There can be solar tax credits and incentives available at the federal, state and local levels. The calculator above will show you the value of all incentives your home is eligible for.
Despite an executive order from new governor Tony Evers directing the state to pursue 100% carbon-free energy by 2050, both houses of state government need to act to make sure that action is codified into law and compels utility companies to comply.
Based on the level of utility industry schmoozy-ness with the more conservative majority in both state houses, it's going to be a tough uphill battle for a cleaner energy future here with expanded solar incentives.
The one good thing going in Wisconsin for home solar is a small rebate on your solar panel purchase. Read on to learn all you need to know about investing in solar for your home in Wisconsin.
Learn what solar incentives are available to Wisconsin homeowners
See what Wisconsin solar incentives you qualify for based on your utility company and city
Find out how much these incentives and/or Wisconsin solar tax credits will reduce your cost to go solar and add batteries
The federal solar investment tax credit will have the biggest impact on the cost you will face to go solar in Wisconsin
If you install your photovoltaic system before 2032, the federal tax credit is 30% of the cost of your solar panel system. This is 30% off the entire cost of the system including equipment, labor and permitting.
Example: If your solar energy system costs $20,000, your federal solar tax credit would be $20,000 x 30% = $6,000.
The federal tax credit falls to 26% at the end of 2032.
With net metering in some states, you get full retail rate credit for the amount of electricity you send back into the grid with your solar panels.
Net metering requires your utility to monitor how much energy your solar power system produces and how much energy you actually consume. If you produce a surplus, you get credit for it on your bill.
Net metering in Wisconsin is a bit scattered, but generally strong for residential customers. All investor-owned and municipal utilities are required to offer a net metering program, but electric cooperatives are exempt from the requirement.
So, most utilities offer net metering, but there is a bit of variation among how the programs are implemented. Generally, all surplus kWh are credited at your retail electric rate, and applied to the next bill. If credit exceeds $25, the utility must cut you a check for the amount.
One way or another, you’re getting credit for all that extra energy at a pretty decent rate per kWh. For a residential solar power system like yours, net metering is pretty solid here.
Focus on Energy provides $500 to offset the cost of installing your solar energy system in Wisconsin. While that’s not as huge a chunk as the $50,000 Wisconsin businesses can now get for going solar, it still helps. For eligibility and funding information check out their website.
There are also a few municipalities that also offer their own solar rebates:
Fortunately there are tax exemptions to help bring down the cost of your solar power system. You’re exempt from 100% of the property taxes normally associated with the big increase in home value you’re going to get from installing a solar power system.
Also, with Wisconsin’s sales tax exemption for solar systems, you save 5-5.6% right off the bat.
Showing data for:
Prices based on a 10.4kW system, after 30% federal tax credit
33 solar companies in Wisconsin provide pricing on SolarReviews. Here are the best rated companies near you.
4.84 408 Reviews
Bojack, 5 days ago
They have years of experience and know to to navigate the process to most efficiently get a new system installed at a reasonable price. Thank you!
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Bojack, 5 days ago
They have years of experience and know to to navigate the process to most efficiently get a new system installed at a reasonable price. Thank you!
4.75 117 Reviews
Kate C, 3 days ago
Normally we pay $150/mo for coal-generated electricity from ComEd in the summer months because of air conditioning. Now, our panels are making all the electrical power, carbon-free, for us and the extra is stored with ComEd through the net metering program. We are storing away sunshine for cloudy days! If ComEd power goes out, our solar panels will continue to give us electricity! Our panels give us the energy first and any extra goes to ComEd for storage that will be given back to us when our electricity demand exceeds what the panels can give us. Our summer ComEd bill is $30 now. ALL THIS BECAUSE OF CERTASUN! We have been wanting solar panels for years for one reason: to help be a part of the solution to stop emitting carbon. Solar panels were always so expensive in the past. But, now with state and federal incentives, solar panels are 1/2 price. This past January, 2022, I looked at the Illinois Shines website and saw lots of vendor choices for solar panels. We called several vendors but weren't ready to commit to them. Frankly, it was overwhelming. I was nervous that vendors would stand behind their product. Luckily, my husband heard an ad for CertaSun on NPR and I gave them a try. I was not disappointed. Bill Wayne, Senior Solar Consultant, was excellent. He spent all the time that we needed to answer our questions and he gave an excellent presentation. Way better than any of the solar presentations I had heard previously. We pestered him with lots of emails and phone calls and he responded every time and was patient and extremely informed on the solar landscape including state, federal, and local regulations and incentives. If it weren't for Bill Wayne, I don't know if we would have solar yet! Certasun staff kept their promises, sent us the paperwork, and followed through in the time period promised. And as promised, It took 3 months from the initial contact to installation. Staff were knowledgeable, professional and really easy to talk to. Neighbors, and people driving through the neighborhood, including the skeptical ones, are constantly asking us about the panels and admiring how they look. I don't know how many times I have heard "I think we are going to look into it too!" My next door neighbor is very particular on how things look and she always reminds us how pretty the solar panels look on our roof. Not to mention, the value of our house increased by 4%...we checked Zillow. This investment is a win-win. We win with low energy bills and zero carbon emissions and our neighbors and surrounding community wins because of increased homeowner value. I highly recommend CertaSun. Great company. Love the Sun Power app that tracks our energy usage and the power from the sun. Sun always wins! For example, our 1 month home usage is 610 kWh. The solar panels are generating 774.4 kWh = 127%. The extra energy is being sent to the grid and is being stored by ComEd for us when days are cloudy or at night. The savings for September is $58.37 = 62 gallons of gas. Impressive. Oh! And CertaSun guarantees production! For us, they guarantee annual 112%.
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Kate C, 3 days ago
Normally we pay $150/mo for coal-generated electricity from ComEd in the summer months because of air conditioning. Now, our panels are making all the electrical power, carbon-free, for us and the extra is stored with ComEd through the net metering program. We are storing away sunshine for cloudy days! If ComEd power goes out, our solar panels will continue to give us electricity! Our panels give us the energy first and any extra goes to ComEd for storage that will be given back to us when our electricity demand exceeds what the panels can give us. Our summer ComEd bill is $30 now. ALL THIS BECAUSE OF CERTASUN! We have been wanting solar panels for years for one reason: to help be a part of the solution to stop emitting carbon. Solar panels were always so expensive in the past. But, now with state and federal incentives, solar panels are 1/2 price. This past January, 2022, I looked at the Illinois Shines website and saw lots of vendor choices for solar panels. We called several vendors but weren't ready to commit to them. Frankly, it was overwhelming. I was nervous that vendors would stand behind their product. Luckily, my husband heard an ad for CertaSun on NPR and I gave them a try. I was not disappointed. Bill Wayne, Senior Solar Consultant, was excellent. He spent all the time that we needed to answer our questions and he gave an excellent presentation. Way better than any of the solar presentations I had heard previously. We pestered him with lots of emails and phone calls and he responded every time and was patient and extremely informed on the solar landscape including state, federal, and local regulations and incentives. If it weren't for Bill Wayne, I don't know if we would have solar yet! Certasun staff kept their promises, sent us the paperwork, and followed through in the time period promised. And as promised, It took 3 months from the initial contact to installation. Staff were knowledgeable, professional and really easy to talk to. Neighbors, and people driving through the neighborhood, including the skeptical ones, are constantly asking us about the panels and admiring how they look. I don't know how many times I have heard "I think we are going to look into it too!" My next door neighbor is very particular on how things look and she always reminds us how pretty the solar panels look on our roof. Not to mention, the value of our house increased by 4%...we checked Zillow. This investment is a win-win. We win with low energy bills and zero carbon emissions and our neighbors and surrounding community wins because of increased homeowner value. I highly recommend CertaSun. Great company. Love the Sun Power app that tracks our energy usage and the power from the sun. Sun always wins! For example, our 1 month home usage is 610 kWh. The solar panels are generating 774.4 kWh = 127%. The extra energy is being sent to the grid and is being stored by ComEd for us when days are cloudy or at night. The savings for September is $58.37 = 62 gallons of gas. Impressive. Oh! And CertaSun guarantees production! For us, they guarantee annual 112%.
4.68 246 Reviews
Kim Kaptain, 6 days ago
This last spring (Mar2022) I began investigating Solar for our country home in the Hartford, WI area. As a retired engineer I really wanted to learn all I could before making a decision on not only whether I really thought a solar investment made sense but also who should I use to install it? Most of my research was just reading a lot of different reviews from various websites, determining whether the reviews were really unbiased or just an Ad, and then began contacting multiple Solar Companies and eventually listening to at least 4 different Solar company presentations. Sun Badger was one of the companies I contacted and worked a lot with Dustin (Salesman) with lots of back and forth phone calls with questions and answers over at least a few weeks. I did the same with other Solar companies as well but was impressed with not only how quickly Dustin responded but also in his honesty and “technical excellence” of his answers as I often searched the internet to verify what he was telling me. I am very happy with my choice of Sun Badger. My installation was completed this last August 2022 and went very much as expected. I believe with Dustin’s help we sized it right. I just recently received my first invoice from We Energies. Instead of a normal bill around $250 for KWh used, it was for $12.87.
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Kim Kaptain, 6 days ago
This last spring (Mar2022) I began investigating Solar for our country home in the Hartford, WI area. As a retired engineer I really wanted to learn all I could before making a decision on not only whether I really thought a solar investment made sense but also who should I use to install it? Most of my research was just reading a lot of different reviews from various websites, determining whether the reviews were really unbiased or just an Ad, and then began contacting multiple Solar Companies and eventually listening to at least 4 different Solar company presentations. Sun Badger was one of the companies I contacted and worked a lot with Dustin (Salesman) with lots of back and forth phone calls with questions and answers over at least a few weeks. I did the same with other Solar companies as well but was impressed with not only how quickly Dustin responded but also in his honesty and “technical excellence” of his answers as I often searched the internet to verify what he was telling me. I am very happy with my choice of Sun Badger. My installation was completed this last August 2022 and went very much as expected. I believe with Dustin’s help we sized it right. I just recently received my first invoice from We Energies. Instead of a normal bill around $250 for KWh used, it was for $12.87.
4.63 31 Reviews
Marie N, over 1 month
We picked Arch to install our solar after shopping around quite a bit. We choose them because they (Stanley specifically) answered my many questions with detail, patience, and was very knowledgeable. There was no pressure like with other companies we got quotes from. Crew was efficient and courteous during installation. There was a small problem with our internet setup connecting with the monitoring system when it was turned on but they came out quickly & had it resolved soon.
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Marie N, over 1 month
We picked Arch to install our solar after shopping around quite a bit. We choose them because they (Stanley specifically) answered my many questions with detail, patience, and was very knowledgeable. There was no pressure like with other companies we got quotes from. Crew was efficient and courteous during installation. There was a small problem with our internet setup connecting with the monitoring system when it was turned on but they came out quickly & had it resolved soon.
4.60 68 Reviews
Ron and Michele, over 1 month
We are extremely impressed with Energy Concepts. They designed and installed a residential solar system that has been functioning perfectly. The system (now in operation for a full year) has exceeded all expectations. Throughout the design and installation process Energy Concepts was consistently professional and they have remained responsive to any questions well after installation. Russel and Claudia represent what we all want from a business, honest and hardworking people who strive for excellence. We thank Energy Concepts for a great experience and give them our highest possible recommendation.
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Ron and Michele, over 1 month
We are extremely impressed with Energy Concepts. They designed and installed a residential solar system that has been functioning perfectly. The system (now in operation for a full year) has exceeded all expectations. Throughout the design and installation process Energy Concepts was consistently professional and they have remained responsive to any questions well after installation. Russel and Claudia represent what we all want from a business, honest and hardworking people who strive for excellence. We thank Energy Concepts for a great experience and give them our highest possible recommendation.
4.53 15 Reviews
Tom Chambers, over 1 month
Very professional. Owner is an expert in this field, and very willing to provide education to staff and students.<br />
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Tom Chambers, over 1 month
Very professional. Owner is an expert in this field, and very willing to provide education to staff and students.<br />
4.50 11 Reviews
Anonymous, over 1 month
If I could give more than 5 stars I would. These guys were so patient with us. It took us several years before we were ready to commit to such a large expenditure. They told us what they thought would work, not just what we wanted to hear. They installed the system in early December of 2013, during an early, frigid, snowy time. Everything was just what they said it would be. We are now making more electricity than we use! (Or should I say, the sun is making the energy, all we do is smile when we see the sun shining!
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Anonymous, over 1 month
If I could give more than 5 stars I would. These guys were so patient with us. It took us several years before we were ready to commit to such a large expenditure. They told us what they thought would work, not just what we wanted to hear. They installed the system in early December of 2013, during an early, frigid, snowy time. Everything was just what they said it would be. We are now making more electricity than we use! (Or should I say, the sun is making the energy, all we do is smile when we see the sun shining!
4.46 16 Reviews
M.T. Mondovi, WI, over 1 month
Winona's quote proved the best value of three different quotes I received. They were professional and timely throughout the whole process. I found them to be honest and straightforward. I appreciated the staff's willingness to explain various details before, during and after installation. All members of the team gave the same professional courtesy and personal touch, which I felt confirmed a company with a great culture of service. I would not hesitate to recommend Winona Renewable Energy, in fact I would encourage anyone interested in solar to go with Winona Renewable!
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Average cost (5kW system)
$19,050 ($3.81 per watt)
M.T. Mondovi, WI, over 1 month
Winona's quote proved the best value of three different quotes I received. They were professional and timely throughout the whole process. I found them to be honest and straightforward. I appreciated the staff's willingness to explain various details before, during and after installation. All members of the team gave the same professional courtesy and personal touch, which I felt confirmed a company with a great culture of service. I would not hesitate to recommend Winona Renewable Energy, in fact I would encourage anyone interested in solar to go with Winona Renewable!
4.45 57 Reviews
Halsted, over 1 month
Working with Everlight Solar was a great experience! Especially, working with Graham Gunderson. I felt he understood what we wanted to accomplish with adding solar panels to our home and he tailored the project to our needs. There was great communication throughout the process which was important for us. I highly recommend this company and I have referred them to several friends and family!
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Halsted, over 1 month
Working with Everlight Solar was a great experience! Especially, working with Graham Gunderson. I felt he understood what we wanted to accomplish with adding solar panels to our home and he tailored the project to our needs. There was great communication throughout the process which was important for us. I highly recommend this company and I have referred them to several friends and family!
4.44 15 Reviews
Michael O., over 1 month
I was at first a bit nervous going with Northstar due to how much smaller and newer they were compared to some of the much larger Solar guys that are out there. However they know their stuff, I and am overall glad that I chose to go with them. Explanation of the upfront quote and options was way more detailed (in a good way) than other suppliers. Pricing is also competitive. We ran into a few minor road bumps along the way, but Frank (the owner) ultimately listened to our concerns and made things right. Our system has been up and running for 6+ months and is working great. Good, legitimate small-business company that is local.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$22,250 ($4.45 per watt)
Michael O., over 1 month
I was at first a bit nervous going with Northstar due to how much smaller and newer they were compared to some of the much larger Solar guys that are out there. However they know their stuff, I and am overall glad that I chose to go with them. Explanation of the upfront quote and options was way more detailed (in a good way) than other suppliers. Pricing is also competitive. We ran into a few minor road bumps along the way, but Frank (the owner) ultimately listened to our concerns and made things right. Our system has been up and running for 6+ months and is working great. Good, legitimate small-business company that is local.
Milwaukee Shines Solar Financing - Provides loans up to $20,000 with low interest rate terms up to 15 years.