2026 incentives · Savannah, GA
Solar incentives in Savannah, GA
Savannah solar incentives start with Georgia Power: it pays about 7.22¢ per kWh (a 3.2188¢ avoided-cost rate plus a 4¢ adder) for exported power. After that comes the property-tax rules, since Georgia has no state solar tax credit.
The 30% federal credit ended on December 31, 2025, and Georgia has no state solar income-tax credit.
The short answer · as of August 2026
Savannah homeowners cannot claim a Georgia state tax credit, because Georgia does not offer one. What decides the economics here is the export credit your utility pays, alongside the HOA protections HB 389 introduced for rules made on or after 1 January 2026. Georgia Power credits exported power at about 7.22¢ per kWh (a 3.2188¢ avoided-cost rate plus a 4¢ adder) under RNR Instantaneous Netting. The 30% federal credit is no longer available.
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Local incentive reality
The incentive picture in Savannah
Savannah homeowners should start by discarding two things they will see on national pages. There is no Georgia state income tax credit for residential solar, and the federal residential credit expired for systems placed in service on or after 1 January 2026. Any Savannah proposal still applying 30 per cent federal is wrong by several thousand dollars, whatever else it gets right.
What remains is the export credit, and it is a utility matter rather than a tax one. Georgia Power credits exported power at roughly 7.22 cents per kilowatt-hour for 2026, made up of a 3.2188 cent avoided-cost rate and a 4 cent adder, against a retail rate near 13 cents. The avoided-cost half is reset annually, so it is a 2026 number rather than a twenty-five year assumption, and we say so rather than projecting it flat.
On the two questions people ask most: HB 389 stops an association prohibiting rooftop solar, but only for rules created, renewed or modified on or after 1 January 2026, so check when your covenant was last amended before relying on it. And we will not print a Georgia property-tax figure, because reputable sources contradict each other three ways. That one goes to the Department of Revenue and your county assessor.
Written for Savannah specifically.
Start here, it matters most
What Georgia Power pays you for solar in Savannah
In Savannah, Georgia Power's export terms are worth more over 25 years than any one-off credit: 14,010 kWh a year from a 9.5 kW system, every year.
| Item | Current position (August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Programme | RNR Instantaneous Netting |
| Retail rate you avoid | about 13¢ per kWh for power you use as you generate it |
| Export credit | about 7.22¢ per kWh (a 3.2188¢ avoided-cost rate plus a 4¢ adder) for power you send back |
| Monthly rider | None specific to this programme, though standard service charges still apply. |
| Upfront utility rebate | None. There is no residential cash-back programme in this territory. |
| Who confirms your territory | We do, at the assessment. In and around Savannah, Canoochee EMC serves parts of Chatham County outside the city, and terms differ. |
The practical consequence: the gap between the retail rate you avoid and the export credit decides whether a kilowatt-hour you export is worth as much as one you use yourself. We read both off your own bill and size to your consumption rather than to your roof area.
Rebates
Why Savannah has no utility rebate, and who does
There is no upfront residential solar rebate in Georgia Power territory around Savannah.
Quoted a rebate for Savannah? Check it on Georgia Power's own site first.
Statewide rules
The parts that are the same everywhere in Georgia
Statewide, the strongest remaining incentive is the export credit your utility pays.
Georgia solar incentives in full →
Eligibility depends on your circumstances and none of this is tax advice, so confirm with a tax professional. Property-tax treatment is administered locally, see Chatham County below.
Chatham County
Property tax on solar in Chatham County
Georgia property-tax treatment of solar is genuinely unsettled: reputable sources describe a $25,000 exemption, a full exemption and no statewide exemption. Confirm with the Georgia Department of Revenue and your county assessor rather than relying on any figure printed online.
Confirm your own position with Chatham County and a tax professional, since eligibility depends on your circumstances. We do not publish a tax figure for Chatham County that we cannot stand behind.
Adding it up
What a Savannah homeowner actually nets in 2026
With no Georgia credit and no Georgia Power rebate, a 9.5 kW system's net cost is its installed price, about $24,605; the value comes from the export terms above.
Businesses
Incentives for Savannah businesses
Commercial projects in Savannah follow different rules from homes, including federal commercial provisions that your CPA, not an installer, should confirm. Daytime business load on Georgia Power uses most solar output on site.
Permits and approvals
What approval takes in Savannah
6 approvals for a Savannah system. We file every one.
- 01A building permit and a separate electrical permit
- 02A Certificate of Appropriateness before the work, where any exterior change is visible from the public right of way inside a historic district. This is separate from, and additional to, the building permit
- 03A pre-application conference with Metropolitan Planning Commission staff where the petition goes to a board rather than to staff review
- 04Permits from the City of Savannah for addresses inside city limits, or from the Chatham County Office of Building Safety and Regulatory Services for unincorporated addresses, which does not accept applications by fax or email
- 05An additional electrical permit where battery storage is included
- 06Interconnection approval from Georgia Power, whose residential renewable programme caps systems at 10 kW AC
Local factors
What changes the net value of Savannah solar incentives
- 01
Shade in Savannah
The squares and the streets around them carry some of the heaviest mature live oak canopy of any city we work in, and it is protected. Out in West Chatham the newer subdivisions are substantially more open, which is a real difference in production between two addresses fifteen minutes apart.
- 02
Approvals that shape the layout
Savannah has two different historic review bodies and which one you face depends on your address. The Historic District Board of Review handles the Downtown Historic Overlay District; the Historic Preservation Commission handles the Victorian, Streetcar and Cuyler-Brownville districts. Any exterior change visible from the public right of way, lanes included, needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, and rooftop solar downtown is genuinely petitioned rather than waved through. A Certificate of Appropriateness is not a building permit, and a project inside the districts needs both.
- 03
When incentives will not rescue it
Protected live oak canopy shades your best roof planes for much of the day, which is common on and around the squares.
- 04
Also worth knowing
Your roof needs replacing within about five years.
Savannah sun, month by month
What Savannah solar incentives are worth on real output
About 14,010 kWh a year from a south-facing roof with no shade. May is the strongest month at about 1,337 kWh and December the weakest at about 903 kWh.
Your roof will differ. The squares and the streets around them carry some of the heaviest mature live oak canopy of any city we work in, and it is protected.
Estimate: NASA POWER sun data for Savannah, PVWatts model, south-facing, no shade.
Homes in Savannah
Who can claim Savannah solar incentives
- 26,019owner-occupied homes (44% of 58,632)
- 1971median year homes were built
- 55%of homes are single-family detached
- $225kmedian owner-occupied home value
- Half of Savannah homes are more than 55 years old, so the roof check matters here: a roof with under ten years left should be replaced before solar goes on, or at the same time.
- Only 55% of homes are single-family detached; in the other 45% the association or shared roof decides first.
- 26,019 Savannah households own their home, the ones who can install and claim the system as an asset.
- A 9.5 kW system at about $24,605 is roughly 11% of the median $225k Savannah home value.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates for Savannah city. Estimates, rounded.
Our work
Real systems our crews have installed
Our own job photos, not stock or renders. Coastal.
Off-GridOff-grid lake cabinGround-tilt metal roof array
ResidentialFull black-on-blackPoolside single-story home
CommercialCommercial rooftopTilt-mounted rooftop system
ResidentialStanding-seam metal roofLakeside multi-facet install
ResidentialDetached garage arrayFarmhouse-style home
ResidentialShingle rooftop arrayBackyard-facing slope
Photo locations are not published.
Free assessment · Savannah, GA
Get a straight answer for your Savannah roof
We read your bill, confirm your Georgia Power export terms, and tell you what your roof in Chatham County will actually carry, and say so if it will not pay.
- Most addresses here are on Georgia Power, but Canoochee EMC serves parts of Chatham County outside the city. We confirm yours from your bill before we quote anything
- A building permit and a separate electrical permit: we pull it and manage the inspections
- Savannah has two different historic review bodies and which one you face depends on your address.
Prefer to talk? (843) 310-1128
Savannah incentives FAQ
Common questions about solar incentives in Savannah
What solar incentives can I get in Savannah, GA in 2026?
Georgia has no state income tax credit for residential solar, and the federal residential credit expired for systems placed in service on or after 1 January 2026. Georgia property-tax treatment of solar is genuinely unsettled: reputable sources describe a $25,000 exemption, a full exemption and no statewide exemption. Confirm with the Georgia Department of Revenue and your county assessor rather than relying on any figure printed online. Georgia sales-tax treatment of solar equipment is not settled in the sources we can verify; confirm with the Georgia Department of Revenue. The 30% federal credit expired for systems placed in service on or after January 1, 2026.
Does Savannah still have net metering?
One-for-one netting is not available to new Georgia Power systems: its monthly netting pilot was capped at 5,000 customers and filled in 2021, so exports are credited at about 7.22¢ per kWh (a 3.2188¢ avoided-cost rate plus a 4¢ adder). Confirm current terms with Georgia Power before deciding.
Is there a Georgia state tax credit for solar?
There is nothing to claim. Georgia has no state income tax credit for residential solar, and the federal residential credit expired for systems placed in service on or after 1 January 2026. The number that decides a Georgia system is what your utility pays for exported power, which for a Georgia Power customer is roughly 7.2 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2026 against a retail rate near 13 cents. Confirm your own tax position with a professional.
Is there a Georgia Power rebate for solar in Savannah?
No. Georgia Power does not offer an upfront residential solar rebate, so there is no cash-back programme to stack here. Rebates in Georgia are set by individual providers rather than statewide, so the answer genuinely depends on which utility serves your meter.
Will solar panels increase my property taxes in Savannah?
Georgia property-tax treatment of solar is genuinely unsettled: reputable sources describe a $25,000 exemption, a full exemption and no statewide exemption. Confirm with the Georgia Department of Revenue and your county assessor rather than relying on any figure printed online. Confirm your own position with Chatham County and a tax professional, since eligibility depends on your circumstances.
What Savannah solar incentives can a homeowner claim in 2026?
There is no Georgia solar tax credit. What applies is the Chatham County property-tax treatment covered below. Georgia Power runs no upfront residential rebate.
Do Savannah solar incentives include net metering?
One-for-one netting is not available to new Georgia Power systems: its monthly netting pilot was capped at 5,000 customers and filled in 2021, so exports are credited at about 7.22¢ per kWh (a 3.2188¢ avoided-cost rate plus a 4¢ adder). Georgia Power households paid about 15.5¢ per kWh on average in 2024.
Do Savannah solar incentives cover batteries?
Georgia has no state credit for batteries either. In Savannah, a 9.5 kW system's afternoon surplus (up to about 1,337 kWh in its best month) is what a battery would hold.
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