Dean has connected tens of thousands of homeowners with residential solar installers across all 50 states since 2021, and works directly with installers on pricing and financing.
Utah is now a self-consumption state, and that single fact should decide who you hire. Traditional net metering closed to new customers, so a system switched on today earns an export credit worth a fraction of the retail rate you pay to buy power back. The state’s residential renewable energy tax credit expired for systems installed after January 1, 2024, and the 30% federal residential credit reached $0 for systems completed after December 31, 2025.
Strip those away and the Utah case rests on one thing: how much of your own production you actually use instead of exporting. A kilowatt-hour you consume is worth full retail. The same kilowatt-hour sent to the grid is worth a fraction of that. So the installer question in Utah is not who has the glossiest brochure. It is who designs honestly around your consumption pattern, and who tells you the truth about the export rate before you sign.
Three vetted installers cover Utah, and none of them is headquartered inside the state, which is worth knowing rather than hiding. Judge them on one Utah-specific question: whether they size for self-consumption now that exports pay a fraction of retail. An installer still selling on “net metering” or on a 30% federal credit is quoting a Utah that no longer exists.
Our Top 3 Solar Companies in Utah
Creative Energies
The longest-operating company on this list by a wide margin, and a regional specialist rather than a national rollup. Ask them to model your self-consumption rate specifically, not just annual production, because in Utah those are two different numbers and only one of them pays full value.
Intermountain Wind & Solar
The tightest service area of the three, covering Utah and Idaho and nothing else, which usually means crews who know local inspection and interconnection practice. Ask what happens to your timeline if the interconnection application is queued, and get the answer in writing.
Big Dog Solar
The only one of the three publishing a workmanship warranty term plainly, at 10 years including roof penetrations. That matters more in Utah than in milder states, because a roof leak found three winters later is the expensive kind. Ask whether the roof cover is theirs or a subcontractor’s.
Utah Solar Companies Compared
Company | Years Operating | States Served | Stated Warranty | Where It Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Creative Energies | 26 | UT, WY, ID | Not published | Longest track record; ask for a self-consumption model |
Intermountain Wind & Solar | 18 | UT, ID | Not published | Narrowest service area, closest to Utah practice |
Big Dog Solar | 18 | ID and Mountain West | 10 yr workmanship + roof | The only published warranty term of the three |
Two of the three do not publish a warranty term. That is not disqualifying, but it does mean the warranty is a question you have to ask rather than a promise you can read, and the answer belongs in your contract rather than in a conversation.
Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 137, or a City Utility With Its Own Rules
Most Utah quotes are built on Rocky Mountain Power, where traditional net metering closed to new customers on October 31, 2020 and Schedule 137 Net Billing took over: you pay retail for what you use, and exports earn a Commission-set Export Credit Rate, 4.855¢ from June through September and 4.033¢ from October through May since March 1, 2026, refiled every March and cut about 14% this year. Credits expire at the March meter read, and residential systems are capped at 25 kW DC. Customers of Provo, St George, Lehi or another municipal utility are not on that tariff at all; those systems set their own rules. Make each bidder name your utility, the export rate with its effective date, and the self-consumption share the payback assumes, all in writing.
Questions to Ask a Utah Solar Installer
Am I on Rocky Mountain Power or a city utility like Provo or St George, and which export rate and date did you model?
What self-consumption rate did you assume, and what happens if I am wrong?
What export rate did you use, and is it the current one?
Are you quoting any state or federal tax credit?
Does a battery change the math here, honestly?
Who holds the electrical license doing my install?
Red Flags in a Utah Solar Pitch
Utah Solar FAQs
Is solar still worth it in Utah without the tax credits?
It depends almost entirely on how much of your own production you use rather than export. With the state credit expired, the federal residential credit at $0 and exports paying well below retail, the return comes from the power you stop buying. A household that uses most of its production during daylight is in a very different position from one that exports most of it.
Does Utah still have net metering?
Not for new customers. Traditional net metering closed, and new systems are compensated under an export credit schedule that pays materially less than the retail rate. Customers who interconnected under the older program keep their terms.
Is there a Utah state solar tax credit in 2026?
No. The residential renewable energy systems tax credit expired for systems installed after January 1, 2024.
Are any of these companies based in Utah?
None of the three is headquartered inside Utah. All three are regional Mountain West operators serving Utah alongside neighboring states, and we would rather say so than imply a local presence none of them claims.
Does a battery make sense in Utah?
More than it does in a full-retail state. When exports pay a fraction of retail, storing production to use in the evening can be worth more than selling it, which turns a battery from an upsell into a real calculation. Ask any installer to show the numbers with and without.
References & Research Sources
- Utah State Tax Commission. Renewable Residential Energy Systems Credit. Expiration of the residential credit for systems installed after January 1, 2024. Accessed August 30, 2026.
- Rocky Mountain Power. Net metering closure and the export credit schedule for Utah customer-generators. Compensation basis for systems interconnecting after the transition. Accessed August 30, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service. One, Big, Beautiful Bill Provisions. Section 25D repeal for systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025. Accessed August 30, 2026.
- Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. Contractor licensing lookup. Verification route for the electrical contractor performing an installation. Accessed August 30, 2026.
