Solar Incentives & Financing in Indiana

Solar incentives

What type of solar incentives are available?

Several types of incentives can help you go solar in Indiana.

Indiana SRECs

Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) are financial products meant to represent the “green value” of the electricity your solar energy system produces. A credit is created for every 1,000 kWh (or 1 MWh) of electricity produced by the system, with a fluctuating value based on the market where the SREC is traded.

Indiana does not currently have its own SREC market because it does not have a mandatory renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that would create a state-based market. Instead, Indiana has a voluntary RPS program (known as the Comprehensive Hoosier Option to Incentivize Cleaner Energy, or CHOICE) aiming for 10% of electricity production from renewable sources by 2025. Because this program is voluntary and non-binding, utilities and electricity providers have little to no incentive to purchase SRECs from solar owners.

As a result, Hoosiers must trade their SRECs in other markets. Currently, SRECs produced by Indiana solar energy systems may be eligible to be traded in the Ohio SREC market.

Indiana-specific solar incentives

Solar energy systems installed in Indiana after December 31, 2011 are eligible for the Renewable Energy Property Tax Exemption, which allows Hoosiers to deduct the assessed value of the system from property taxes. You can find more detail about this exemption on the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance website or you can download the list of property tax deductions as a pdf (look for State Form 18865, which is the form that must be completed to claim the deduction).

Solar financing

Hoosier Hills Credit Union offers unsecured solar loans with terms up to 15 years.

Indiana PACE

Property Assessed Clean Energy is not available in Indiana at this time.