Solar in Utah costs about $2.80 per watt, so the typical 6.09 kW system runs about $17,052 before incentives and pays back in about 14 years if you use what it makes. The catch is exporting: Rocky Mountain Power cut its export credit again on March 1, 2026, and any credits you have not used expire at your March meter read.
Model your Utah roof against the current credit
A proposal built on last year’s export rate overstates what your surplus earns. Enter your ZIP code and we will model your system against the rate in force since March 1, 2026.
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Rocky Mountain Power’s export credit, before and after March 1, 2026
Utah uses net billing, not net metering. Everything you use is billed at the standard retail rate. Everything you send to the grid earns the Export Credit Rate, which is roughly a third of retail.
On March 1, 2026 that rate fell again: about 14% in summer and 15% in winter. The Public Service Commission resets it every March 1, and it has moved down each time.
Who is on Schedule 137Every new interconnection since October 31, 2020, with a residential cap of 25 kW DC. The older Schedule 135 net metering and Schedule 136 transition terms are closed but grandfathered, so a neighbor with an older system really is on better terms than you can get today.
Timing and sizing, not whetherUtah solar is a good buy that gets slightly worse to export from every year. That is an argument about when you buy and how big you build, not about whether to do it.
Utah export credits run out at the March meter read
Export credits offset the power and energy charges on your bill and carry forward within the Annualized Billing Period. That period ends at your March meter read. Anything unused at that point is gone.
A kWh you use at home
It replaces power you would buy at retail, modeled here at the statewide average. It never expires.
A kWh you send out
Summer or winter Export Credit Rate. The credit waits in a bank that empties at the end of winter.
A Utah system that overproduces through summer and autumn is banking credits against a deadline. The further past your own use you build, the more of that bank you are likely to lose.
Build to cover what you usePut the falling rate and the expiry together and the guidance is the same: size to your own use and prefer self-consumption over export.
A battery keeps kilowatt-hours at retail valueIn Utah, storage is a way of using your own power at the 13.11¢ you would pay, instead of selling it at 4.855¢. The gap between those two numbers is the entire argument for a battery here.
Light users, strong sun: Utah system prices from 4 kW to 10 kW
Utah households use well below what most states use, at 774 kWh a month, and the sun is strong: about 1,524 kWh per kW a year around Salt Lake City. So systems are small. At $2.80 per watt, tied with South Carolina and Virginia for 19th cheapest, the typical 6.09 kW install costs about $17,052 gross and makes roughly 9,281 kWh a year. For the picture beyond Utah, start with our solar panel costs nationwide.
Each size multiplied by Utah’s $2.80 per watt benchmark. Gross, before incentives. Solar only. Real quotes vary by roof, equipment and installer.
9,281 kWh used at home: how a Utah system reaches 14 years
Consumed as it is made, the typical system’s output is worth about $1,217 a year at the 13.11¢ statewide average. That puts simple payback at about 14.0 years on the $17,052 cost, with no federal credit in the math.
Median Utah home values of $545,200 mean solar is a small fraction of the property here.
No 30% credit for a system you ownThe federal residential credit is $0 for owner-purchased systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025, under Public Law 119-21. Utah authorizes both leases and power purchase agreements, so third-party ownership is available if you would rather someone else held the equipment.
Rerun it on your own rateThe 13.11¢ is a statewide average. Rocky Mountain Power files its own Schedule 1 residential rate, which is the number your real payback runs on. Exporting is worth roughly a third of that, so self-consumption drives the outcome.
Four Utah proposals and buyers the March reset catches out
Think hard before signing if one of these describes you or your quote:
- Anyone modeling on last year’s export credit. The rate fell about 14% in summer and 15% in winter on March 1, 2026. A proposal built on 5.636¢ overstates your summer export income by about 16%.
- Anyone modeling on a flat rate for 25 years. It resets every March and has moved down each time. Ask what escalation, or de-escalation, the model assumes.
- Households being sold maximum roof coverage. With credits expiring at the March meter read, surplus beyond your own use is the most perishable thing on the proposal.
- Customers of Provo, St George, Lehi or another municipal utility. Schedule 137 is Rocky Mountain Power’s. Municipals and cooperatives set their own rules entirely.
Build for self-use, not for export
The Utah credit falls each March and your surplus expires each March. Enter your ZIP code and we will size a system around both.
- Quotes built for your roofEach quote is designed around your home and your bills.
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Utah solar, one step further
Frequently asked questions
How much do solar panels cost in Utah in 2026?
About $2.80 per watt installed, tied for 19th cheapest in the country as of March 1, 2026. Utah households are light users at 774 kWh a month and the sun is strong, so the typical system is small at 6.09 kW, roughly $17,052 before incentives.
What is the Utah export credit rate in 2026?
On Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 137, 4.855¢ per kWh from June to September and 4.033¢ from October to May, effective March 1, 2026. That is down from 5.636¢ and 4.745¢, a cut of about 14% in summer and 15% in winter. The rate is reset by the Public Service Commission every March 1.
Does Utah have net metering?
Not for new customers. Utah moved to net billing under Schedule 137 for every interconnection since October 31, 2020: consumption is charged at standard retail while exports earn the lower Export Credit Rate. The older Schedule 135 net metering and Schedule 136 transition terms are closed to new applicants but grandfathered for those already on them.
Do Utah solar credits expire?
Yes. Export credits offset power and energy charges and carry forward within the Annualized Billing Period, which ends at your March meter read. Anything unused at that point is lost, so building well beyond your own consumption tends to bank credits you will never spend.
What is the solar payback period in Utah?
About 14.0 years for a household consuming what it generates, modeled at the 13.11¢ statewide average; Rocky Mountain Power files its own Schedule 1 residential rate, which is the number your real payback runs on, with rates rising 3.28% a year. Exporting is worth roughly a third of that, so self-consumption drives the outcome, and a battery here is mainly a way of keeping kilowatt-hours at retail value rather than selling them at 4.855¢.
How we calculate these costs
Cost figures use Utah’s entry in the EcoGen Solar Cost Index (v2 method): $2.80 per watt, benchmark dated March 1, 2026. Payback is modeled with no federal residential credit for owner-purchased systems, exports at the current Export Credit Rate, rate growth at the state 5-year average of 3.28%, 0.5% yearly panel degradation, and a 25-year horizon. Export Credit Rates are read from the Schedule 137 tariff sheet effective March 1, 2026. They reset every year, so these figures need refreshing each March.
Sources (5)
- Rocky Mountain Power, Schedule 137: Net Billing Service, First Revision Sheet 137.3, effective March 1, 2026, Docket 26-035-T03: Export Credit Rate, 25 kW DC residential cap, Annualized Billing Period and credit expiry (accessed June 11, 2026): rockymountainpower.net
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, March 2026 edition (accessed June 10, 2026): eia.gov
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, 2024: residential customers of PacifiCorp, Provo City, St George and Lehi City (accessed June 10, 2026): eia.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024: median home values (accessed June 11, 2026): census.gov
- IRS, One, Big, Beautiful Bill Provisions: Public Law 119-21 and the end of Section 25D (accessed August 15, 2026): irs.gov
