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Solar*Rewards is Xcel’s production incentive — real money for every kWh your panels make. Here’s how it works in 2026, without the fine-print fog.
If your home is in Xcel Energy territory — and most of the Twin Cities metro is — two programs decide how your solar gets paid: net metering and Solar*Rewards. They’re different things, they stack, and knowing both is how you judge any quote you’re handed.
Solar*Rewards is Xcel’s production incentive: it pays you for the solar electricity your system generates, on top of the bill credits you earn through net metering. You earn it on everything the panels produce — the power you use yourself included, not just the surplus you export.
Payments are per kilowatt-hour, based on your system’s metered production, under a multi-year contract with Xcel. The rate depends on the program year you enroll in and which track you qualify for, and program capacity is limited — each year’s funding opens, fills, and closes. That’s why the “what does it pay?” answer is honest only when it’s current: we confirm the live rate and capacity status when we quote, and we track every Minnesota incentive so you don’t have to.
Net metering credits your bill at the retail rate for surplus power you send to the grid. Solar*Rewards pays you for production itself. One is a bill mechanism, the other is an incentive check — a well-designed Xcel-territory system collects both. (Rules evolve; Xcel has proposed time-of-use rate changes that are worth watching.)
Solar*Rewards runs on an annual budget, and once a category is fully allocated, new applications go to a waitlist. Here is where the 2026 funding stands, straight from Xcel’s program page (Xcel last updated these figures 07/07/2026; we re-check weekly):
The takeaway: standard residential funding is healthy, but it is first come, first served and does not carry over — the earlier your application is in, the safer your incentive. We track these numbers weekly and submit the application for you.
Solar*Rewards Income-Qualified is a separate, better-funded track that can get eligible Minnesota families solar at little to no cost. Eligibility is income-based (think energy-assistance program thresholds). If that might be you or a neighbor, ask — we’ll tell you straight whether you qualify and handle the application if you do.
The old commercial Solar*Rewards track is gone. For larger commercial systems in Xcel territory, the successor is the Photovoltaic Demand Credit Rider — a production credit (currently around 7¢/kWh for peak-window output) for systems over 40 kW. Different math, still meaningful — and commercial and ag projects also still have the 30% federal ITC, which is time-limited: construction must begin by July 4, 2026. If you run a business or farm, that clock matters more than any rider.
Enrollment runs through your installer: application, interconnection, production metering, contract. iSolar handles all of it as part of the project — we’ve been filing Solar*Rewards paperwork since 2019, and more than 500 Minnesota customers have trusted us with installs and the program homework that comes with them.
One honest caveat to end on: for homeowners, there is no federal residential tax credit in 2026 — it ended December 31, 2025. Anyone baking it into your quote is selling you fiction. Solar*Rewards, net metering, and Minnesota’s tax exemptions are the real 2026 stack — and they’re still a strong one.
It pays per kWh of metered production under a multi-year contract. The exact rate depends on the program year and track, and capacity opens and fills annually — we confirm the live rate and availability when we quote your system.
Yes, for residential systems in Xcel territory, subject to that year’s program capacity. The Income-Qualified track is also active. The old commercial track is closed — larger business systems use the Photovoltaic Demand Credit Rider instead.
Yes. Net metering credits your bill for exported surplus; Solar*Rewards pays you for all production. A well-designed system in Xcel territory collects both.
No — it’s an Xcel Energy program. But most Minnesota utilities and co-ops offer net metering or their own programs, and we design to your specific utility’s rules.
Eligibility is income-based, broadly aligned with energy-assistance thresholds. For eligible families it can mean solar at little to no cost — ask us and we’ll check, no strings.
Talk to a local iSolar expert — free, no pressure. Call (651) 565-1140.