Solar in Louisiana costs about $2.69 per watt, so the typical 7.84 kW system runs about $21,090 before incentives. Exports earn only avoided-cost rates like Entergy Louisiana’s 3.86¢, but your air conditioner runs hardest in the same hours your panels do, so more of your power gets used at home.
See how your cooling load changes the math
In Louisiana, the hours your AC runs decide how much solar you use at home. Your ZIP code shows local prices and installers.
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Louisiana air conditioners and solar panels work the same shift
The export rate punishes selling power. Louisiana’s load curve fights back. Air conditioning drives the state’s heavy use, and it runs hardest in the hours panels produce hardest. A home cooling itself through a July afternoon uses its own solar in real time. No battery or change in habits is needed.
Why the payback beats the export rateA realistic self-use share for an AC-heavy Louisiana home often lands well above what a low-use home in a mild climate could manage. That is why payback, while slow, beats what a 3.86¢ export rate implies at first glance.
Billed at 12.99¢, credited at 3.86¢: the Louisiana meter since 2020
Under the LPSC’s 2019 general order, effective January 1, 2020, commission-regulated utilities bill solar homes at retail for what they draw. Exports earn avoided cost: the trailing 12-month average wholesale energy price, updated each year.
What one kilowatt-hour is worth on a Louisiana solar home
For where Louisiana lands among the other states, see the full national pricing picture.
Orleans Parish plays by different rulesEntergy New Orleans serves about 9% of the state’s homes. The New Orleans City Council regulates it, not the LPSC. Orleans Parish residents should confirm their own rules before using any number on this page.
Your cooling habits set the Louisiana payback
The typical 7.84 kW array makes about 11,682 kWh a year in New Orleans-class sun. Where that power goes sets your payback. Cooling habits, daytime occupancy and sizing to your usage rather than your roof all move it.
If all of it replaced power at the 12.99¢ state average, it would be worth about $1,517 a year. Exporting a large share lowers that, because exports earn far less than the 12.99¢ you pay. Our Louisiana worth-it guide works through the payback on Entergy Louisiana and in New Orleans, with yearly owner costs included.
12.99¢ is a statewide average, not your billIt is ranking context, not a billed rate. Entergy Louisiana, Cleco and SWEPCO each file their own residential rates, so rerun the math with the rate on your own bill.
Price a battery as its own decisionA battery turns 4¢ exports into 13¢ self-use. Entergy Louisiana customers can also earn $75 per kWh of new battery, up to $1,000, if they enroll within a year of install, plus up to $600 a year for sharing power during grid events. At Louisiana’s spread, price it separately rather than assume it pays.
$2.69 a watt on Louisiana roofs, 6 kW to 12 kW, and what each makes
Gross cost at the benchmark, before incentives, with the yearly output Louisiana sun delivers at about 1,490 kWh per kilowatt.
Gross cost before incentives at $2.69 per watt. Real quotes vary by roof, equipment and installer.
Four rules for buying a Louisiana system
At these sizes, small mistakes cost real money.
- Size to your usage, not your roof. At the typical 7.84 kW, a 15% oversize is a four-figure mistake that earns 3.86¢ forever.
- Hold bids to $2.69 per watt. That benchmark is the 9th lowest of 51. Demand itemized reasons for anything above it.
- Reroof first if the roof is near its end. Roof condition is non-negotiable in hurricane country. If the decking or shingles have under 12 years left, replace them before the panels go up.
- Look at a lease if you want the federal credit. The residential credit is $0 for host-owned systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025. Leases are explicitly allowed in Louisiana while PPA status is unclear, so a lease is the practical third-party route to the federal 48E credit.
Four Louisiana buyers the four-cent export rate works against
The Louisiana case rests on a big cooling load used in daylight. Without it, the math turns:
- Mild-usage homes. Without the big AC load, you lose both the self-use match and the offset volume. The math thins fast below about 900 kWh a month.
- Export-first designs. Any proposal celebrating how much power you will sell is selling 3.86¢ credits billed at $2.69 per watt.
- Aging roofs in wind zones. Removing and reinstalling panels for a reroof mid-payback erases years of savings.
- Orleans Parish buyers using LPSC numbers. Different regulator, possibly different math. Confirm first.
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Keep reading on Louisiana solar
Frequently asked questions
How much do solar panels cost in Louisiana in 2026?
About $2.69 per watt installed, the 9th lowest of 51 (EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026 Edition). The typical system, the median size Louisiana homeowners installed in 2025, is about 7.84 kW and $21,090 before incentives.
Does Louisiana have net metering?
Not since 2020 for new customers. LPSC-regulated utilities bill imports at retail and credit exports at avoided cost, updated annually; Entergy Louisiana’s 2026 residential export rate is 3.86¢ per kWh. Entergy New Orleans is regulated separately by the City Council.
What is the solar payback period in Louisiana?
There is no single Louisiana number. Power you use at home as it is made saves your retail rate (12.34¢ on average at Entergy Louisiana), while exports earn avoided cost, 3.86¢ there in 2026. Louisiana’s AC-heavy load naturally pushes self-use high because cooling demand peaks in the same hours panels produce, which is the state’s quiet advantage. In New Orleans, net metering changes the math. Our Louisiana worth-it guide works through both, with yearly owner costs included.
Can I lease solar panels in Louisiana?
Yes. Solar leases are explicitly allowed in Louisiana while PPA status is unclear, which makes a lease the practical third-party route to the federal 48E credit now that the residential credit no longer exists for host-owned systems.
Are the solar rules different in New Orleans?
They can be. Entergy New Orleans is regulated by the New Orleans City Council, not the LPSC, so Orleans Parish households should confirm their utility’s current solar terms directly before relying on statewide figures.
How we calculate these costs
Cost figures use Louisiana’s entry in the EcoGen Solar Cost Index (September 2026 Edition), $2.69 per watt, prices as of September 25, 2026. This page gives no single statewide payback, because it depends on your utility, its export rule and home use. The year-one value counts the power the system makes at the 12.99¢ state average, with no federal residential credit for host-owned systems. The Louisiana worth-it guide shows the utility examples. The 7.84 kW typical size is Berkeley Lab’s 2025 median for Louisiana single-family installs (295 systems). Sources were accessed between June 10 and August 15, 2026.
Sources (7)
- Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC), General Order 09-19-2019: Distributed Generation (effective January 1, 2020): lpsc.louisiana.gov
- LPSC, 2026 Avoided-Cost Rate Schedule (Entergy Louisiana, Cleco, SWEPCO): lpsc.louisiana.gov
- EIA, Electric Power Monthly, residential price by state, 12-month average August 2025 to July 2026: eia.gov
- EIA, Form EIA-861 Annual Electric Power Industry Report, 2024: eia.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024: census.gov
- IRS, One, Big, Beautiful Bill Provisions (Public Law 119-21): irs.gov
- DSIRE, Third-Party Solar PV Power Purchase Agreement Policies, May 2026: ncsolarcen-prod.s3.amazonaws.com
