Home » Free Solar Panels » Free Solar Panels in Utah: Zero-Down Payments on an Export Rate Reset Every March (2026)

Free Solar Panels in Utah: Zero-Down Payments on an Export Rate Reset Every March (2026)

Utah allows leases and power purchase agreements. It also recalculates the export rate underneath them every March, and it has fallen two years running.

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Written by Trevor GuildayFounderTrevor Guilday is the founder of EcoGen America and leads its data and analytics team. Working in home improvement and residential solar since 2016...Learn more, Checked by Anders AlexanderEnergy consultant, Secretary of the WASEIA BoardAnders Alexander has worked in solar since 2013, from selling residential systems and directing installer sales teams to managing solar analysis software at EagleView and partnering on clean energy financing. He serves on the boards of the Washington Solar Energy Industries Association and Solar Washington.Learn more (financing and contract terms) and Layton Smith Sr.IRS Enrolled Agent and Co-Founder, HofflerSmith Financial ServicesLayton Smith Sr. is an IRS Enrolled Agent and co-founder of HofflerSmith Financial Services in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which he started in 1999. He has worked in tax practice for more than 27 years, representing clients before the IRS and handling tax planning and preparation for individuals and small businesses. H...Learn more (tax info) Last updated

Key takeaways

  • No one in Utah installs home panels for free. The state tax credit is $0 for solar installed on or after January 1, 2024, and the federal home credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025.
  • Zero-down solar is legal here. Leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs) are authorized in Utah.
  • Every offer rides on one number. Rocky Mountain Power credits exports at 4.855 cents per kWh in summer and 4.033 cents per kWh otherwise, about a third of retail. The rate is reset each March 1.
  • Unused credits expire at the March meter read. Size the system to your own use, not to the roof.
  • The one cash payment is for batteries: Wattsmart pays $1,000 or $2,000 upfront. Solar for All is not taking households.
About this review

We read every source below between September 29 and October 5, 2026, and rechecked program statuses on October 5. Rocky Mountain Power’s site refused our connection that day, so its figures come from our September 29 reading. This is not tax, legal or financial advice.

How we choose sources and correct errors: editorial process and content standards.

Utah allows solar leases and power purchase agreements, so no-money-down offers here are real. They are also priced against an export rate recalculated every March 1. A twenty-year payment set today sits on a number with a yearly review date, a different risk from the one most states carry.

Rocky Mountain Power serves about 3 in 4 Utah homes, so its tariff sets most offers. City utilities and co-ops write their own rules; one shuts leases out.

The Number Under the Offer Has a Review Date

Utah’s classic net metering, where an exported kilowatt-hour (kWh, the unit on your bill) offset a used one at full price, closed to new Rocky Mountain Power customers on November 15, 2017. A transition program closed on October 31, 2020. New systems go on Schedule 137, net billing: you pay retail for what you use and earn a set credit for what you export.

Rocky Mountain Power’s three solar schedules and what each pays for exports
ScheduleWho is on itValue of an exported kWhEnds
135, net meteringApplied by November 15, 2017Full retail, as kWh creditsDecember 31, 2035
136, transitionApplied by October 31, 20209.2 cents per kWhDecember 31, 2032
137, net billingEvery new home system, up to 25 kW4.855 cents per kWh (June through September); 4.033 cents per kWh (October through May)No end date; rate reset each March 1

The current Schedule 137 rates took effect on March 1, 2026. Export 100 kWh in July and you earn about $4.86; in January, about $4.03. Use the same 100 kWh at home and you avoid about $13.32 at the state average price.

If a proposal models any other export rate, it is not using this year’s sheet, and its savings line is wrong.

What Utah and Washington No Longer Pay For

The state credit. Utah’s Renewable Energy Systems Tax Credit is $0 for home solar installed on or after January 1, 2024. The last amount, for 2023 systems, was up to $400. The rest of the credit ends for systems placed in service after January 1, 2028.

The federal home credit. The 25D credit is not available for systems installed after December 31, 2025. A lease or PPA company may still claim a business credit; whether any of it reaches your payment depends on the contract.

Solar for All is not an option today. Utah was awarded $62.45 million to fund rooftop and community solar for lower-income households. EPA ended the program effective August 7, 2025. Not taking applications. The Utah Office of Energy Development says it is unable to move forward with the program. Two federal courts ruled the termination unlawful in September 2026, and EPA was weighing an appeal as of October 1. Checked October 5, 2026.

Zero-Down Solar in Utah: Why the Lease Case Got Stronger, and What Ownership Still Keeps

Both credits that sat in the owner’s column are gone, which narrows the gap between buying and leasing. Ownership still holds control: no yearly price increase (an escalator), no termination charge, nothing to negotiate when you sell.

Zero-down and no-upfront routes for a Utah home
RouteWho owns the equipmentExport creditWattsmart battery payment
Zero-down solar loanYouOn your bill; every cent lowers your costYours if you add a qualifying battery
Pros and cons in Utah: zero-down loan

Pros

  • Works with Rocky Mountain Power, city utilities and co-ops alike.
  • No escalator to outrun a falling export rate.

Cons

  • No state or federal credit, so you borrow the whole price.

Can fit if: the payment beats what the panels save when exports earn 4.033 cents per kWh, not retail.
Solar leaseThe companyPosts to your account; the fixed payment is priced against itAsk in writing who enrolls and who is paid
Pros and cons in Utah: lease

Pros

  • No upfront cost, and the company handles repairs.

Cons

  • The payment stays fixed or rises while the export rate can fall each March.
  • Moon Lake Electric’s net metering covers member-owned systems only.

Can fit if: the year-one payment plus every escalator step stays below your bill savings at today’s export rate.
Power purchase agreement (PPA)The companyPosts to your account; you pay per kWh the panels makeAsk in writing who enrolls and who is paid
Pros and cons in Utah: PPA

Pros

  • You pay only for power produced, so a snowy month costs less.

Cons

  • Every exported kWh you pay for earns back only 4.033 cents per kWh to 4.855 cents per kWh.

Can fit if: the PPA price sits well under the retail rate and the system is sized to your yearly use.
Subscriber Solar (no panels)Rocky Mountain Power’s solar farmNone; you buy 200 kWh blocks of solar powerNot applicable
Pros and cons in Utah: Subscriber Solar

Pros

  • The generation charge, 7.725 cents per kWh, is fixed for the subscription.

Cons

  • A 4.3275 cents per kWh delivery charge applies on top, and it can change.
  • Leaving within three years can cost up to $50 per block.

Can fit if: you rent or have a shaded roof. Blocks were for sale on September 29, 2026.

Lease or PPA? Both are legal: the DSIRE map of May 2026 lists Utah as authorizing third-party PPAs. Legal is not the same as sold: Sunrun’s state page did not list Utah on October 5, 2026, so ask each bidder what it offers. A lease bills the same in a dark December; a PPA bills per kWh, including exported kWh that earn far less. Loan terms and APRs: solar financing guide.

Your Credits Expire, and the Month Depends on Your Utility

On Rocky Mountain Power, export credits carry forward bill to bill but expire with the March meter reading each year. Generation past your yearly use earns as little as 4.033 cents per kWh and then, if unspent, nothing. City utilities and co-ops set different terms.

How Utah utilities credit home solar, and whether a lease fits
Utility
Export credit
Leftover credit
Lease or PPA?
Rocky Mountain PowerSchedule 137
4.033 cents per kWh to 4.855 cents per kWh
Expires at the March meter read
Owned or leased systems
Provo PowerFrom September 1, 2026
6.742 cents per kWh
Forfeited after the cycle that includes February 28; cannot pay the $18 customer charge
Owned or leased, with a city license first
St. George Energy Services
kWh credits, minus a 2.67 cents charge on every kWh produced
A December balance sells back at 3.622 cents per kWh; automatic at 5,000 kWh
Ask the city; no net metering on rental property
Moon Lake ElectricCo-op
2.4 cents per kWh
Credited on the monthly bill; $45 a month service charge
No: member-owned systems only

The same 100 exported kWh earns about $6.74 in Provo, about $4.86 on Rocky Mountain Power in summer and $2.40 at Moon Lake. St. George charges $26.70 per 1,000 kWh produced.

Batteries, Plug-In Panels and HOAs

Wattsmart Battery. Rocky Mountain Power pays $1,000 upfront for a battery under 10 kW and $2,000 for a larger one, under terms in effect since June 15, 2026. You commit for 4 years and let the utility run the battery for grid events, up to two full battery cycles a day. From year two you get $15 per kW a year, capped at $100. An 11.5 kW Powerwall 3 earns $2,300 over the commitment.

Plug-in panels. Since May 7, 2025, Utah law lets you run a plug-in solar device of up to 1,200 watts with no utility approval or fee. It earns no export credit, and Provo Power said on August 11, 2026 that no balcony system had UL certification yet.

HOAs. A new solar ban needs a 67% owner vote, and placement rules may not cut output or raise cost by more than 5%.

You Likely Will Not Qualify, or Should Wait, If

  • You are counting on a Utah tax credit. It is $0 for home solar installed since January 1, 2024.
  • You are a Moon Lake member who wants a lease. Its net metering covers member-owned systems.
  • Your credit score is below the provider’s bar. A lease turns on credit, not your roof.
  • You rent in St. George. The city does not allow net-metered solar on rental property.

Testing an Offer Against Next March

The yearly review does not make solar a poor choice here. It makes an export-heavy design a poor choice.

  1. Which export rate, and dated when?

    Get the cents per kWh and its effective date in writing. Today’s are 4.855 cents per kWh and 4.033 cents per kWh, from March 1, 2026.

  2. What share of output does the house use directly?

    That share earns retail value and is shielded from the March reset.

  3. What if the export rate falls again next March?

    Ask for the twenty-five-year model rerun with a lower rate. A proposal that cannot answer is a brochure, not a model.

  4. Is the system sized past your yearly use?

    Anything past it expires as credit at the March read.

Pause if a seller quotes a Utah tax credit, a 2026 home tax credit or Solar for All. Read the solar scam warning signs and compare bidders in our Utah solar companies guide.

Get Utah Quotes Priced on the Current Export Rate

Ask for the cash price, loan total and any lease or PPA payment, all on the same Schedule 137 rate.

One ZIP code brings owned and zero-down Utah offers onto the same export rate

This is a commercial quote request, not an application for Rocky Mountain Power net billing, Wattsmart Battery or Solar for All. Availability depends on your ZIP code, utility and home. Tariff: Schedule 137.

How EcoGen is paid

EcoGen America does not sell or install solar. When you request quotes, we pass your request to solar providers serving your area, and they pay us for the introduction. Providers can include installers, solar marketplaces and lead exchanges, and more than one may contact you. You never pay us.

Read how we make money and our privacy policy.

More Utah Solar Guides

Utah Free Solar FAQs

Can I get free solar panels in Utah?

Not truly free. No state program installs panels at no cost. “Free” offers are leases or PPAs: the company owns the panels and you pay monthly for twenty years or more.

Can I get zero-down solar in Utah?

Yes. Leases and PPAs are authorized, and installers offer zero-down loans. Moon Lake Electric members are the exception for leases, since its net metering covers member-owned systems.

What is Utah’s solar export rate now?

On Rocky Mountain Power, 4.855 cents per kWh for June through September and 4.033 cents per kWh for October through May, in effect since March 1, 2026. The rate is reset each March 1.

Do Utah solar credits expire?

Yes. Rocky Mountain Power credits expire with the March meter reading each year. Provo forfeits leftover credit after the cycle that includes February 28.

Is leasing better than buying in Utah now?

The gap narrowed, because owners lost both credits. Ownership still keeps control: no escalator and nothing to transfer when you sell.

What should I ask a company quoting solar in Utah?

Two things, lease or purchase: what share of output the house uses directly, and what the model shows if the export rate falls next March.

Is Solar for All available in Utah?

No. EPA ended it effective August 7, 2025, and the state energy office says it cannot move forward. No Utah application was open on October 5, 2026.

Sources and review

Checked between September 29 and October 5, 2026. The export rate is reset each March 1; your utility’s current tariff always wins.

Read our editorial standards.

Trevor Guilday Headshot

Written by

Founder

Trevor Guilday is the founder of EcoGen America and leads its data and analytics team. Working in home improvement and residential solar since 2016, he develops the EcoGen Solar Cost Index and writes about state solar costs, incentives and net metering.

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