Solar by State
Solar economics change dramatically the moment you cross a state line. The same rooftop array can pay back in 9 years in one state and 18 in the next — driven less by sunshine than by net metering policy, utility rates, and the specific incentive programs each state runs. These guides break down the real numbers, named utilities, and the policies that actually move the needle for each state.
California
NEM 3.0 (net billing) — exports credited at avoided cost (~$0.05–0.08/kWh)
- Cost / W
- $3.80
- 8kW Cost
- $30,400
- Payback
- 18.1 yr
Texas
No statewide mandate — solar buyback plans vary by retail provider (some near 1:1, some avoided-cost only)
- Cost / W
- $2.90
- 8kW Cost
- $23,200
- Payback
- 12.5 yr
Florida
Full 1:1 net metering (retail rate) — currently intact after a 2022 veto of rollback legislation
- Cost / W
- $2.80
- 8kW Cost
- $22,400
- Payback
- 11.8 yr
New York
Value Stack Tariff (VST) — exports compensated via a stack of avoided-cost, capacity, and environmental values
- Cost / W
- $3.60
- 8kW Cost
- $28,800
- Payback
- 17.4 yr
Pennsylvania
Full 1:1 net metering (retail rate) for systems under 50 kW, established by the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act
- Cost / W
- $3.20
- 8kW Cost
- $25,600
- Payback
- 14.3 yr
Illinois
Full retail net metering for ComEd and Ameren residential customers (with an evolving Smart Inverter tariff)
- Cost / W
- $3.10
- 8kW Cost
- $24,800
- Payback
- 14.4 yr
Ohio
Net metering historically at retail; undergoing PUCO review and utility-driven reforms (2023–2024) shifting some customers toward reduced export compensation
- Cost / W
- $2.90
- 8kW Cost
- $23,200
- Payback
- 13 yr
Georgia
No statewide net metering mandate; Georgia Power credits exports at avoided cost (~$0.04–0.06/kWh) via its solar programs
- Cost / W
- $2.90
- 8kW Cost
- $23,200
- Payback
- 14 yr
North Carolina
Transitioning — Duke Energy moving residential customers from full retail net metering toward a net billing / time-of-use structure (2024 tariff reforms)
- Cost / W
- $2.80
- 8kW Cost
- $22,400
- Payback
- 14.5 yr
Michigan
Inflow/Outflow tariff — pays retail for consumption offset, credits exports at a lower avoided-cost 'outflow' rate (replaced 1:1 net metering under PA 342 of 2016)
- Cost / W
- $3.00
- 8kW Cost
- $24,000
- Payback
- 12.9 yr
Maryland
Full 1:1 retail net metering (codified, Public Utilities §7-306) — exports credited at full retail rate with annual true-up; grandfathered for the life of the interconnection
- Cost / W
- $3.30
- 8kW Cost
- $26,400
- Payback
- 6.4 yr
More states coming soon
Phase 1 covers the ten largest residential solar markets. Guides for the remaining states — including Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, and the rest — are in development. In the meantime, explore solar payback, cost-per-watt, and solar-worth-it data for all 50 states.