AEP Texas Central, AEP Texas North - SMART Source Solar PV Rebate Program
Administered by Frontier Associates and Clean Energy Associates
The SMART Source Solar PV Program provides rebates to help offset the upfront cost of installing a solar system on your home, with amounts ranging from $0.50/watt for smaller systems (0.001-2.999 kW) up to fixed rebates of $2,250-$3,000 for larger residential systems (5+ kW). To receive an incentive, you must work with an enrolled installer—only enrolled companies can apply for and receive rebates, and commercial work must begin after incentive commitment is made. Your system must be at least 1 kW, connected on the customer side of the meter, meet 80% of optimum performance, include a five-year warranty, and be sized to meet your annual on-site energy consumption.
Enrolled solar installation companies can apply for and receive rebates on behalf of customers, with residential systems earning $0.50/watt to $3,000 depending on size, and commercial systems receiving tiered rebates of $0.50/watt for the first 0-25 kW and $0.25/watt for capacity up to 200 kW. Program enrollment is required to claim incentives; unenrolled installers cannot participate, and for commercial projects, installation work must not begin until an incentive commitment is issued. All installed systems must meet interconnection requirements, achieve minimum 80% performance, and carry an all-inclusive five-year warranty.
AEP Texas Central allocated $381,195 for residential and $172,425 for non-residential incentives in 2024, with separate allocations for AEP Texas North ($185,898 residential, $70,366 non-residential). The program is implemented by Frontier Energy as an independent contractor and uses fixed incentives for residential customers and tiered, capacity-based incentives for commercial, institutional, governmental, and other customer classes. Eligible systems range from 1 kW minimum to 200 kW maximum capacity, must be new, grid-connected, and achieve 80% of optimum performance; rebates can be assigned to customers, service providers, or third parties, and each customer can participate multiple times subject to per-customer and per-project limits outlined in the Program Guidebook.
Program details
- Program ID
- 3661
- Effective
- 8/1/2009
- Last updated
- 10/6/2026
Eligibility
- Sectors
- commercial industrial local government nonprofit residential schools state government federal government tribal government agricultural multifamily residential institutional
- Technologies
- solar photovoltaics lithium-ion level-2 electric vehicle service equipment
Incentive amount
2026: $503,206 (Central residential), $215,483 (Central commercial), $167,735 (North residential), $71,828 (North commercial)
Program summary
AEP Texas Central and AEP Texas North offer rebates to any customer that installs photovoltaic (PV) systems on homes or other buildings. Rebates may be assigned to the customer, a service provider, or a third party.
Rebates
Residential customers can receive a fixed incentive, while commercial customers can receive a tiered, capacity-based incentive. Incentive levels are as follows:
| Residential | Commercial | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| System Size | Incentive Amount | System Size | Incentive Amount |
| 3 - 4.999 kW-DC | $1,500 | First 0 - 25 kW | $0.50/W-DC |
| 5 - 7.4999 kW-DC | $2,250 | Additional kW up to 200 kW-DC | $0.25/W-DC |
| 7.5 - 30 kW-DC | $2,750 |
Customers can also receive a $1,000 for energy storage paired with the solar system, or $500 for an EV charging station paired with the solar system.
PV System Eligibility
Unless used for educational purposes by a school, systems must be at least 1 kW- DC in size to qualify for the rebate. Systems may not be sized to produce energy in excess of that required to meet annual on-site energy consumption. Each customer and point of service is eligible to participate in the program multiple times, subject to other program limitations (e.g., maximum per customer and per project incentive limits).
Systems must be new, connected to the grid on the customer side of the meter, meet minimum estimated performance requirements (80% of optimum), and meet all applicable code and utility interconnection requirements. Eligible systems must be covered by an all-inclusive warranty for at least five years from the date of installation.
Please refer to the Program Guidebook for additional details.
Contact & resources
- Contact email
- chyslop@frontierassoc.com
- Additional resources
Please verify current program details with the administering agency before making any financial decisions.
