Arizona’s version of the free-solar pitch has a catch the brochure never mentions. Your savings do not come from the panels, they come from how the system interacts with a time-of-use or demand-based rate plan, and a fixed $0-down payment signed against the wrong plan loses money on schedule. There is no Arizona program giving panels away. There are contracts, priced against rate plans, in the state where rate plans differ more than almost anywhere in the country.
Abundant sun makes the pitch easy. APS, SRP, and TEP’s rate designs make the fine print decisive.
Test any $0-down pitch against your Arizona rate plan
The Claims vs What Your Rate Plan Does to Them
| The pitch says | What Arizona rate design does to that claim |
|---|---|
| “The system pays for itself” | Only if its production aligns with your plan’s expensive hours; midday exports earn credits below retail (APS 6.171¢, TEP 5.13¢, SRP 3.45¢ per kWh) |
| “Fixed payment, predictable savings” | The payment rises on its escalator schedule while the offset value floats with time-of-use windows and, on SRP demand plans, with your worst 30-minute peak |
| “Works for every home” | APS, SRP, and TEP are three regimes; a contract modeled on the wrong one is mispriced from day one |
| “Add a battery later if you want” | Under TOU and demand structures, storage is often the difference between the deal working and not; “later” is where the math dies |
The numbers behind that table are on record. Retail net metering closed in Arizona in 2017 and 2018; exports now earn utility-specific rates: APS 6.171¢ per kilowatt-hour on the current tranche (which runs through August 31, 2026, with a step-down expected September 1), TEP 5.13¢, and SRP 3.45¢. APS and TEP lock the export rate for 10 years from interconnection; treat SRP’s lock with a caveat, since some SRP plans end in November 2029 rather than running a full 10 years. The statewide average retail rate is 15.72¢ per kilowatt-hour, statewide context only, since what you actually pay is set by your utility and plan. The payment side is not level either: most Arizona lease and PPA contracts carry a 1 to 3% annual escalator that compounds over the 20 to 25 year term, so get the escalator rate and the final-year payment in writing.
Which regime you are in, and what it rewards, is covered in our Arizona incentives guide and drives our Arizona installer rankings.
The Three Structures, Arizona Edition
- Lease: the company owns the array; you pay rent while your bill’s behavior depends on a rate plan the pitch may never have named.
- PPA: you buy the output at a set rate. PPAs are restricted in Arizona and not offered in every utility territory, so confirm the arrangement is actually available where you live before comparing it. Under time-of-use, output at 1pm and consumption at 7pm are different products; ask which one you are buying.
- $0-down loan: you own the system and the dealer fee inside the financed total. Benchmark against what solar costs in Arizona in cash terms first.
The federal residential credit is $0 for homeowner-owned systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025; third-party owners may qualify for the separate Section 48E business credit, subject to federal placed-in-service deadlines (December 31, 2027 for projects without an early construction start). In Arizona that credit is real money, and whether any of it reaches your payment is the entire question.
You Likely Will Not Qualify for Anything Free If
- You cannot name your rate plan. Neither can the deal’s math, then.
- You are on an SRP demand plan and the quote never mentions demand. The single most common Arizona mispricing.
- Your usage is evening-heavy and the offer excludes storage. You would be exporting cheap and buying expensive, with a payment on top.
- You expect a government program. Arizona does not run a residential giveaway; income-qualified support where it exists runs through utilities and is verified with them, not with a salesperson.
The Arizona Ten-Minute Audit
- Name the utility and the exact rate plan the savings model used. In writing.
- Ask what the export credit assumption is, separately from the retail rate.
- On SRP: ask what the model expects your demand charge to be after installation. Two numbers, before and after.
- Get the cash price of the identical system beside any payment stream.
- Reread the escalator against your plan’s actual history, not “utility rates always rise.”
Price the Contract Against My Actual Rate Plan
In Arizona the rate plan is the product. Enter your ZIP code to see what any honest $0-down offer has to model for your utility before you sign it.
See the real Arizona math for your ZIP
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Arizona has no free panel program. “Free” offers are leases, power purchase agreements, or $0-down loans, and in Arizona their value depends on the rate plan they were modeled against.
Not a statewide giveaway. Utilities administer their own programs and rate options, and any income-qualified support is verified with the utility directly. Marketing that says otherwise is selling a contract.
Because Arizona compensates exports below retail (APS pays 6.171¢ per kWh on the current tranche, TEP 5.13¢, SRP 3.45¢, against a 15.72¢ statewide average retail rate) and prices power by time, and SRP adds demand-based components. The same array earns different amounts under different plans, while a $0-down payment keeps climbing on its escalator schedule regardless.
Not required, but under time-of-use and demand structures storage frequently decides whether the math clears. A deal that waves the battery off to “later” should show you the no-battery math surviving your actual plan.
The company that owns the system. The federal residential credit is $0 for homeowner purchases whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025; third-party owners may qualify for a separate business credit, subject to federal placed-in-service deadlines (December 31, 2027 for projects without an early construction start), and it helps you only if the payment reflects it.
Demand the named rate plan, the export assumption, the demand-charge model if you are on SRP, the cash price beside the payment, and the escalator terms. Five answers, ten minutes, most pitches fail by question two.
References & Research Sources
EcoGen America reviewed Arizona utility rate resources, state regulatory materials, and federal tax guidance for this article. Sources were accessed August 5, 2026, unless another publication, release, effective, or update date is listed below.
- Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Utilities Division Rate Resources. State regulatory resource covering residential rate structures for regulated utilities. Accessed August 5, 2026.
- Arizona Public Service (APS). Residential Solar and Rate Plan Resources. Utility resource covering solar customer plans and export compensation. Accessed August 5, 2026.
- Salt River Project (SRP). Solar Price Plans. Utility resource covering price plans for customers with on-site generation, including demand components. Accessed August 5, 2026.
- Tucson Electric Power (TEP). Residential Solar Resources. Utility resource covering solar customer rate treatment. Accessed August 5, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS). FAQs for Modification of Sections 25C, 25D, 25E, 30C, 30D, 45L, 45W and 179D under Public Law 119-21. Federal guidance confirming termination of the residential clean energy credit for installations completed after December 31, 2025, and business-side treatment relevant to third-party ownership. Accessed August 5, 2026.
