Electric Power, UniSource Energy, and the co-ops) or is SRP, which sets its own prices.

• APS and TEP export rate: exported power is credited at a "Resource Comparison Proxy" rate, locked for 10 years from interconnection, that may not fall more than 10% a year for new customers. APS's rate for customers interconnecting September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2027 is $0.05554 per kWh (APS RCP rate schedule). TEP's rate from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 is $0.0462 per kWh (TEP).
• APS solar fee: the commission reaffirmed a grid access charge of about $2 to $3 a month for newer APS solar customers in December 2024 (ACC); in June 2026 the Arizona Court of Appeals overturned it and sent it back to the commission (KJZZ). Check APS for the current status.
• SRP: on its export price plans, SRP credits exported energy at a fixed price of 3.45 cents per kWh (SRP: compare solar plans). Its Customer Generation plan (E-27) has monthly demand charges (E-27 rate book); the newer E-28 plan is open to customers with on-site generation (E-28 rate book). SRP's existing residential solar plans stay open until the November 2029 billing cycle (SRP 2025 price decision).
• Connecting: the commission's interconnection rules give inverter systems of 20 kW or less a "Super Fast Track" review (A.A.C. R14-2-2601 to 2628). State law generally bars installing, energizing, or interconnecting a system before the utility approves the application; if the utility has not acted within 60 days, the system may be installed but not energized (A.R.S. 44-1764). Do not turn a system on until the utility issues permission to operate (APS process guide; TEP; SRP).
• HOAs: deed restrictions and HOA rules that effectively prohibit solar are void; an HOA may adopt reasonable placement rules that do not prevent installation or impair the system (A.R.S. 33-439; 33-1816). City solar permit fees may not exceed the city's actual cost of issuing the permit (A.R.S. 9-468).
• Taxes: qualifying solar devices "are considered to add no value" to the property for property tax (A.R.S. 42-11054); retail sales of solar energy devices are deducted from the state sales tax base when sold by a registered solar retailer (A.R.S. 42-5061); and a state income tax credit covers 25% of the cost, up to $1,000 (A.R.S. 43-1083). Leased systems and power purchase agreements do not qualify for the credit (ADOR Form 310 instructions).
• Contracts: a solar sale or lease agreement must include warranty and performance information in a form approved by the Registrar of Contractors (A.R.S. 44-1762), and buyers can cancel within at least three business days after signing (A.R.S. 44-1763). Complaints go to the Attorney General.

Solar and batteries for Arizona businesses

• Export rate: TEP applies the Resource Comparison Proxy to residential and small commercial customers (TEP).
• Co-ops: in December 2025 the commission approved Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative's plan to end net metering for non-residential customers, with existing customers grandfathered (ACC open meeting highlights).
• No state business credit: Arizona's commercial solar income tax credit covered only tax years through 2018 (A.R.S. 43-1085).
• Larger systems: the same commission rules set the review levels and timelines for larger systems at APS, TEP, and UniSource (Article 26); SRP has separate commercial interconnection requirements (see the utility links page).

Arizona county pagesArizona utility application links

Federal tax credits after the July 2025 law

• Homes: the 30% residential clean energy credit (section 25D) is not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025. The IRS treats an expenditure as made when installation is completed, so a system paid for in 2025 but finished in 2026 does not qualify (IRS FAQ on Public Law 119-21; IRS: residential clean energy credit).
• Businesses and third-party owners: for wind and solar facilities whose construction begins after July 4, 2026, the business credits (sections 48E and 45Y) end for facilities placed in service after December 31, 2027 (IRS Notice 2025-42; 26 U.S.C. 48E).
• Begin construction: construction begins when "physical work of a significant nature begins"; the older 5% cost safe harbor remains only for solar facilities of 1.5 MW or less (IRS Notice 2025-42).

Tax rules depend on your situation; ask a tax professional before relying on any credit.