Solar in Mississippi costs about $2.58 per watt, the 7th cheapest in the country, so the typical 9.73 kW system runs about $25,103 before incentives. What sets the state apart is the export adder: rooftops on Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power earn 2.5¢ per kWh on top of avoided cost, and households at or below 225% of the federal poverty level earn 2.0¢ more plus a one-time $3,000 install incentive.
Check your household against the income adder
In Mississippi, your income bracket can add 2.0¢ to every exported kWh and take $3,000 off the price. Enter your ZIP code and we will check before anyone quotes you.
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3.6¢ plus 2.5¢ plus 2.0¢: how Mississippi stacks an export credit
Mississippi built its solar rules around a group most states ignore. The Public Service Commission’s distributed generation rule pays every rooftop an adder on top of the avoided-cost export rate. Households at or below 225% of the federal poverty level get a second adder on top of that.
One exported kWh on Entergy Mississippi
The income-qualified credit earns about a third more on every exported kWh than a neighbor’s. For the picture beyond Mississippi, start with our solar panel costs nationwide.
Get your eligibility in writingThe income-qualified package is the most generous support in Mississippi solar. Ask any installer to confirm your eligibility in writing before you sign. It changes the math more than any discount they can offer.
$3,000 off the install or $2,000 toward a battery: Entergy’s one-time cash
On top of the export adders, Entergy Mississippi pays one of two one-time incentives. You take one or the other, not both.
For households at or below 225% of the federal poverty level, through 2027. On the typical system it takes $25,103 down to about $22,103.
Entergy Mississippi NEM-2Open to any Entergy residential solar customer who has not taken the installation incentive. The battery must be enrolled in Entergy’s demand response program.
Entergy Mississippi NEM-2Since January 1, 2026, for systems you own outright under Public Law 119-21.
IRS12.1, 14 or 17 years: the adder decides where a Mississippi roof lands
The typical 9.73 kW system makes about 13,875 kWh a year in Jackson-class sun. Power used as it is made offsets retail power, modeled at the 14.95¢ statewide average. Power sent out earns the 6.1¢ or 8.1¢ credit.
14.95¢ is a statewide average, not your billIt is ranking context, not a billed rate. Entergy Mississippi files its own residential rate in the NEM-2 tariff, so rerun the year and the payback with the rate on your own bill.
Big Mississippi systems at the seventh-lowest price per watt
Mississippi homes run heavy: 1,156 kWh a month, where 900 is common nationally. So the typical system is large. Gross cost at $2.58 per watt, before incentives, with what the 6.1¢ credit pays on half of each system’s output.
Gross cost before incentives at $2.58 per watt. Credits assume about 1,426 kWh a year per kilowatt, half exported at 6.1¢. Real quotes vary by roof, equipment and installer.
The adder binds Entergy and Mississippi Power, not the co-ops
The commission’s rule covers investor-owned utilities only: Entergy Mississippi (about 29% of residential customers) and Mississippi Power (about 12%). That is well under half the state. Coast Electric, Singing River and the other cooperatives set their own terms.
Export credit by utility, standard and income-qualified
Mississippi Power figures are from its RENM Basic Avoided Energy Cost Bulletin, issued June 4, 2025. They are the seasonal standard-rate figures. A time-of-day option pays more for on-peak exports, so get your own figure in writing.
Co-op members: none of these numbers are automatically yoursCoast Electric and Singing River together serve more households than Mississippi Power does. Get your co-op’s policy before you model anything.
The program has a capEach utility has a 3% program cap, so availability is not permanent.
A lease can be netted on a Mississippi meter. A PPA cannot.
This distinction is unusual, and it catches people out. The commission’s rule requires the net-metering customer to own or lease the system.
Solar lease
You lease the equipment, and the system can be netted. Since the owner credit went to $0, a lease is how the commercial federal credit reaches a Mississippi rooftop.
Power purchase agreement
You buy the electricity, not the equipment. PPAs are excluded from net metering entirely, so the power cannot be netted on your meter.
Ask which one you are being sold, in those wordsSection 25D is $0 for systems you own outright since January 1, 2026 (Public Law 119-21). The commercial credit reaches homes only through third-party ownership, and in Mississippi that route runs through a lease.
Five Mississippi buyers who should run the numbers twice
The Mississippi case rests on a low price, the adder and a high self-use share. Think twice if one of these fits:
- Co-op customers who assume the state rule applies. Coast Electric and Singing River write their own terms. Get your co-op’s policy first.
- Anyone quoted well above $2.58 per watt. On a 9.73 kW system, every 25¢ per watt over benchmark is about $2,430, and a 6.1¢ credit recovers that slowly.
- Households that might qualify for the income adder and have not checked. Skipping that check is the most expensive thing you can do here, and asking costs nothing.
- Anyone being sold a power purchase agreement. It cannot be netted under the commission’s rule. A lease can.
- Daytime-empty homes with no shiftable load. At 6.1¢ against the 14.95¢ statewide average, an export-heavy profile stretches payback well past 17 years.
Get bids priced on your utility credit
Your income bracket, your utility and your daytime usage decide this one. Enter your ZIP code and we will run all three against your address.
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Beyond the Mississippi adder
Frequently asked questions
How much do solar panels cost in Mississippi in 2026?
About $2.58 per watt installed, the 7th cheapest in the country, as of March 1, 2026. Mississippi homes use a lot of power at 1,156 kWh a month, so the typical system is large at 9.73 kW, roughly $25,103 before any incentives.
Does Mississippi have net metering?
It has net billing rather than one-to-one net metering. Under the Public Service Commission distributed generation rule, exports are credited at the utility avoided cost plus a 2.5¢ per kWh adder, which on Entergy Mississippi comes to 6.1¢. The rule binds investor-owned utilities only, so cooperatives set their own terms.
What is the low-income solar incentive in Mississippi?
Households at or below 225% of the federal poverty level earn an extra 2.0¢ per kWh on exports, taking the Entergy credit to 8.1¢, and can receive a one-time $3,000 installation incentive through 2027; the separate $2,000 battery incentive is open to any Entergy residential solar customer who has not taken the installation incentive. It is the most valuable support in Mississippi solar, so ask for your eligibility to be confirmed in writing.
What is the solar payback period in Mississippi?
About 12.1 years if you use everything you generate, stretching toward 17 years for a household exporting half its output at the 6.1¢ credit. An income-qualified household with the $3,000 installation incentive and the 8.1¢ credit lands nearer 14 years even while exporting half. Your self-use share is the deciding variable.
Can I get a solar lease or PPA in Mississippi?
A lease works, a power purchase agreement does not. The Public Service Commission rule requires the net-metering customer to own or lease the system, which excludes PPAs from net metering. Since the federal residential credit went to $0 for owner-purchased systems on January 1, 2026, the lease route is how third-party ownership reaches a Mississippi rooftop.
How we calculate these costs
Cost figures use Mississippi’s entry in the EcoGen Solar Cost Index (v2 method), $2.58 per watt as of March 1, 2026. Payback assumes no federal residential credit for owner-purchased systems, exports at the Entergy Mississippi 6.1¢ combined credit, 3.51% yearly rate growth (the state 5-year average), 0.5% yearly panel degradation and a 25-year horizon. Mississippi Power seasonal avoided-cost figures are from its RENM Basic Avoided Energy Cost Bulletin dated June 4, 2025. Sources were accessed between June 10 and August 17, 2026.
Sources (8)
- Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC), Distributed Generation and Net Metering Rule (adopted 2015, amended 2022): psc.ms.gov
- Entergy Mississippi, NEM-2 Tariff (effective for February 2026 billing): entergymississippi.com
- Mississippi Power, RENM-3 Tariff (effective May 27, 2025): mississippipower.com
- Mississippi Legislature, Mississippi Code 77-3-3(d): law.justia.com
- EIA, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (March 2026 edition): 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
