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New York Energy Resource Bureau
An independent homeowner guide to NY energy incentives
Source quality: Mixed

Solar for All

Administered by: NYSERDA, delivered through the investor-owned utilities Status: Active in 2026 Verified: May 27, 2026 against Statewide Solar for All, NYSERDA Source quality: Mixed (the 60% state median income threshold and the ~$15/month savings figure come from third-party sources, not from NYSERDA's program overview page; flagged in sections 2 and 3)

What it is

Solar for All, officially called Statewide Solar for All (S-SFA), is the income-qualified version of community solar in New York. NYSERDA runs it in coordination with the six investor-owned utilities. If your household already receives utility bill assistance, the credit is applied automatically, with no application, subscription contract, or monthly fee on the participant side.

This is not rooftop solar. Nothing is installed at your address. Your share of a community solar array's output is allocated by your utility and posted to your monthly electric bill as a line item labeled "S-SFA/REACH Credit."

The program is the income-qualified counterpart to standard NY-Sun Community Solar. The mechanics of how a community solar farm credits a utility account are the same. The differences are that Solar for All requires no subscription to a developer, no second invoice, and no contract, and that eligibility is gated by income rather than load zone alone.

Who qualifies

  • Customers of the six participating investor-owned utilities: Central Hudson, Con Edison, National Grid (Niagara Mohawk), NYSEG, Orange & Rockland, and Rochester Gas & Electric
  • Households enrolled in their utility's Energy Affordability Program (EAP) are automatically credited, with no separate application
  • EAP-enrolled households living in a designated disadvantaged community (as identified by the NY State Climate Justice Working Group) receive the S-SFA/REACH credit beginning December 1, 2025
  • Households receiving HEAP, SNAP, SSI, TANF, EmPower+, or Weatherization Assistance Program benefits can use the award letter as income documentation, without submitting additional paperwork
  • Third-party summaries describe the underlying income ceiling as approximately 60% of state median income. NYSERDA's program overview page does not publish a specific AMI figure, so treat that cutoff as indicative

PSEG Long Island customers, municipal utility customers, and rural electric cooperative members are not in the S-SFA universe because those utilities sit outside the investor-owned-utility framework NYSERDA runs the program through.

What you get

  • Automatic monthly bill credits posted by your utility as "S-SFA/REACH Credit"
  • No enrollment cost, no subscription fee, no monthly invoice from a developer
  • No contract, no cancellation terms, and no impact on existing assistance. The credit does not reduce HEAP, EAP, or any other bill-assistance benefit
  • Reported savings of roughly $15 per month (about $180 per year) from third-party summaries. NYSERDA does not publish a guaranteed amount

NYSERDA recalculates the per-customer credit annually based on the kilowatt-hours contributed by enrolled solar projects divided by the EAP customer population in disadvantaged communities. Last year's figure is not a guarantee of next year's.

How to apply

For most eligible households, there is nothing to apply for. The path runs through your utility's Energy Affordability Program:

  1. Confirm you are enrolled in your utility's EAP. Each of the six investor-owned utilities runs EAP under its own name. If you receive HEAP or SNAP, your utility usually enrolls you in EAP automatically.
  2. If you receive HEAP, SNAP, SSI, TANF, EmPower+, or Weatherization benefits and are not yet on EAP, contact your utility's customer service to be added. EAP enrollment is what triggers the Solar for All credit.
  3. Once enrolled, look for an "S-SFA/REACH Credit" line on your electric bill. Credits for customers in disadvantaged communities began appearing December 1, 2025.
  4. For questions, email solarforall@nyserda.ny.gov or call 1-866-NYSERDA (1-866-697-3732).

A paper Solar for All application exists in English and Spanish for households documenting income directly to NYSERDA. Most eligible households do not need it.

How this stacks with other programs

NY-Sun Community Solar is the market-rate counterpart. If you already subscribe to a community solar developer, the S-SFA credit can layer on top because it comes through a separate allocation routed by NYSERDA and the utility rather than by the developer. Confirm with your subscription provider that the project is enrolled in the S-SFA Adder before assuming both apply.

Solar for All does not stack with rooftop NY-Sun at the same electric account. An account that takes net metering credits from owned rooftop equipment is not eligible to also receive community solar credits, including S-SFA.

EmPower+ frequently shares the same eligibility universe. A household receiving EmPower+ no-cost weatherization and heat pump upgrades is, in most cases, already on EAP and already receiving the S-SFA credit. Treat the two as independent enrollments that happen to land on the same households.

The Inflation Reduction Act in NY is the funding source for the program's recent expansion. NYSERDA's $249.8 million Solar for All grant from the U.S. EPA, awarded April 22, 2024 through the IRA's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, is paying to scale S-SFA over the federal grant's six-year deployment window.

What to ask

You are not hiring a contractor for Solar for All. The questions go to your utility or to NYSERDA:

  • Is my account enrolled in the Energy Affordability Program? If not, what do I need to submit to enroll?
  • Is my service address inside a designated disadvantaged community for the S-SFA/REACH credit?
  • When will the credit first appear on my bill, and on which billing cycle?
  • If I move within the same utility territory, does the credit follow my account?
  • If a salesperson is offering me a "Solar for All" subscription, is the project enrolled in the S-SFA Adder, and is there a separate contract I am being asked to sign?

Common pitfalls

  • Confusing this with rooftop solar. No panels go on your home. Anyone offering to install Solar for All panels is not selling this program.
  • Door-to-door pitches using the Solar for All name. NYSERDA does not enroll customers door to door. A subscription pitch that uses the program name is selling a standard community solar contract from a developer.
  • Signing a contract for a "free program." Solar for All has no participant contract. A multi-year subscription agreement is standard community solar, not S-SFA.
  • Assuming the credit reduces HEAP. It does not. The credit is separate from and additive to HEAP, EAP discounts, and other bill assistance.
  • Expecting a fixed dollar amount. The monthly credit is recalculated annually based on enrolled generation and customer counts. Budgeting against last year's credit is a mistake.

Important dates

  • April 22, 2024: EPA announced NYSERDA's $249.8 million award under the IRA's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All competition. The grant runs over a six-year deployment window.
  • December 1, 2025: Automatic S-SFA/REACH credits began posting to EAP-enrolled customers in disadvantaged communities across the six participating utilities.
  • November 2025: Project-side enrollment in the Southern Tier reached capacity for all counties except Chenango and Delaware. Customer-side credits continue for enrolled EAP households regardless.
  • No published participant enrollment deadline. EAP enrollment runs continuously through each utility.

Source

NYSERB.com is an independent research site. It is not affiliated with NYSERDA, the State of New York, or any utility. Verify all program details and incentive amounts directly with NYSERDA before making any financial decision.

Verified against www.nyserda.ny.gov, www.nyserda.ny.gov on May 27, 2026.

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