2026 incentives · Savannah, GA
Solar incentives in Savannah, GA
Two things changed for Savannah in 2026: the 30% federal credit ended on December 31, 2025, and Georgia Power moved new solar customers onto RNR Instantaneous Netting. Here is what is actually left, and what it is worth on a real roof.
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.
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. Your own roof, bill and meter still decide the answer, which is what the free assessment settles.
Start here, it matters most
What Georgia Power pays you for solar in Savannah
People search for incentives and mean tax credits. In Savannah the bigger lever is what your utility credits you for the power you send back, because that applies every month for 25 years rather than once at tax time.
| Item | Current position (August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Programme | RNR Instantaneous Netting, which replaced one-for-one net metering for new residential systems from January 1, 2026 |
| 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, on a time-of-use basis |
| Monthly rider | None specific to this programme, though standard service charges still apply. |
| Annual true-up | Leftover credits settle each November at an avoided-cost rate |
| 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: a kilowatt-hour you use yourself is worth roughly three to five times a kilowatt-hour you export. That is why we size to your consumption rather than to your roof area, and why load shifting or storage now matters more in Savannah than it did two years ago.
Rebates
Why Savannah has no utility rebate, and who does
There is no upfront residential solar rebate in Georgia Power territory. We say that plainly because it is one of the most common false expectations we meet, usually set by a national page that lists every programme in the state without saying which utility each one belongs to.
For context, and so you can check anything you have been told: Santee Cooper, which serves much of the Grand Strand, runs a per-kW rebate of $950 up to $5,700, requiring a NABCEP-certified crew and Trade Ally participation, with a 6 kW-AC lifetime cap per meter and an annual funding waitlist. Duke Energy has run PowerPair for solar plus battery, but its Progress territory closed to new applications in late 2025 and Carolinas has been at or near capacity, so it should not be counted on without checking your address.
None of those apply in Savannah. If a salesperson has quoted you a utility rebate here, ask which programme and which utility, and check it against the utility's own page before you sign anything.
Statewide rules
The parts that are the same everywhere in Georgia
Less applies statewide in Georgia than most incentive pages imply. There is no state income tax credit and the 30% federal credit expired for systems placed in service on or after 1 January 2026. HB 389 prevents an association prohibiting rooftop solar or charging permit fees for it, but only for association rules created, renewed or modified on or after 1 January 2026, so an older covenant may not be covered. Property-tax treatment is genuinely unsettled in the sources we can verify, and we would rather send you to the Georgia Department of Revenue and your county assessor than print a figure that may be wrong.
The cap is the part that catches people out. Because you can only claim $3,500 a year, a system whose 25% credit is $6,000 arrives across two tax returns rather than as one payment, and low state tax liability stretches it further still.
Full mechanics, worked examples and the utility-by-utility comparison →
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
What the exemption is worth in Chatham County
An eligible rooftop system of 20 kW or less should not increase your assessed value in Chatham County, so you are not paying annually for an improvement that is reducing your power bill.
The exemption's cash value scales with local millage, so it is worth more in higher-millage jurisdictions. We do not publish a millage figure for Chatham County without an auditor-current schedule on file, because a wrong number here is worse than no number. Your assessment walks through how the exemption works for your parcel instead.
The 20 kW threshold matters if you are considering a large system in Savannah. Sizing past it can cost you the exemption entirely, which is another reason right-sizing beats maximising, and another reason Georgia Power's export rate of about 7.22¢ per kWh (a 3.2188¢ avoided-cost rate plus a 4¢ adder) should shape the design.
Adding it up
What a Savannah homeowner actually nets in 2026
An illustrative stack on a 9.5 kW system at the local benchmark. An example to show the shape of it, not a quote and not a promise.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| 9.5 kW system at $2.59 per watt | $24,605 |
| State sales tax | Confirm with your state revenue department |
| Federal credit | $0, expired for 2026 installs |
| Georgia Power rebate | $0, no programme in this territory |
| Georgia state credit | $0, Georgia has no solar income tax credit |
| Net cost | about $24,605 |
| Annual property tax added | Unsettled; confirm with the GA Dept. of Revenue and your county assessor |
For what that net figure means as a payback period, and why the answer depends far more on when you use power than on which panels you buy, see solar panel cost in Savannah.
Businesses
Incentives for Savannah businesses
Commercial solar is treated differently from residential. Federal commercial provisions and depreciation treatment may still apply where the residential credit does not, and the structuring genuinely matters.
We are installers, not tax advisers, so we will not model your commercial position for you. What we will do is scope and build the system, document it properly for your accountant, and route the tax questions to your CPA rather than guess at them.
Commercial solar in Savannah · how we approach commercial projects
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?
Not in the original form. One-for-one net metering closed to new applicants in Georgia before the current programme took over, and new customers are enrolled in RNR Instantaneous Netting instead. Under that programme exported power is credited at about 7.22¢ per kWh (a 3.2188¢ avoided-cost rate plus a 4¢ adder) rather than at the about 13¢ per kWh retail rate, and settled against your usage over the year.
How do I claim no Georgia state tax credit?
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.
Are there solar incentives for Savannah businesses?
Commercial solar is treated differently from residential and federal commercial provisions such as 48E and depreciation may still apply. We do not give tax advice on commercial structuring, and we will route those questions to your CPA rather than guess. See our commercial solar page for how we scope the work itself.
Free, no-pressure assessment
See which incentives you actually qualify for in Savannah
We will confirm your utility and territory, size a system to your real usage, and show you what the state credit is worth in your tax position, with no guaranteed-savings math.
Mon–Sat, 10am–6:30pm ET · We typically follow up within the hour.