Renewable Rewards® Buyback Plans

If you have solar panels, you can get rewarded for creating excess solar energy.

Texans, you've already taken a big step toward helping the planet by choosing to install a solar panel system. Now, make the most of your investment with one of our Renewable Rewards® Buyback plans.

Our plans allow you to send any extra energy your solar panels produce directly to the grid, earning you credits for the excess energy you generate.

In return, you’ll receive bill credits that you can use when you draw electricity from the grid. And during those times, we’ll back your usage with 100% renewable energy—so you can enjoy peace of mind, even on cloudy days.

By signing up for a Renewable Rewards plan, you can save on energy costs, reduce your carbon footprint, and maximize the impact of your solar energy system.

Enter your ZIP code to see the plans available for your home.

Current customer? Contact us.

Here’s how it works:

With a Renewable Rewards plan, you’ll enjoy:

100% renewable backup energy

When you use grid electricity, we’ll make sure it’s 100% renewable.

Bill credits

Receive credit for the excess solar energy you send to the grid.1

Term Flexibility

Choose from 12-month, 24-month or month-to-month plans.

Why choose Green Mountain Energy?

  • We buy back the excess electricity you produce.
  • When you need energy from the grid, we match your usage with 100% renewable energy.
  • We share your goal of making a positive impact on our planet. With Renewable Rewards, a typical Texas household using 1,132 kWh per month can prevent an estimated 19,012 pounds of CO2 emissions a year. That’s like not driving 23,291 miles!2
  • We are the longest-serving renewable energy retailer in the United States.

General FAQs

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Installing a rooftop solar system will help you save on energy costs for years to come, and with Renewable Rewards, you’ll be credited when you produce more energy than you use. You’ll also significantly lower your home’s carbon footprint and help ensure a cleaner, greener future for the planet.

 

The Renewable Rewards Buyback Program is available to new and existing residential customers in Texas who:

  • Have installed home solar or small-scale wind systems with a capacity of 50 kW or less.
  • Have an interconnection agreement in place with their utility.
  • Have a meter configured by their utility that separately measures the inflow and outflow of electricity to and from their home.

Yes. You’ll need a meter configured by your utility that separately measures the inflow and outflow of electricity to and from your home. Your utility may charge for this meter, and these charges would be passed through to you on your Green Mountain Energy bill.

 

Yes! Both current and new Green Mountain Energy customers who meet the program requirements listed above can enroll in a Renewable Rewards buyback plan. If you’re a current customer enrolled in a plan with a cancellation fee, we will waive that fee if you would like to switch to a Renewable Rewards buyback plan, assuming all the requirements are met.

 

The Renewable Rewards Buyback Program is available to new and existing residential customers in Texas who have installed home solar or small-scale wind systems with a capacity of 50 kW or less.

To put it simply, net metering lets you produce energy for the grid beyond what you use for your own home. With Renewable Rewards, you’ll receive a bill credit for excess energy that you’ve produced.

 

The electricity produced by your solar panels first powers your home. But when your panels produce more energy than you need, the remaining energy is delivered to the grid.

There are a few different terms that describe energy your solar array produces and energy your house consumes, including:

  • Solar production—the total electricity produced by your panels.
  • Solar consumption—the solar energy used to power your home.
  • Grid usage—energy pulled from the grid when your panels do not produce enough electricity to cover your needs.

The most obvious benefit is that you’re contributing to a cleaner, greener future! Solar energy produces no greenhouse gases or other waste. Any extra energy you produce can also be stored on a backup battery or sent back to the grid.

 

We buy back the energy that your solar panels deliver back to the grid. Your excess energy credits will show up on the second page of your electricity bill on the “Renewable Rewards Credit” line:
 

You can enroll at any time, but to ensure that you receive credit for your excess solar energy as soon as possible, we recommend setting your enrollment date to be the same day you expect to receive Permission to Operate (PTO) from your utility. You can set your enrollment date for a Renewable Rewards buyback plan up to 60 days in advance.

It can take up to three billing cycles after you receive Permission to Operate (PTO) and are signed up on a Renewable Rewards buyback plan before excess energy credits appear on your bill. Both Green Mountain Energy and your utility must make system changes to process your excess energy readings, and these changes take time to complete.

There are a few steps to take if you are not receiving excess energy credits:

  1. Wait for three billing cycles after receiving Permission to Operate (PTO) from your utility.

  2. If the issue persists, contact your solar installer to confirm that your solar array has passed inspection and that you have a signed Interconnection Agreement with your utility.

  3. If it has been more than three billing periods and your solar installer has completed the steps above, then reach out to Green Mountain Energy Customer Care at 1-866-785-4668 to ask about your Renewable Rewards credits.

Yes. A Renewable Rewards customer’s existing credit balance carries over if they swap to a different plan with Green Mountain Energy.

Both your energy usage and solar production vary each month because of factors such as:

  • Variable weather conditions—solar production is typically higher in the spring and summer.
  • Changing usage patterns—usage is typically higher in the summer.
  • Potential equipment malfunctions—if your system is underproducing, contact your solar installer.

Additionally, wholesale prices that are used to calculate your buyback credit amount, fluctuate frequently. Wholesale prices are determined by Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

If you have questions about your electricity bill or plan, call Green Mountain Energy at 1-866-785-4668.

 

If you have questions about your solar panels or don’t think your system is producing as much power as it should, contact your installer.

Contact your utility to learn more about interconnection to the grid and configuring your meter to separately measure the inflow and outflow of electricity from your home.

 

Oncor

 

 

 

CenterPoint

 

 

 

Texas New Mexico Power

 

 

 

AEP Central and AEP North

 

 

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1 Subject to limitations. Please see your contract documents for details.

2 Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2019. Waste Reduction Model (WARM), Version 15, February; impact statistic based on the average vehicle carbon emissions per mile driven in the U.S.

Our customers have avoided

 

pounds of CO2

That’s like planting

 

new trees.

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