The 50 States of Solar: States Revamp Net Metering Successors and Community Solar in Q1 2025
The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) released its Q1 2025 edition of The 50 States of Solar. The quarterly series provides insights on state regulatory and legislative discussions and actions on distributed solar policy, with a focus on net metering, distributed solar valuation, interconnection rules, community solar, residential fixed charges, residential demand and solar charges, and third-party ownership.
This quarter, the report introduces two new categories: interconnection rules and financial incentives. Interconnection focuses on interconnection guidelines, fees, and requirements for distributed generation systems, while financial Incentives focuses on solar incentives like rebate, grant, loan, and SREC programs, along with various tax credits, exemptions, and deductions.
The report finds that 47 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, took some type of distributed solar policy action during Q1 2025 (see figure below), with the greatest number of actions continuing to address net metering policies (55), community solar policies (35), and residential fixed charge or minimum bill increases (34). A total of 193 distributed solar policy actions were taken during Q1 2025, with the most actions taken in Virginia, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Michigan, and New Hampshire.
Q1 2025 Policy Action on Net Metering, Rate Design, and Solar Ownership
The report identifies three trends in solar policy activity taken in Q1 2025: (1) states considering iterative revisions to net metering policies, (2) states overhauling community solar programs, and (3) states expanding system size limits for non-residential net metered systems.
“Around one-third of states offer alternatives to traditional net metering, with additional states utilizing traditional net metering with significant revisions. Now, some of these states are investigating new major revisions – successors to their successors, so to speak,” observed Rebekah de la Mora, Senior Policy Analyst at NCCETC. “Some of these reviews were mandated through legislative authority, while others were brought forward by utility regulators, or even utilities themselves.”
The report notes the top five distributed solar policy actions of Q1 2025:
- Nevada Power and Sierra Power filing net metering successor tariffs with Nevada regulators;
- Rocky Mountain Power requesting approval for a new export credit rate in Idaho;
- Maryland regulators approving rules for a permanent community solar program;
- El Paso Electric in Texas proposing distributed generation customers shift from a minimum bill to a demand charge; and
- Illinois regulators releasing the final version of its Value of Distributed Energy Resources Report;
“This quarter, regulators around the country took action to implement iterations on community solar programs within their jurisdictions. Many of these iterations were driven by recently enacted legislation,” noted Vincent Potter, Project Manager at NCCETC. “Some programs are shifting from pilots to permanent programs, while others are moving towards program designs focused on low-income customer participation.”
View the 50 States of Solar Q1 2025 Quarterly Report Executive Summary
View and Purchase the 50 States of Solar Q1 2025 Quarterly Report
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