How much does NJ pay for SREC-II in 2026? NJ’s Successor Solar Incentive (SREC-II) pays a fixed Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) clearing price of roughly $76 to $95 per megawatt-hour for residential systems, locked in for 15 years from your system’s registration date. A typical 8.4 kW NJ rooftop system generates about 10 MWh per year, so that’s roughly $760 to $950 per year of SREC income on top of bill savings.
I’ve been on the broker side of about 280 NJ residential solar installs since 2024, and the number-one question I get asked — usually right after “how much will I save on my bill?” — is some version of “wait, the state pays me extra, just for having panels?” The answer is yes. The mechanism is called the Solar Renewable Energy Certificate program, and as of 2026, NJ is on the second iteration: SREC-II, sometimes called the Successor Solar Incentive or Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI). Same thing. Different acronyms.
Here’s the version of this I wish someone had explained to me when I was first getting licensed.
What an SREC actually is
An SREC is a tradable certificate. One certificate equals one megawatt-hour (1,000 kWh) of solar electricity generated. The mint happens automatically — your system’s production data flows to PJM’s Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS), the regional ledger, and every time your meter clocks another 1,000 kWh of solar, GATS issues a new SREC under your system’s account.
Why does this exist? Because every NJ electric utility is legally required by the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to source a rising percentage of its electricity from renewables. The cheapest way for the utility to “source” that energy on paper is to buy SRECs from solar-owning ratepayers. The state administers the program; you produce the certificate; the utility buys it.
The old market vs. the new ADI
From 2004 through 2020, NJ ran a free-market SREC auction. SRECs cleared at wildly different prices depending on demand and supply — they peaked around $670 in 2008, then crashed below $200 by 2018. Homeowners hated the unpredictability. In 2020, the legislature replaced the open market with the Transition Incentive (TI) program, and then in 2021 with the current Successor Solar Incentive (SREC-II) program. (Source: NJ Clean Energy Program SREC-II overview.)
The new structure is “administratively determined” — meaning the NJ BPU sets the per-MWh clearing price by rule, every program year. No auction, no roulette. As of the 2026 program year, the residential clearing price is in the $76–$95 per MWh range. (I keep a live tracker of the current ADI price on my NJ incentives page — Chris updates it monthly off the BPU posting.)
What this means in dollars
An 8.4 kW NJ rooftop system in average sun (the median I see across PSE&G, JCP&L, ACE, and Rockland territory) produces about 10,000 kWh per year — i.e. 10 MWh. So:
- 10 MWh × $76 = $760/year (low end)
- 10 MWh × $90 = $900/year (mid-range)
- 10 MWh × $95 = $950/year (top of the current band)
That’s $11,400 to $14,250 over the 15-year contract, on top of bill savings. For most clients I work with, the SREC income line item alone covers about 25–30% of the system’s lifetime cost. The other 70% comes from straight kWh offset on the utility bill.
How the money actually flows
This is the part most installers gloss over. Here’s the full chain, step by step:
- Your installer files an SREC-II application with NJ Clean Energy Program before or during install.
- Once your system passes utility commissioning (Permission to Operate, “PTO”), you get a 15-year registration locked in at the ADI clearing price in effect on your registration date. Whatever the rate is the day you register, that’s your rate for the next 15 years.
- Your system gets registered with PJM GATS. Most installers register your system under their own aggregator account (think of it as a wholesale SREC reseller); some give you a direct GATS account.
- Production data from your inverter flows into GATS automatically — usually via the inverter manufacturer’s data API. Every 1 MWh = 1 fresh SREC.
- Your aggregator (or you, if you self-managed GATS) sells the SREC to NJ BPU at the locked-in ADI price.
- You get paid. Most aggregators sweep quarterly. A few do annual lump-sum.
Two operational gotchas I always flag for clients:
- Ask who the aggregator is — by name. Different aggregators take different cuts (typically 5–10%). Sol Systems, Flett Exchange, and SRECTrade are the most common; rates and payment cadences vary. Get this in writing before you sign the install contract.
- If your installer’s “production guarantee” line is conditional on the SREC income, read it twice. Some lease and PPA products quietly assign the SRECs to the installer instead of you, then call their internal SREC capture a “production guarantee.” That’s not the same as you owning the SREC stream.
Why a 15-year lock is different from a 25-year contract
The SREC-II / ADI lock is 15 years from registration date. Your panels keep producing for another 10+ years after that (25-year median manufacturer warranty on most modern panels), but the SREC income stream stops at year 16. The remainder of the 25-year window is pure bill-offset savings — still meaningful, but no longer compounding with the SREC top-up.
Most installers I work with build their 25-year payback projections with SREC income dropping to $0 in year 16. That’s the honest math. If a competitor’s quote assumes SRECs continue at the same rate for years 16–25, I’d push back — that’s reading the future, not the program.
2026 vs. older SREC contracts I see in the field
| Era | Program | Compensation | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–2020 | Original SREC (free market) | $60–$670/MWh (volatile) | 15 years |
| 2020–2021 | Transition Incentive (TI) | ~$152/MWh (fixed) | 15 years |
| 2021–present | SREC-II / ADI | $76–$95/MWh (administratively set) | 15 years |
People sometimes hear about a neighbor “getting $200 per SREC” and assume that’s still the going rate. It’s not. That neighbor is locked into a 2009-vintage free-market SREC contract that will run out around 2024–2025. For a new install in 2026, you’re firmly in the $76–$95 ADI band — and that’s lower per MWh than the old market peaks, but the trade is that you have zero price risk for 15 years.
Three places I see SREC-II misexplained
- “SRECs replace the federal tax credit.” No. Those are two different programs. The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) was a tax credit you took on your federal return — that was repealed effective January 1, 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21). SRECs are a state-level program, are still in effect, and pay quarterly cash. Different mechanisms, different timing, different agencies.
- “You can sell your SRECs anywhere.” Not under ADI. The state buys them at the administratively determined price. The old open market is closed for new SREC-II registrations.
- “You don’t have to register for it — it’s automatic.” Half-true. Production tracking via GATS is automatic, but the BPU registration filing is not. Your installer files it. If they don’t, you have a working solar system that produces zero SREC income. I check this on every install before I close the loop with a client.
Bottom line, in plain English
If you go solar in NJ in 2026, expect roughly $760–$950 per year in SREC income on top of your bill savings, locked in for 15 years from registration. The state pays this. Your installer (or you, directly) handles the paperwork. The income line should show up in any honest installer’s 25-year payback projection — and if it doesn’t, that’s a question worth asking. SREC-II is one of the reasons NJ remains one of the strongest state-level solar economies in the U.S., even after the federal ITC was repealed.