Written by Dean Mahmoud, CEO, and checked by Trevor Guilday, founder.Prices from the September 2026 Cost Index. Updated October 14, 2026.
A typical Iowa home system is 7.34 kW and costs about $22,534 in cash at $3.07 per watt. In our two cases it pays for itself in 23.2 to 45.0 years. MidAmerican and Alliant credit the power you send out at your own energy rate; a city utility or co-op sets its own, like Cedar Falls’ 3.913¢.
Free for you. Solar providers pay us when you ask for quotes. How we make money
Iowa’s solar billing law, Iowa Code 476.49, covers only the two utilities whose prices the state sets. Everyone else gets the rule their own city utility or co-op writes. The name at the top of your bill tells you which.
Inflow-outflow billing, Rate IO, approved November 24, 2020. Its homes paid 11.458¢ per kWh on average over the 12 months to July 2026.
Next: ask for savings priced at your energy rate from your bill.
Bills for Interstate Power and Light. Rate Code IO, approved December 30, 2020. Its homes paid 18.293¢ on average over the same 12 months.
Next: ask which credit year your quote assumes, January or April.
Outside the 20-year law. The city utilities we checked pay for exports based on what bulk power costs them, not what you pay.
Next: get the export credit and any solar rules in writing before you sign.
| Utility | Credit per kWh sent out | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| MidAmerican Energy | Your energy rate | Held 20 years per system; leftovers wiped once a year |
| Alliant Energy | Your energy rate | Same law and yearly wipe; also pays for home batteries |
| Cedar Falls Utilities | 3.913¢ | 2026 rate, reset each January; homes up to 25 kW |
| Ames Electric Services | about 3.5¢ | The city’s 2025 estimate of a 3-year bulk power average, for systems from September 1, 2025 |
| Muscatine Power and Water | Kept as kWh | Leftover kWh paid each February at a rate based on its own power cost |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Inflow is the power you take from the grid; you pay your normal price for it. Outflow is the power your panels send to the grid; each kWh earns a dollar credit equal to your per-kWh energy rate, including the per-kWh riders. Solar power your home uses as it is made never reaches the meter, so it simply lowers what you buy.
The two averages above are what each utility’s homes paid in total divided by the kWh they bought (EIA Form 861M, August 2025 to July 2026). They include fixed charges, so they run higher than the per-kWh rate a credit is worth. The Ames figure comes from City Council papers of July 22, 2025; confirm it, and Ames’s rebate, with Ames Electric Services.
Each kWh your panels make is worth one of two amounts. At MidAmerican and Alliant both amounts are your energy rate. At a city utility like Cedar Falls, the power you send out earns far less. Our cases assume 40% is used at home as it is made.
| Utility and export credit | Year-one savings | After upkeep | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| MidAmerican inflow-outflow, energy rate taken as 11.458¢ | $1,192 | $972 | 23.2 years |
| 3.913¢ export credit (Cedar Falls Utilities, 2026), home use at 11.458¢ | $721 | $501 | 45.0 years |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Both paybacks are long, and we show them as they are. The first case is likely a little optimistic, because 11.458¢ includes fixed charges that a credit cannot pay.
The law locks the rule, not a number of cents. If your energy rate moves, your credit moves with it. Credits pay per-kWh charges only, never the fixed monthly charge, and are never paid out as cash.
A later value-of-solar rate cannot change it, and it stays with the system if you sell.
Only the power left over in each 15 minutes becomes a credit.
The system may make no more than 110% of the power your home uses in a year.
You pick it at connection. Credits left on that date each year are wiped.
Solar makes the most power in summer, and many homes use their credits in winter. Pick the month with your installer from your own 12 months of bills, and size the system to your use: a larger one builds credits you will lose.
Systems connected under the rules before inflow-outflow billing (approved November 24, 2020 at MidAmerican and December 30, 2020 at Alliant) keep those older rules for the rest of their term, also after a sale. Ask the seller which billing rule the system is on and how many years are left.
The same law tells the Iowa Utilities Commission to start work on a new price for exported power when customer-owned power reaches 5% statewide, or when a utility asks after July 1, 2027, whichever comes first. Nothing changes on either date by itself: a formal case comes first.
Up from 3.30% in 2024. This is the figure the law measures against 5%.
Up from 6.88% in 2024. Past the mark on its own.
Up from 1.32% in 2024. It holds the statewide figure down.
After this date a utility may petition for the new method.
If you connect before a new rate is approved, your system keeps the current credit for its 20 years. If you connect after, your credit follows the new method, and the law limits each yearly change in that rate to 5% up or down. It is a reason not to wait for years, not a reason to sign this week.
The September 2026 benchmark is $3.07 per watt, $0.18 above the US average and 42nd lowest of 51. These are modeled cash prices, not quotes we collected.
| Size (kW DC) | Cash price | Power made a year |
|---|---|---|
| 5 kW | $15,350 | 7,085 kWh |
| 7.34 kW (typical) | $22,534 | 10,401 kWh |
| 8 kW | $24,560 | 11,336 kWh |
| 10 kW | $30,700 | 14,170 kWh |
Iowa pays no state rebate or tax credit for a home system today. Two tax breaks apply to every Iowa home, and a few utilities add their own money.
No 6% state sales tax on panels and inverters (Iowa Code 423.3(90)). No end date.
The system cannot raise your taxable value for five full assessment years. Your assessor applies it.
Not for home systems switched on after December 31, 2021.
Not for a system you own placed in service after December 31, 2025.
| Item | Who it is for | Iowa rule to check |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Hours battery payment | Alliant homes with a listed battery | $100 per kWh of battery size at enrollment, so $1,350 for 13.5 kWh, plus a yearly payment Alliant does not publish |
| Ames solar rebate | Ames Electric Services homes | City papers show $500 per kW, or $3,670 for 7.34 kW, within a 4,000 kW program cap; confirm with the city |
| Cash or loan | You own the panels | Compare the financed total with cash; no credit lowers the price |
| Lease or PPA | The company owns the panels | Ask in writing who keeps the bill credits |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Two companies headquartered in Iowa, A to Z, not ranked. Facts from their own sites and Iowa registries, read October 13, 2026.
Listed A to Z. Facts come from each company’s own site and the Iowa license and contractor registries. How we make money.
Ask each installer to name your utility and the export credit behind its savings estimate.
Check solar for your Iowa homeEcoGen 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. Privacy policy
CEO of EcoGen America. Since 2021 he has connected homeowners with residential solar installers in all 50 states.
About Dean
Founder of EcoGen America. He has worked in residential solar since 2016 and maintains the EcoGen Solar Cost Index.
About TrevorEditorial standardsCost Index methodologyVerified Installer methodology