Written by Dean Mahmoud, CEO, and checked by Trevor Guilday, founder.September 2026 Cost Index prices. SREC price from the PSC’s April 2026 reading. Updated October 19, 2026.
A typical District system is 9.03 kW and costs about $28,986 in cash at $3.21 per watt. On Pepco bill savings alone it pays back in about 11.4 years, simple payback before incentives. Keep and sell its SRECs and they add about $4,670 a year at the April 2026 price of about $370 each, more than the power saves. Sign the SRECs away and that money is not yours.
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District law makes electricity suppliers buy solar credits, called SRECs. Your system earns one for every 1,000 kWh it makes, and whoever owns them can sell them. No rebate or tax credit here is worth as much.
The Public Service Commission’s reading for mid-April 2026. It was $424 in April 2025.
From the typical 9.03 kW system’s 12,633 kWh. About $4,670 at $370, before broker fees and tax.
Set by law. It falls $20 a year to $300 in 2033, then to $100 in 2042.
From the month the power was made. After that it cannot be sold to a supplier.
| Year | Cap per SREC | Most for 12.6 SRECs |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $440 | $5,559 |
| 2027 | $420 | $5,306 |
| 2028 | $400 | $5,053 |
| 2030 | $360 | $4,548 |
| 2032 | $320 | $4,043 |
| 2033 to 2041 | $300 | $3,790 |
| 2042 and later | $100 | $1,263 |
The same 9.03 kW roof and the same Pepco bill savings. Our payback counts the bill savings only. Whoever keeps the SRECs also collects their money.
| Who keeps the SRECs | Pepco bill savings | SREC income | Yearly total | Simple payback before incentives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You, sold at about $370 each | $2,541 | about $4,670 | about $7,211 | 11.4 years, SRECs on top |
| The company, or nobody sells them | $2,541 | $0 | $2,541 | 11.4 years |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
SREC prices move. The cap is $440 in 2026 and falls to $300 in 2033, so ask each installer which SREC price it used for each year.
District law does not hand the SRECs to the homeowner. The contract does, or does not. Look for “renewable energy credits” or “environmental attributes” and see whose name follows.
Way to pay | Who owns the panels | Who keeps the SRECs | Check before you sign |
|---|---|---|---|
Cash | You | You, unless the contract assigns them | That the SRECs are not assigned to the installer |
Loan | You | You, unless the contract assigns them | Cash vs. financed price, and any dealer fee |
Lease | The company | Whoever the contract names | If the company keeps them, their value as a lower payment |
PPA | The company | Whoever the contract names | Who keeps them, and the PPA rate against the 23.2¢ you pay now |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
A newly certified system can count power back to January 1 of the year it is certified. Power made before that earns no SRECs, so ask who files the certification and by when.
Pepco delivers power to every District home. Solar power you use lowers your bill right away, and power you send out comes back as kWh credits.
What Pepco’s District homes paid on average, 12 months to August 2026, fixed charges included. Send out 100 kWh more than you use in June, and 100 kWh come off a later bill.
Credits: carry over from month to month.
Power you made above your yearly use is paid at the generation rate only, the supply part of your rate. A year-end credit over $25 is refunded; $25 or less carries over.
Next: size the system to your use, not past it.
If another company sells you power and Pepco only delivers it, Pepco still gives kWh credits. The supply part is credited at the rate in your supplier’s contract.
Next: ask the supplier, in writing, how it bills solar homes.
$0.32 above the $2.89 US average and 49th lowest of 51 (the 50 states and DC). Maryland is $2.80 and Virginia $2.79. These are modeled cash prices, not quotes we collected.
Size | kWh a year | SRECs a year | Cash price |
|---|---|---|---|
4 kW | 5,596 | 5.6 | $12,840 |
6 kW | 8,394 | 8.4 | $19,260 |
9.03 kW (typical) | 12,633 | 12.6 | $28,986 |
12 kW | 16,788 | 16.8 | $38,520 |
The District’s program for lower-income households has two parts, and they are not equally open. DCSEU’s apply page still showed its FY2026 waitlist notice on October 29, 2026, with no notice for FY2027.
Of area median income, or help from a federally approved assistance program.
Funding was limited for the year to September 30, 2026. Every application goes on a waitlist until further notice.
A free share of a solar array elsewhere in the District, for up to 15 years while you qualify.
Single-family homes, or buildings of two to four units where you have your own meter.
DCSEU tells you within 30 days whether you are eligible. Income-verified applicants may be referred to DOEE, the District’s energy department, for a community solar place. If you get a rooftop system, DCSEU’s contractor maintains it for 20 years. The law keeps the program running until the end of fiscal year 2032.
Do not sign with a solar company while you wait: a signed solar contract makes the home ineligible. Community solar earns you no SRECs.
Not ranked. Facts from their own sites and from DC and Maryland license records, read October 13 to 15, 2026.
Before you sign with any installer, ask for its DC Home Improvement Contractor license number and check that it is active with the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. How we check installers.
Ask each installer who keeps the SRECs and which SREC price it used.
EcoGen America does not sell or install solar. When you request quotes, we pass your request to solar providers serving your area, and they pay us for the introduction. Providers can include installers, solar marketplaces and lead exchanges. You never pay us. This is not an application to DC Solar for All. Privacy policy
CEO of EcoGen America. Since 2021 he has connected homeowners with residential solar installers in all 50 states.
About Dean
Founder of EcoGen America. He has worked in residential solar since 2016 and maintains the EcoGen Solar Cost Index.
About TrevorEditorial standardsCost Index methodologyVerified Installer methodology
