Updated for 2026.
Clifton is a homeowner’s city more than a renter’s one, and that changes the solar math in your favor. Where next-door Paterson is dense and mostly rented, Clifton is a suburban Passaic County city of single-family and owner-occupied two-family homes, the kind of roofs that make rooftop ownership pay. Your electricity comes from PSE&G, New Jersey rates are well above the national average, and the state still backs solar with a 15-year incentive and two tax exemptions even though the federal homeowner credit has ended. This page covers what solar actually costs in Clifton, how PSE&G net metering credits you, the New Jersey incentives you can still claim in 2026, and the one wrinkle that is pure Clifton: putting solar on a two-family home. Then you can check your address in about a minute.
The 60-second answer for Clifton (2026)
- New Jersey power is expensive, which is what makes solar pay. NJ residential electricity averages about 23.49 cents per kWh (EIA, as of March 2026), above the national average, so every kilowatt-hour your Clifton roof makes offsets a pricey one from PSE&G.
- Your utility is PSE&G, and it runs your net metering. Clifton sits in Public Service Electric & Gas territory, so your solar credits follow the statewide PSE&G tariff (PSE&G net metering, as of June 2026).
- Net metering is full retail, then trued up at wholesale once a year. Under New Jersey’s statewide rule (N.J.A.C. 14:8-4) you earn full retail-rate credits that roll over month to month, and any net surplus left at your annual anniversary is cashed out at the lower wholesale/avoided-cost price (NJ BPU, as of June 2026).
- New Jersey’s SuSI incentive pays your system for 15 years. The Successor Solar Incentive (SREC-II) pays the system owner a fixed amount per megawatt-hour produced, at a rate the state sets and steps down over time, for a 15-year term (NJ Clean Energy Program, as of June 2026).
- Two tax breaks still apply in Clifton. New Jersey exempts qualifying solar equipment from its 6.625% sales tax and exempts the added home value from property tax, filed on Form CRES (NJ Treasury, as of 2026).
- The 30% federal homeowner credit (Section 25D) ended after December 31, 2025 (IRS, as of January 1, 2026), so a Clifton homeowner who buys solar in 2026 cannot claim it.
Why Clifton’s PSE&G rates make solar worth it
The reason solar pays in Clifton is the price of the power it replaces. New Jersey residential electricity averages about 23.49 cents per kWh (EIA, as of March 2026), well above the national average, and PSE&G is the utility that bills nearly every Clifton address. So every kilowatt-hour your roof produces is one you do not buy from PSE&G at that rate. A typical Clifton home spending $150 or more a month on electricity is a strong candidate. For the exact cents on your own bill, read the supply and delivery lines on your PSE&G statement, since both move over time.
Your production is what turns that high rate into savings. Clifton sits at about 40.8 degrees north with a solar resource typical of northern New Jersey. A standard 6 kW rooftop system in a Clifton ZIP is modeled to produce about 7,625 kWh in a year (NREL PVWatts v8, ZIP 07013, as of 2026), and four Clifton ZIPs cluster within 7,621 to 7,746 kWh, though your own output depends on your roof’s pitch, shading, and which direction it faces. Because Clifton has more open suburban roofs than dense, shaded urban blocks, many homes here can host a full-size array. Estimate your specific roof with NREL’s free PVWatts calculator before you size a system, and see how solar lowers your electricity bill for the wider savings picture.
See what solar programs are available in your Clifton ZIP code
Solar incentives, net-metering credits, installer availability, and electric rates change by utility and location. Enter your ZIP and we’ll match you with licensed installers who serve your area.
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Your Clifton utility is PSE&G
Nearly every Clifton home is a Public Service Electric & Gas customer for electricity, and PSE&G is who administers your net metering. New Jersey assigns each utility a service territory, and Clifton, like most of eastern Passaic County, is PSE&G electric (PSE&G, as of June 2026). That matters because the credit you earn for exporting solar, the interconnection steps to get switched on, and your Permission to Operate all run through PSE&G, on the statewide rules New Jersey sets. The high New Jersey rate is what drives your payback either way.
Because those rules are the same for every PSE&G customer in the state, we keep the full PSE&G mechanics on one page rather than repeating them here. See our PSE&G New Jersey net metering and rates guide for the interconnection steps and tariff detail, and the statewide picture in our guide to solar costs and incentives across New Jersey.
What a Clifton rooftop is worth: an estimated payback
Here is an original, Clifton-specific estimate, not a national average. We combined the New Jersey electricity rate (EIA), the modeled production for a Clifton ZIP (PVWatts), and a typical installed system price to show a plausible payback range. Treat it as a planning illustration, not a quote: your roof, usage, financing, and the current SuSI value all move the numbers, and savings are never guaranteed.
| Input (Clifton, 2026) | Value used | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Residential electricity rate | 23.49 cents per kWh | EIA, March 2026 |
| Modeled production, 6 kW system | about 7,625 kWh per year | NREL PVWatts v8, ZIP 07013 |
| Typical installed price before incentives | about $2.60 to $3.00 per watt | EnergySage NJ, 2026 |
| Federal 25D credit | not available (ended 12/31/2025) | IRS |
| What the estimate shows (6 kW Clifton system) | Approximate figure |
|---|---|
| First-year bill savings from offsetting PSE&G power | about $1,790 (7,625 kWh at 23.49 cents) |
| SuSI / SREC-II payments (system owner, 15 years) | roughly 7 to 8 certificates a year, separate income on top, at the state’s current per-MWh rate |
| Gross installed cost before incentives | about $15,600 to $18,000 (6 kW at $2.60 to $3.00 per watt) |
| Simple payback range | roughly 9 to 10 years on bill savings alone, shorter once SuSI is added |
The takeaway: at New Jersey’s rate, an owned Clifton system typically pays for itself well inside its 25-year warranty life on bill savings alone, and the SuSI incentive shortens that further. To pressure-test the numbers for your own home, see the financial case for whether solar panels are worth it, and check our full data and methodology for how we source every figure.
How PSE&G net metering credits your Clifton export
Net metering is the engine of your savings, and New Jersey runs it at full retail with one annual catch. Under the statewide rule (N.J.A.C. 14:8-4), when your panels make more than your home uses, the extra flows to the grid and PSE&G credits your account at the full retail rate, and those credits roll forward month to month within your billing year (NJ BPU net metering, as of June 2026). The catch is the annual true-up: whatever net credit is still on your account at your yearly anniversary is cashed out at the lower wholesale/avoided-cost price, not at full retail. That is why sizing a system close to your annual usage beats oversizing it. For the mechanics, see how net metering credits your solar exports.
| What you earn | How it is valued | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly net-metering credits | Full retail rate, rolled forward month to month | The PSE&G account holder |
| Year-end surplus at your anniversary | Wholesale / avoided-cost price, below retail | The account holder |
| SuSI / SREC-II payments | A fixed amount per MWh produced, for 15 years | The system owner |
New Jersey’s SuSI incentive still pays a Clifton roof for 15 years
Beyond the bill credit, New Jersey pays you for the power your system generates. The Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI), the SREC-II program, issues one certificate for every 1,000 kWh (1 MWh) your system produces and pays a fixed amount per certificate for a 15-year term, at a rate the state sets through its Administratively Determined Incentive track (NJ Clean Energy Program ADI, as of June 2026). Because the rate is locked for the full term once you register, it is far more predictable than the old market-priced SRECs it replaced, though the state steps the rate down for new systems over time. The current per-certificate value and the registration window are set by the state and change, so confirm the live figure with the NJ Clean Energy Program or your installer before you budget around it. The payment goes to the system owner, so on a lease or PPA the company that owns the panels keeps it.
New Jersey solar tax exemptions that apply in Clifton
Two state tax breaks apply to a Clifton system, and unlike the ended federal credit, both are still in force in 2026. These go to the system owner.
- A 100% sales-tax exemption on qualifying solar equipment, off New Jersey’s 6.625% sales tax, so you do not pay sales tax on the panels and hardware; you claim it at purchase with Form ST-4 (NJ Treasury Bulletin S&U-6, as of 2026).
- A property-tax exemption for the added home value from a certified system, so your Clifton assessment does not rise because you went solar. You claim it by filing Form CRES, signed by your local construction official and tax assessor, and the exemption begins the tax year after certification (NJ Division of Taxation; Form CRES, as of 2026).
These are statewide, so we keep the full detail on our New Jersey solar guide rather than repeating it here.
What the federal tax-credit change means for Clifton
The federal homeowner credit is gone, but New Jersey’s programs are not. The 30% federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so a Clifton homeowner who buys solar with cash or a loan in 2026 cannot claim it (IRS Residential Clean Energy Credit; SEIA, as of 2026). You will still see installer pages asking whether the 30% credit is going away; the accurate answer for 2026 is that the homeowner version already ended. New Jersey net metering, SuSI, and the state tax exemptions were not affected, and at PSE&G’s rates the bill offset alone is substantial. For the full timeline, see what the federal solar tax credit change means in 2026.
One federal exception exists, and it is not yours to claim. A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, is claimed by the business that owns a leased or PPA system, not by the homeowner (IRS Clean Electricity Investment Credit, as of 2026). On a leased Clifton system you do not file for a federal credit yourself; the company that owns the panels does. The 25D homeowner credit, by contrast, ended after December 31, 2025.
Solar on a Clifton two-family or single-family home
This is the Clifton wrinkle a generic page misses. Clifton has a large stock of owner-occupied two-family homes alongside its single-family neighborhoods, and a two-family raises questions a standard single-family install does not. The key one is metering: solar nets against a single electric meter, so if the owner’s unit and the rental unit have separate PSE&G meters, the array only credits the meter it is wired to. Decide up front which meter benefits, or whether a larger system and a shared arrangement makes sense, because the SuSI payments and the net-metering credit both follow the account the system is tied to.
Note: On an owner-occupied two-family, the cleanest setup is usually to size the array to the owner’s own meter and usage, since that is the bill you control and the account that will hold the net-metering credits and receive the SuSI payments. If you want the array to offset the rental unit too, that is a landlord-tenant billing decision to settle before install, not something net metering does automatically across two meters. An installer who has wired two-family homes in Passaic County can lay out the metering options for you.
Permitting runs through the City of Clifton, on New Jersey’s statewide code. A Clifton rooftop system needs building and electrical permits from the City of Clifton Construction Official under the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code, plus PSE&G interconnection approval before it switches on (City of Clifton, as of June 2026). New Jersey’s residential roofs are mostly pitched and framed for the climate, which suits standard racking, and Clifton’s more open suburban lots mean less neighbor shading than dense city blocks. A local installer handles the permit paperwork and the PSE&G application as part of the job.
| Clifton roof or site factor | What to plan for |
|---|---|
| Owner-occupied two-family, two meters | Decide which meter the array nets against; SuSI and credits follow that account |
| Single-family suburban roof | Often fits a full-size array with good south exposure and low neighbor shading |
| Older service panel | May need an upgrade for solar plus a battery or EV charging |
| City of Clifton permitting | Building and electrical permits under the NJ Uniform Construction Code, plus PSE&G interconnection |
| Shading from mature trees | A shade study; fewer high-efficiency panels can beat a larger array |
Paying for solar in Clifton: cash, loan, lease, or PPA
There is no single right way to pay for solar; the best fit depends on whether you want to own the system and keep the SuSI incentive and tax exemptions yourself, or avoid an up-front cost. A lease or PPA can mean no up-front cost for eligible homeowners, but it is a long-term agreement with monthly payments, not free solar, and the system owner, not you, collects the SuSI payment. To weigh the long-run numbers, see the financial case for whether solar panels are worth it.
| Path | Up-front cost | Who keeps SuSI + tax breaks | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash purchase | Full system cost | You, the owner | You want the fastest payback and the most lifetime savings |
| Solar loan | Little to none, financed | You, the owner | You want ownership without paying cash up front |
| Lease or PPA | $0-up-front where eligible | The third-party owner | You prefer no up-front cost and a simpler, fixed monthly bill |
How to choose a solar installer in Clifton
Clifton homeowners can pick from a deep North Jersey market of licensed installers, which is good for you because it means real competition on price and service. Rather than chasing a “best installer” list, screen any company against objective criteria:
- NABCEP certification, the industry’s professional standard for PV installers.
- A valid New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor registration and electrical licensing.
- A clear workmanship and equipment warranty in writing.
- Real experience with PSE&G interconnection and City of Clifton permitting, and with two-family metering if that is your home, so the paperwork and Permission to Operate go smoothly.
- A written production estimate and a transparent quote that uses today’s SuSI value, not an old one. For a checklist, see the right questions to ask a solar installer.
MySolarFY matches you with licensed installers that serve your area so you can compare real local quotes side by side, with no obligation. Weighing nearby PSE&G markets too? Compare the Paterson solar guide next door and the Jersey City solar guide down the line.
Frequently asked questions
Is solar worth it in Clifton, New Jersey, in 2026? For most owner-occupied Clifton homes with decent sun, yes. New Jersey residential electricity averages about 23.49 cents per kWh (EIA, as of March 2026), above the national average, so every kilowatt-hour your roof makes offsets a pricey PSE&G one. Net metering credits your export at full retail and rolls it forward, the SuSI incentive pays the system owner for 15 years, and New Jersey’s sales-tax and property-tax exemptions lower the cost. Savings depend on your roof, usage, and how you pay, and are not guaranteed, but Clifton’s mix of owner-occupied single-family and two-family roofs makes it a strong solar market.
Who is my electric utility for solar in Clifton? PSE&G (Public Service Electric & Gas). Clifton sits in PSE&G’s electric territory, and New Jersey utility territories do not overlap, so your net metering and interconnection for a Clifton home run through PSE&G on the statewide rules the state sets (PSE&G, as of June 2026). Your solar credits, your interconnection steps, and your Permission to Operate all go through PSE&G.
How does PSE&G net metering work in Clifton? When your panels produce more than you use, the extra flows to the grid and PSE&G credits your account at the full retail rate, and those credits roll forward month to month within your billing year (N.J.A.C. 14:8-4, NJ BPU, as of June 2026). The one catch is the annual true-up: any net surplus left at your yearly anniversary is cashed out at the lower wholesale, or avoided-cost, price rather than full retail. The smart move is to size your system close to your annual usage so little surplus is left to true up at the lower rate.
Can I put solar on a two-family home in Clifton? Yes, and it is common in Clifton, but the metering matters. Solar nets against one electric meter, so if the owner’s unit and the rental have separate PSE&G meters, the array only credits the meter it is wired to. The usual approach on an owner-occupied two-family is to size the system to the owner’s own meter and usage, since that account holds the net-metering credits and receives the SuSI payments. Offsetting the rental unit too is a landlord-tenant billing decision to settle before install. An installer experienced with Passaic County two-family homes can lay out the options.
What incentives can a Clifton homeowner still get in 2026? Three state-backed benefits still apply. New Jersey’s SuSI (SREC-II) program pays the system owner a fixed amount per megawatt-hour produced, at a rate the state sets, for 15 years (NJ Clean Energy Program, as of June 2026). New Jersey also exempts qualifying solar equipment from its 6.625% sales tax and exempts the added home value from property tax, filed on Form CRES (NJ Treasury, as of 2026). The 30% federal homeowner credit (Section 25D) ended after December 31, 2025, so it is not available for a 2026 purchase.
What happened to the federal solar tax credit? The 30% federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so a Clifton homeowner who buys solar in 2026 with cash or a loan cannot claim it (IRS, as of 2026). A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, can apply to leased and PPA systems, but the business that owns the system claims it, not the homeowner. New Jersey net metering, SuSI, and the state tax exemptions were not affected, so at PSE&G’s rates the local payback case still holds.
Can I get solar with no up-front cost in Clifton? Some homeowners can, through a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) where eligible, which can mean no out-of-pocket cost at installation in exchange for monthly payments. This is not free solar; it is a long-term agreement, typically 20 to 25 years, and total payments may exceed the cost of a cash purchase. On a lease or PPA the third-party owner, not you, collects the SuSI payment and the tax exemptions, while your benefit is a lower or fixed power price. If you want to own the system and capture those incentives yourself, a cash purchase or solar loan keeps them. Check what you qualify for before deciding.
Reviewed and maintained by the SolarFY Editor. Figures were verified against the linked New Jersey (NJ BPU, NJ Clean Energy Program, NJ Treasury), PSE&G, EIA, NREL, and IRS sources as of July 2026; the SuSI per-certificate value and registration window, the net-metering true-up rate, and Clifton permitting details can change, so confirm current terms with PSE&G, the City of Clifton, and the NJ Clean Energy Program before you decide. MySolarFY does not provide tax or financial advice; consult a licensed professional about your own situation. Learn more about the MySolarFY team and how we work and read our full data and methodology.
MySolarFY is a free service that matches homeowners with licensed solar installers. We are not an installer, financing company, or government program. “No up-front cost” refers to qualifying lease or PPA financing, where eligible homeowners may have no out-of-pocket cost at installation. Lease and PPA terms typically run 20 to 25 years, may include an annual price escalator, and total payments may exceed the cost of a cash purchase; on a lease or PPA the SuSI payment and tax benefits go to the company that owns the system, not the homeowner. Homeowners do not get the federal residential credit that ended after December 31, 2025. Solar panels are not free and monthly payments apply. Eligibility, savings, incentives, and rates vary and are not guaranteed. See our full disclaimer.
