Written by Dean Mahmoud, CEO, and checked by Trevor Guilday, founder.Prices from the September 2026 Cost Index. Updated October 19, 2026.
A typical Kentucky home system is 7.77 kW and costs about $20,591 in cash at $2.65 per watt. Simple payback before incentives is about 18.4 years statewide and 19.5 years at Kentucky Utilities, the largest utility. At the four large utilities, new systems no longer bank kWh one for one: power sent out earns a 7.089¢ to 9.746¢ credit, under the 13.94¢ average price.
Not ready for quotes? Check your roof with our savings calculator
Free for you. Solar providers pay us when you ask for quotes. How we make money
The Public Service Commission (PSC), the state’s utility regulator, sets a dollar credit for each large utility. Three of them credit every kWh that leaves your home. Kentucky Power nets first.
Rider NMS-2 credit for each kWh sent out: 7.089¢ at LG&E, 7.534¢ at KU. Power you use at home saves the base energy charge, 11.499¢ at LG&E and 11.396¢ at KU from September 1, 2026, plus monthly adjustments.
Next: ask for savings with every exported kWh priced at your utility’s credit.
Rider NM II, for customers who started on or after January 1, 2025. The credit rose from 6.2924¢ on July 10, 2026. Energy charge 12.6104¢. Northern Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati.
Next: ask which Duke credit the quote uses; Duke must update it every two years from 2028.
Tariff N.M.S. II: power you send out first cancels power you take in the same period of the bill. Only what is left earns 9.746¢. Power that cancels your own use saves 15.385¢ for the first 600 kWh, then 11.534¢.
Next: ask how much of your output the quote expects to be surplus.
Type of utility | Solar credit rule | What to get in writing |
|---|---|---|
Co-ops the PSC regulates | Each sets its own rule. Kenergy and Owen Electric still swap one kWh sent out for one used later, with no cash payout. | What one kWh sent out earns, and whether credits expire |
Co-ops supplied by TVA | The PSC does not set their rates. We could not confirm the solar terms at Warren RECC or Pennyrile Electric. | The full solar terms, before you sign |
City-owned utilities | The state net metering law does not cover them. They set their own terms. | The credit, any solar charge and the application steps |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Every case uses the same 7.77 kW system at $20,591. What changes is each utility’s own price and credit, and the share of solar power its solar homes send to the grid, 33% to 41% as reported to the EIA. Kentucky’s figure, weighted by customers, is 18.4 years before incentives.
| Utility and credit | Used at home | Sent out | Yearly saving | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Utilities (KU), 7.534¢ for every kWh out (Rider NMS-2) | $746 | $312 | $1,058 | 19.5 years |
| LG&E, 7.089¢ for every kWh out (Rider NMS-2) | $844 | $252 | $1,096 | 18.8 years |
| Duke Energy Kentucky, 7.4805¢ for every kWh out (Rider NM II) | $815 | $305 | $1,120 | 18.4 years |
| Kentucky Power, 9.746¢ on surplus (N.M.S. II) | $951 | $427 | $1,378 | 14.9 years |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Kentucky Power pays back soonest because its price is higher and its surplus credit is the highest of the four. The share sent out is what each utility’s solar homes reported to the EIA, not a reading from your meter.
On February 16, 2026 the PSC kept both credits at their current level. That is less than a guarantee. The credit has no end date, and a later case can change it.
7.089¢ and 7.534¢ stay. The utilities agreed not to close the program to new customers before rates from their next rate cases take effect.
The earliest date new base rates can take effect. It is not a promise about the solar credit.
A two-part rate, a fixed charge plus a price per kWh, for 25 years after you start. The credit amount is not promised.
Once solar on the credit reaches 1% of a utility’s highest hourly demand, it no longer has to take new customers.
The PSC also told KU to file updated cost figures for its credit. Duke Energy Kentucky must update its credit every two years from 2028. Kentucky Power’s current 9.746¢ applies from March 1, 2026.
The September 2026 benchmark, 7th lowest of 51 in the Cost Index. These are modeled cash prices, not quotes we collected.
| System size | Cash price | Power made a year |
|---|---|---|
| 5 kW | $13,250 | 6,910 kWh |
| 7.77 kW (typical) | $20,591 | 10,738 kWh |
| 10 kW | $26,500 | 13,820 kWh |
| 12 kW | $31,800 | 16,584 kWh |
Nothing lowers the price of a home system in Kentucky. The one money item is the bill credit, and every utility tariff we read says the customer must own and operate the system.
No state or utility rebate for home solar panels was open when we checked on September 29, 2026.
Kentucky’s 2025 list has 24 credits, none for home solar. The old credit ended with tax years that began before January 1, 2016.
Not for a system you own finished after December 31, 2025.
The state constitution taxes all property it does not exempt, and it does not exempt solar.
Way to pay | Who owns the panels | Fits the tariffs as written | Check before you sign |
|---|---|---|---|
Cash | You | Yes | Whether the price includes 6% sales tax |
Loan | You | Yes | Total financed against the cash price; any dealer fee |
Lease | The company | Depends on the contract | Whether the lease gives you an ownership interest, and how the bill credit reaches you, in writing |
PPA | The company | No | How the bill credit reaches you, in writing |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Kentucky incentives guideWhat $0-down solar means in Kentucky
Systems put in service before the new rules keep the old kWh-for-kWh swap. The rule stays with the house, but only until a fixed date.
For systems in service before September 24, 2021.
For systems in service before May 15, 2021, or until the system is made much larger.
For customers who began net metering before January 1, 2025.
The seller’s unused credits do not pass to you. They end when the seller closes the account.
Ask the utility, in writing, which rule the system is on. Making the system much larger moves it to the newer rule.
Three of the 10 companies on our Kentucky list, A to Z, not ranked; see all 10 on our Kentucky solar companies page. Two are based in Lexington; Morton Solar serves western Kentucky from Evansville, Indiana. Facts from their own sites and the Kentucky licensing registry, read October 13 to 14, 2026.
Neither Solar Energy Solutions nor Synergy Home buys homeowner leads from EcoGen America. How we make money.
Ask each installer to name your utility, the credit per kWh it used and who will own the panels.
Get free Kentucky solar quotesEcoGen 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
