VT · Solar

Solar quotes in Burlington, VT.

One real quote from a vetted local Burlington installer, sized to your roof, your bill, and every federal + state rebate you qualify for.

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One vetted local Burlington installer
Rebates checked for your exact address
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7 kW
Average system size: $3.10/W
Average cost (USD): 11 yrs
Average payback: 40+
Local installers

Why solar in Burlington

Burlington is served by its own municipal electric utility rather than by Green Mountain Power, and that matters for a solar quote in a straightforward way. Vermont net metering under Public Utility Commission Rule 5.100 requires each electric distribution utility to file its own tariff, calculated from its own blended residential rate. So the compensation figures quoted for Green Mountain Power are not automatically the figures for a Burlington address.

Each utility files its own tariff

Rule 5.100 sets the structure: a blended residential rate modified by a REC adjustor and a siting adjustor. It does not set a single statewide compensation number.

Each electric distribution utility calculates its own blended residential rate and files its own tariff. In the 2026 biennial update, utilities were directed to file no later than June 15, 2026, with tariffs taking effect August 1, 2026.

Burlington Electric Department is a municipal utility filing under that rule alongside Green Mountain Power and the cooperatives, so the structure is shared but the numbers are its own.

Ask your utility directly what its current blended residential rate is and what adjustor values apply, and check that the projection used those rather than a statewide or Green Mountain Power figure.

The REC question, which applies wherever you are

The REC adjustor is part of the Rule 5.100 structure and therefore applies across Vermont utilities. If you keep the Renewable Energy Credits your system generates, the adjustor is minus 3 cents per kWh as of 2026.

That is worth thinking about in Burlington specifically, because the city has a strong public identity around renewable electricity, and homeowners here are more likely than most to care about being able to say their own generation is genuinely theirs.

Keeping your RECs is what lets you make that claim accurately. Transferring them to the utility means three cents more per kilowatt hour and means the environmental attribute belongs to the utility instead.

Neither answer is wrong. But it is a decision with a price on it, and it should be made deliberately rather than settled by default in the paperwork.

What to confirm before signing

Ask which blended residential rate the projection used, from which utility and which tariff filing, and whether it reflects the tariffs effective August 1, 2026.

Ask which REC treatment the paperwork specifies, and confirm it is the one you chose rather than a default.

Ask which siting category your installation falls into and what adjustor value applies, stated separately rather than folded into a single compensation figure.

Ask whether the terms are fixed for a period once you enrol, and get that answer from the utility rather than from a sales conversation, since the Commission has reduced adjustor values over successive biennial reviews.

What belongs in a Vermont projection

The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D expired for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a cash or loan purchase in Burlington receives no federal tax credit.

Section 48E survives at 30 percent for third-party owners under leases and power purchase agreements, so ask what a provider claims and what reaches you in the rate.

What exists is net metering compensation built from your own utility blended residential rate, modified by the REC and siting adjustors under Rule 5.100.

Ask for each of those three components shown separately in the projection, with your utility named and the tariff date stated.

Incentives & rebates

Net metering: Rule 5.100: blended residential rate plus REC and siting adjustors

Vermont net metering under Public Utility Commission Rule 5.100 is more explicitly constructed than most, which is useful because it means every component can be questioned separately. Compensation begins from a blended residential rate, calculated by each utility and reviewed through a biennial process. In the 2026 biennial update the Department provided worksheets recommending a statewide blended residential rate of $0.2071 per kWh, an increase of $0.0231 per kWh, and the Commission directed electric distribution utilities to file tariffs no later than June 15, 2026 to take effect on August 1, 2026. Two adjustors then modify that base. The siting adjustor reflects where and how the system is sited. The REC adjustor reflects what happens to the Renewable Energy Credits your system generates: if you keep them, the adjustor is minus 3 cents per kWh as of 2026, and if you transfer them to the utility you avoid that reduction. That is a genuine decision with a price on it, and it is one most states never put to a homeowner at all. Keeping your RECs means you can accurately say your household runs on renewable energy you generated; transferring them means three cents more per kilowatt hour. The Commission has steadily reduced the adjustor values over successive biennial reviews, so the terms a system receives depend on when it enrols, and a long projection should state what it assumes about that. Vermont is served by Green Mountain Power alongside municipal utilities and cooperatives, each filing its own tariff, so confirm the figures that apply at your address.

Related Vermont resources

Vermont solar incentives & rebates Full breakdown of federal, provincial, and utility programs.

How payback works in Vermont

System cost: $21,700
Estimated net cost: $21,700
Estimated payback: ~13.4 years
25-year net savings: ~$18,800

These figures are illustrative; your actual quote reflects your roof, sun exposure, and local utility rates.

Frequently asked questions

Does Green Mountain Power net metering apply in Burlington?

Not directly. Burlington is served by its own municipal electric utility, and Rule 5.100 requires each electric distribution utility to file its own tariff calculated from its own blended residential rate. The structure is shared; the numbers are not.

What is the REC adjustor?

A price on whether you keep the Renewable Energy Credits your system generates. If you keep them, the adjustor is minus 3 cents per kWh as of 2026. If you transfer them to the utility, you avoid that reduction.

Should I keep my RECs?

It depends what you want. Keeping them is what lets you accurately say your household runs on renewable energy you generated. Transferring them means three cents more per kilowatt hour. Make it a deliberate decision rather than a default in the paperwork.

What should the projection show separately?

The blended residential rate with the utility named and the tariff date, the REC adjustor and which treatment you chose, and the siting category with its adjustor value. A single compensation figure conceals all three.