Solar in Washington costs about $2.86 per watt, so the typical 8.64 kW system runs about $24,710 before incentives. Timing matters more than price here: Puget Sound Energy has already passed the 4% trigger that obliges full retail credits, and keeps offering them by choice.
Check where your utility stands before you commit
Full retail credits in Washington depend on how close your utility is to its 4% trigger. Enter your ZIP code and we will check where yours stands.
EcoGen is a referral service. Your request may be shared with installers, marketplaces or lead exchanges, and more than one provider may contact you. Review the contact consent before submitting.
- Free, no-obligation quotesRequest quotes from local installers in minutes. You decide if you go ahead.
- Compare provider credentialsAsk for licensing, insurance and warranty details before signing.
- Your details come lastFour quick questions about your home first. Name, email and phone only at the end.
Two clocks on Washington net metering, and one has already run out
State law (RCW chapter 80.60) makes utilities credit your exports at full retail only until one of two limits hits, whichever comes first.
Full retail credits are required until solar reaches 4% of the utility’s 1996 peak demand. PSE has exceeded it and still enrolls under Schedule 150, voluntarily.
The latest date the obligation can run. About three years out, and it applies statewide.
What replaces one-to-one when a utility closes its program. Nothing was on file with the state regulator as of our check.
PSE says it will give notice before closing. That is a company commitment, not a legal guarantee.
This is a real act-now case, not a marketing deadline. At PSE, the legal duty to credit you at full retail is already met. Schedule 150 stays open until a new solar rate takes effect, with notice before it closes. Seattle City Light, Snohomish County PUD and Avista work under the same law. Check each one’s position directly.
PSE customers: the window is open by gracePSE will keep enrolling new customers on the old terms only until a new rate schedule is available. No successor has been filed.
March 31 takes whatever credit you banked
Under RCW 80.60.030, unused net metering credits go to the utility each March 31, with no payment. Washington has weak winter sun and long summer days, so a system banks credit through summer and autumn. Whatever winter did not use is lost at the end of the darkest stretch of the year.
Size to your use, not to maximum outputMatch the system to what your home consumes. Winter load is what protects a summer surplus from the March 31 reset.
Washington solar prices on some of the cloudiest roofs in the country
Around Seattle, each kW of panels makes about 1,095 kWh a year, among the lowest yields in the country and about 40% below Nevada. You need more hardware for the same power. The typical system is 8.64 kW, the median size Washington homeowners installed in 2025 (Berkeley Lab, 3,743 systems), larger than the 7.95 kW US typical. See how Washington compares in our state-by-state solar pricing.
Each figure is the EcoGen Index price ($2.86 per watt, as of September 25, 2026) times the size, gross before incentives. Real quotes vary by roof, equipment and installer.
How the 14.1-year payback adds up at Puget Sound Energy
A household that uses what it makes, on PSE net metering, with every kWh valued at PSE’s price less its monthly basic charge.
8.64 kW system at $2.86 per watt
No upkeep or price rises are counted. The other large utilities, same math: Seattle City Light 17.4 years, Pacific Power 18.3, Avista 19.4, Clark Public Utilities 24.5, Snohomish County PUD 26.9 and Tacoma Power 30.7. Rates are climbing 4.15% a year, among the fastest in the country, which steadily shortens that. Washington’s offsetting advantage is full retail one-to-one credit while it lasts. That is why timing matters more here than price.
Rerun it with your own bill18.56¢ is PSE’s average price with the basic charge taken out, not a filed rate. PSE, Seattle City Light and the public utility districts each set their own residential rates.
Who should wait on Washington solar, and who should not
Think twice if one of these is true:
- Your roof needs replacing. Wait and do the roof first. A 14- to 31-year payback does not survive paying to remove and refit the array in year six.
- Your roof is shaded or faces north. At 1,095 kWh per kW, there is less margin here than almost anywhere in the country.
Do not wait if you are a PSE customer who has already decidedThe obligation to credit you at full retail has been met. Waiting is a bet that a company keeps offering something it no longer has to.
Two checks before a Washington quote
- Ask about the March 31 reset before sizing. A quote that maximizes yearly output without discussing winter use is optimizing the wrong number.
- Check your own utility rather than assuming. Seattle City Light, Snohomish County PUD and Avista each sit at a different point against the same 4% trigger.
Size your Washington system around the March 31 reset
A system that makes more than your home uses by March 31 gives the surplus away. Enter your ZIP code to size around your own winter use.
- Quotes built for your roofEach quote is designed around your home and your bills.
- Check the providerVerify licensing, insurance and warranty terms before signing.
- No cost, no pressureComparing quotes is free, and you are never obliged to sign.
More Washington solar guides
Frequently asked questions
How much do solar panels cost in Washington state in 2026?
About $2.86 per watt installed, 24th lowest of 51 in the EcoGen Solar Cost Index (September 2026 Edition). Washington has among the weakest sunlight of any state at 1,095 kWh per kW a year, and systems are large: the median Washington homeowners installed in 2025 was 8.64 kW, roughly $24,710 before incentives.
Is Washington net metering ending?
It has a defined end. Under RCW chapter 80.60 utilities must offer one-to-one retail credits only until their cumulative solar capacity reaches 4% of their 1996 peak demand, or until June 30, 2029, whichever comes first. Puget Sound Energy has already exceeded its 4% threshold and continues enrolling new customers under Schedule 150 voluntarily, saying it will give notice before closing. No successor schedule has been filed.
Do Washington solar credits expire?
Yes. Under RCW 80.60.030 any unused net metering credits are granted to the utility on March 31 each year without compensation. Given Washington’s weak winter sun and long summer days, that timing means a summer surplus has to be consumed over winter or it is lost, which is why winter load such as electric heating or an EV protects the value.
What is the solar payback period in Washington state?
About 14.1 years at Puget Sound Energy, the largest utility, simple payback before incentives, and 17.4 to 30.7 years at the other large utilities. The obstacle is sunlight rather than price: at 1,095 kWh per kW a year, roughly 40% below Nevada, you need more hardware for the same output. Rates rising 4.15% a year improve that steadily.
Should I install solar in Washington now or wait?
If you are a Puget Sound Energy customer who has already decided, waiting carries a real and specific risk: the legal obligation to credit you at full retail has already been met, so PSE can replace these terms. For now, Schedule 150 stays open until a new solar rate takes effect, and PSE says it will give notice and time to finish approved installs. If your roof needs replacing first, sequence that, because a 14- to 31-year payback does not survive removing and refitting the array partway through.
How we calculate these costs
Cost figures use Washington’s entry in the EcoGen Solar Cost Index (September 2026 Edition), $2.86 per watt as of September 25, 2026, 24th lowest of 51. The 8.64 kW typical size is Berkeley Lab’s 2025 median for Washington single-family installs (3,743 systems). The payback comes from our per-utility figures of October 19, 2026: the gross cost divided by year-one savings, 9,469 kWh at 1,096 kWh per kW valued at each utility’s EIA 12-month price less its fixed monthly charge, with no upkeep, no rate growth and no federal residential credit for owner-purchased systems. The statutory framework is read directly from RCW chapter 80.60. PSE’s position past its 4% threshold and its continued Schedule 150 enrollment come from utility documents and reporting, not a single filing. No successor schedule was on file with the state regulator at the time of writing.
Sources (6)
- Washington State Legislature, RCW Chapter 80.60 (net metering statute, accessed June 10, 2026): app.leg.wa.gov
- Puget Sound Energy, Schedule 150 documentation (accessed June 10, 2026): pse.com
- 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, accessed August 15, 2026): irs.gov
