The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) contains a list of all the solar power incentives. It is a great resource for those who want to find out in detail, which rebates and credits are available for a solar power install in a given state.
Although the DSIRE provides all the data, there is no easy way to compare how one state's incentives differs from another state's without tediously reading through each of the incentives and comparing the results. So we at Cooler Planet did the hard work for you. As a benchmark, we took a typical 3kW system ($27,000), and ran it through each of the state's rebates and incentives, estimated the electricity the system would offset in 5 years, and came up with an estimate of the net cost for a solar power system for each state. With this cost as well as factoring in property tax exemptions and available loans, we came up with a Cooler Planet Solar Rating score for each state.
This rating can be used to quickly analyze how the states compare. It is by no means a 100% accurate representation of the cost of a solar system in each state, but it provides an easy tool to relatively compare one state's solar incentives with another. Play with the map above to see how your state ranks amongst the rest of the nation! For a more customized estimate, use our Solar Power Incentive Map.
| State | Cost | Property Tax | State Loan | Local Loan | Total Points |
| Louisiana | 79 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 86 |
| Oregon | 69 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 74 |
| Connecticut | 62 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 71 |
| Massachusetts | 64 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 69 |
| New York | 62 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
| Hawaii | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 |
| North Carolina | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
| Wisconsin | 58 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 64 |
| Illinois | 56 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 61 |
| Minnesota | 54 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 59 |
| California | 49 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 55 |
| Delaware | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 |
| Florida | 53 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 54 |
| Vermont | 52 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 54 |
| Rhode Island | 47 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| Idaho | 49 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 |
| New Mexico | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 |
| Arizona | 39 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| Iowa | 33 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 40 |
| Maryland | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| North Dakota | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
| Colorado | 32 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 37 |
| Utah | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 |
| South Carolina | 33 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 36 |
| Texas | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| Montana | 24 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 31 |
| Washington | 22 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 31 |
| New Hampshire | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| New Jersey | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| Wyoming | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| Ohio | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Nevada | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Alaska | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Michigan | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Maine | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| South Dakota | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Kansas | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| District of Columbia | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Georgia | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 |
| Oklahoma | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Virginia | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Alabama | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Indiana | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Nebraska | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| Pennsylvania | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| Missouri | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Mississippi | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| Arkansas | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Kentucky | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Tennessee | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| West Virginia | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
* Source data from the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency