Solar in Albany County, New York

The numbers

What Albany County pays for power

Figures as published August 2026. Rates change on published schedules — check your own bill for the rate that applies to your account.

Where we work in Albany County

Towns and ZIP codes we serve in Albany County

Albany, Alcove, Altamont, Berne, Clarksville, Coeymans, Coeymans Hollow, Cohoes, Delmar, Dormansville, East Berne, Feura Bush.

ZIP codes: 12007, 12009, 12023, 12041, 12045, 12046, 12047, 12054, 12055, 12059, 12067, 12077, 12084, 12085, 12107, 12110, 12120, 12128, 12143, 12147, 12158, 12159, 12161, 12183, 12186, 12189, 12193, 12201, 12202, 12203, 12204, 12205, 12206, 12207, 12208, 12209, 12210, 12211, 12212, 12214, 12220, 12222, 12223, 12224, 12225, 12226, 12227, 12228, 12229, 12230, 12231, 12232, 12233, 12234, 12235, 12236, 12237, 12238, 12239, 12240 and others.

If your ZIP is not listed it does not mean we cannot serve you — Albany County has more municipalities than we can list here. Enter your ZIP above and it will tell you.

What your roof actually produces here

Albany County averages about 3.8 peak sun hours a day. A well-oriented kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1,110 kilowatt-hours a year in this part of New York. A typical 9 kW residential system therefore produces around 9,990 kilowatt-hours annually. At a rate near 20.0¢, that production is worth roughly $1,998 a year before any incentive.

Those are pre-shading numbers. Trees, roof pitch and orientation move them, sometimes a lot, which is why we look at your specific roof rather than quoting from a county average.

Permitting and interconnection in Albany County

Permits for solar in Albany County are issued locally rather than at the state level, so requirements vary between municipalities. Interconnection is handled by your utility and runs on its own timeline after the permit clears. We manage both, and we tell you what the local process looks like before anything is scheduled.

Every New York utility rate, for context

What has moved recently

What New York offers a homeowner

New York gives a 25% state credit capped at $5,000, and it applies to power purchase agreements as well as purchases — which is unusual. NY-Sun pays the installer $0.20–$0.40 per watt. Solar equipment is exempt from state sales tax and there is a 15-year property tax exemption.

How export credit works here

VDER value stack, generally landing at 60–90% of retail depending on your utility and hours.

Outages and storage in Albany County

Solar alone does not run your house during a blackout — a grid-tied inverter has to disconnect when the grid goes down, for line-worker safety. Adding storage and the right switching changes that. Whether storage also makes financial sense in New York depends on the export credit above: where exports are credited at the full retail rate there is no arbitrage to capture and storage is a resilience purchase.

Two ways to pay for solar, and they are very different

Who you would be working with

SolarAmerica

We design your system and manage the project; installation is performed by vetted licensed partners in your area.

Albany County questions

The things people actually ask

Does solar make financial sense in Albany County?

It depends on your roof and your rate, not on the county. Albany County averages about 3.8 peak sun hours a day, so a well-oriented kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1,110 kilowatt-hours a year here. Against a rate near 20.0¢ that production has real value — but shading, roof pitch and your actual usage move the number, which is why we look at your address instead of quoting a county average.

Which utility serves Albany County?

National Grid serves most of Albany County. Your bill names your utility at the top. If it does not match, call us and we will check your address against the service map.

Where does the 20.0¢ figure come from?

It is an all-in residential figure — supply plus delivery plus riders — taken from the utility's published tariff and rate filings, as of August 2026. Utility rates reset on published schedules, so check your own bill for the rate that applies to your account.

Does SolarAmerica install the system?

We design the system and manage the project. Installation is performed by licensed partners in your area, and you will know who is coming to your roof before anything is scheduled.

What does $0 upfront actually mean?

Under a power purchase agreement we install and own the system and you buy the power it produces at a rate set in your agreement. There is no purchase and no loan. The residential federal credit (25D) ended for systems purchased after December 31, 2025; what remains applies to the owner of the system, which under a PPA is us.