Calculator / States / New Jersey
Solar panel cost and payback in New Jersey
Measured production, your actual utility's filed rates, and honest payback maths with no federal tax credit applied - because for a home bought today there is not one.
The Residential Clean Energy Credit was terminated for home purchases after 2025-12-31, so the $29,300 above is what a New Jersey household actually pays - not a headline price with a rebate quietly subtracted. A quote that still shows the credit is overstating your return by about that amount, which on these numbers is roughly 5 years of savings.
What solar costs in New Jersey at different bills
Worked at 1338.5 kWh per kW per year and $0.1488 per kWh, the midpoints across the 2 metros below, at $2.93 per watt installed.
| Monthly bill | System | Cost | Year-1 saving | Payback | 25-year net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $120 | 7.2 kW | $21,184 | $1,223 | 14.8 yrs | +$19,475 |
| $200 | 10.0 kWroof limit; covers 83% | $29,300 | $1,692 | 14.8 yrs | +$26,936 |
| $300 | 10.0 kWroof limit; covers 55% | $29,300 | $1,692 | 14.8 yrs | +$26,936 |
Exported surplus is valued at zero throughout, so these are floors rather than best cases. Where fully covering the bill would need more panels than a roof holds, the row shows the largest system that actually fits and the share of your usage it covers - not the lifetime return on an array nobody can build. Your own bill and roof will move them - run your address.
Sunlight and rates by New Jersey metro
Straight from NREL PVWatts and the utility rate database, by named utility. This is why one statewide figure does not work.
| Metro | Utility | Production | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newark | Public Service Electric & Gas Co | 1,301 kWh/kW | $0.1488 |
| Cherry Hill | Public Service Electric & Gas Co | 1,376 kWh/kW | $0.1488 |
What New Jersey pays you for surplus power
Net metering plus a production payment
New Jersey pairs retail net metering with a fixed incentive paid per megawatt-hour generated, guaranteed for 15 years. It is among the strongest packages in the country.
Under the Successor Solar Incentive programme, residential systems earn an Administratively Determined Incentive: one NJ SREC-II for every megawatt-hour produced, at a fixed value held for 15 years, on top of net metering credits. Because that payment is per unit generated rather than per unit exported, it pays regardless of whether you use the power or send it to the grid. New Jersey gets noticeably less sun than the southwest, and this is the reason solar is common there anyway.
Checked 2026-08-21 against New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, ADI programme. Export rules are being rewritten across the country, so verify before you sign. Current incentive detail for New Jersey is maintained at DSIRE, which we link to rather than copy precisely because it changes.
Is solar worth it in New Jersey?
Worth doing, with realistic expectations. A roof can carry enough for 83% of what a $200-a-month household in New Jersey uses, not the lot. Covering it entirely would take 12.1 kW of panels, which is more roof than most houses have. The 10.0 kW that does fit costs $29,300 and returns about $26,936 over 25 years, paying for itself in roughly 14.8 years. A smaller bill would be covered proportionally better, so this is a case where efficiency work pays twice.
Your own bill and roof move this more than the state average does, and New Jersey households vary widely on both. Run your ZIP code through the calculator for numbers worked from your own utility rather than a New Jersey midpoint. It asks for no email address and nobody will call you.
New Jersey solar questions
How does the SREC-II payment work?
You earn one NJ SREC-II for every megawatt-hour your system generates, at a fixed value guaranteed for 15 years, on top of net metering credits. Crucially it is paid on what you generate, not on what you export, so it pays whether you use the power yourself or send it to the grid. That is unusually generous and is why solar is common in a state with fairly modest sunshine.
Is New Jersey worth it with this little sun?
Yes, and it is a good illustration that sunshine is not the deciding factor. New Jersey receives noticeably less sun than the southwest, but combines expensive electricity, retail net metering and a guaranteed 15-year production payment. Our estimate excludes the SREC-II income entirely, so a real New Jersey return should beat what this page shows.
Does the incentive last as long as the panels?
No. The administratively determined incentive is guaranteed for 15 years, while panels are typically modelled over 25. Years 16 to 25 rely on net metering savings alone. Any New Jersey projection that extends the incentive across the full life of the system is overstating the return.