Delaware never makes the solar headlines, but the numbers reward a close look. No single number here is dramatic: installation runs $2.81 per watt, a shade under the national average; power costs 16.75¢, mid-pack; the sun is ordinary. What Delaware has instead is the combination: straightforward full-retail net metering with no fine-print traps, rates that have climbed 5.71% a year for five years, and a small-state market where the rules are the same for almost everyone. Quietly, that adds up to one of the cleanest solar cases in the Mid-Atlantic.
The Whole Deal in Four Numbers
Number | Delaware’s Figure | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
Installed price | $2.81/W (rank 22) | A typical 7.8 kW system runs about $21,926 gross |
Electricity rate | 16.75¢/kWh | Statewide average, ranking context; 1-to-1 netting credits your own utility’s rate in full |
Rate trend | +5.71%/yr over 5 years | Among the fastest sustained climbs in the country; the case strengthens annually |
Production | 1,401 kWh per kW per year | Solid Mid-Atlantic output; a 7.8 kW array yields ~10,930 kWh |
Net Metering Without the Asterisks
Under 26 Del. C. 1014, residential systems up to 25 kW net meter monthly at 1-to-1, with excess kilowatt-hours carrying forward. Since January 2024, Delmarva Power (about 64% of Delaware homes) credits monthly excess at the volumetric supply plus distribution charges, effectively full volumetric value. The Delaware Electric Cooperative (24% of homes) and the Dover and Newark municipal utilities run their own programs under the same statute family; their terms are similar in shape but worth confirming in writing. After the fine print of neighboring states, Delaware’s rules read almost suspiciously simple: produce, net, carry forward.
Run the simple math on your own bill
Payback: Ordinary Numbers, Strong Result
A 7.8 kW system producing about 10,930 kWh against matching consumption offsets roughly $1,830 of electricity in year one at the 16.75¢ statewide average. Against the $21,926 typical cost, that models to a simple payback of about 12 years flat-rate, tightening toward 10 to 11 as rates rise at the model’s 4% cap (the real 5-year trend is faster at 5.71%). Over 25 years, modeled savings reach about $70,000, or roughly $48,000 net of the system, with no federal residential credit in any of it. For a state nobody puts on a solar map, the middle-class investment case is genuinely strong.
The same benchmark across sizes, gross before incentives, with the yield each delivers at Delaware’s roughly 1,401 kWh per kilowatt:
System size | Gross cost at $2.81 per watt | Yearly yield at Delaware output (kWh) |
|---|---|---|
5 kW | $14,050 | About 7,010 |
6 kW | $16,860 | About 8,410 |
7.8 kW, the typical Delaware system | $21,926 | About 10,930 |
10 kW | $28,100 | About 14,010 |
12 kW | $33,720 | About 16,810 |
That model runs on the statewide average, which is ranking context rather than a rate anyone pays. Delmarva files the residential rate roughly 64% of Delaware homes actually offset, so rerun the year-one figure with the rate on your own bill.
The Delaware-Specific Checks Before Signing
1. Which utility, which program. Delmarva’s terms are the reference; co-op and municipal customers confirm their own versions first. 2. The per-watt test. Divide gross price by wattage and hold it against $2.81; in a small market with fewer installers, bid discipline is your main protection. 3. Licensing. Delaware requires licensed contractors for solar work; verify the license and the electrician who will actually make the connection. 4. The third-party comparison. Leases and PPAs are both legal here, and a third-party owner can still monetize the federal 48E credit; compare that offer against ownership before assuming which wins.
When Delaware Solar Is Not the Move
- Roofs with under 12 years of life. A 10-to-12-year payback belongs on a roof that will outlive it.
- Small-bill households. Below roughly 700 kWh a month, shrink the system with the usage; the statute’s 25 kW ceiling is not a suggestion to fill.
- Anyone sold on drama. If a pitch dresses Delaware up with urgency, deadlines, or vanishing programs, it is fiction; the state’s case is steady rates and simple rules, and it does not need embellishment.
Delaware Solar Cost FAQs
About $2.81 per watt installed as of March 1, 2026, slightly under the national average. The typical 7.8 kW system runs about $21,900 before incentives.
Yes, full 1-to-1 net metering for residential systems up to 25 kW under 26 Del. C. 1014, with monthly netting and excess carrying forward. Delmarva credits monthly excess at effectively full volumetric value; co-op and municipal customers should confirm their utility’s version.
About 12 years at flat rates, tightening toward 10 to 11 years as rates rise. Delaware’s rates have climbed 5.71% a year over the last five, one of the fastest sustained trends in the country, which is the quiet engine of the state’s solar case.
Not for systems you own: the 25D residential credit is $0 for host-owned systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025. Leases and PPAs are legal in Delaware, and the third-party owner can still claim the separate 48E credit, so compare both routes before buying.
Quietly, yes. No single number stands out, but full-retail netting with simple rules, mid-pack prices, and rates rising 5.71% a year combine into one of the cleanest payback cases in the Mid-Atlantic, modeled around $48,000 net over 25 years for a typical system.
The simple rules make this an easy one to price accurately. Enter your ZIP code and we will run your bill through the actual math.
Get quotes at the Delaware benchmark
Methodology: Cost figures in this guide use the EcoGen Solar Cost Index for Delaware, $2.81 per watt as of March 1, 2026, with payback and savings modeled with no federal residential credit for host-owned systems, rate escalation capped at 4% against the state’s 5.71% 5-year average, 0.5% annual panel degradation, and a 25-year horizon.
References & Research Sources
EcoGen America reviewed Delaware’s net metering statute and Delmarva netting terms, federal electricity price and utility datasets, Census home-value data, federal tax guidance, and state PPA-legality research for this Delaware solar cost guide. Sources were accessed between June 10 and August 15, 2026, unless another date is listed below.
- Delaware General Assembly. Delaware Code Title 26, Section 1014. Net metering statute covering 1-to-1 crediting, the 25 kW residential limit, and kilowatt-hour carry-forward. Accessed June 11, 2026.
- Delmarva Power. Residential Net Metering Terms. Monthly excess credit valuation covering supply and distribution charges. Effective January 1, 2024. Accessed June 11, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A. Average residential electricity prices by state, March 2026 edition. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Form EIA-861: Annual Electric Power Industry Report, 2024. Residential customer counts for Delmarva, the Delaware Electric Cooperative, and the Dover and Newark municipal utilities. Accessed June 10, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2024. Median home value data used for cost-to-value context. Accessed June 11, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS). One, Big, Beautiful Bill Provisions. Guidance on Public Law 119-21, including termination of the Section 25D residential credit for systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025. Accessed August 15, 2026.
- Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE). Third-Party Solar PV Power Purchase Agreement Policies, May 2026. State-by-state PPA legality map. Published May 2026. Accessed August 15, 2026.
