Trevor has worked in home improvement and residential solar since 2016 and maintains the EcoGen Solar Cost Index.
Washington has a deadline most homeowners never hear about until they have already lost money to it. Net metering credits here do not roll forward indefinitely: whatever is unused is surrendered every March 31. A system sized to bank a large surplus through the dark winter and spend it later is sized against the calendar, and the calendar wins.
Two other Washington specifics change how you should read a quote. The state’s net metering right carries expiry conditions rather than running forever, and at least one major utility has been continuing the arrangement voluntarily rather than because it must. Meanwhile the sales tax exemption on qualifying systems is doing more of the financial work than most quotes admit, now that the 30% federal residential credit is $0 for systems completed after December 31, 2025. So the installer test in Washington is whether they size around March 31 and price the exemption correctly.
Three vetted installers cover Washington, all long-established and all based in the state. The question that separates them is not price. It is whether the design is sized so your credits are consumed before March 31, when unused ones are surrendered, and whether the sales tax exemption is applied correctly rather than waved at.
Our Top 3 Solar Companies in Washington
Puget Sound Solar
Twenty-five years in one region is the longest continuous record on this page and unusual in an industry with high churn. A firm that has survived that long is a firm likely to answer a warranty call. Ask them to show your credit balance projected month by month into March, not just as an annual total.
A&R Solar
Nineteen years across western Washington, which is the wetter, darker half of the state and the harder half to model honestly. Ask what production factor they used and whether it reflects your specific microclimate rather than a statewide average, because west of the Cascades that difference is large.
Northwest Electric & Solar
An electrical contractor that added solar rather than a solar company that hires electricians, which shows up in service panel work and older Seattle housing stock. Ask whether your panel needs upgrading and whether that cost is in the quote or waiting to appear later.
Washington Solar Companies Compared
Company | Years Operating | Coverage | Origin | Where It Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Puget Sound Solar | 25 | Puget Sound region | Solar specialist | Longest continuous record on this page |
A&R Solar | 19 | Western Washington | Solar specialist | Widest western Washington coverage |
Northwest Electric & Solar | 15 | Greater Seattle | Electrical contractor | Panel and wiring work on older housing |
All three have been trading fifteen years or more, which is rare across the states we cover and means the warranty conversation here is less about survival odds and more about what the warranty actually says.
Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light or Snohomish PUD: Ask Whose Schedule You Are On
Washington credits exports one for one at retail, but the law that requires it, chapter 80.60 RCW, only binds a utility until its net metered capacity reaches 4% of its 1996 peak demand or June 30, 2029, whichever comes first. Puget Sound Energy has already passed that threshold and continues net metering voluntarily under its Schedule 150 tariff, while Seattle City Light, Snohomish PUD and most public utilities still match the retail credit. Rates differ too: some public hydro utilities bill near 10¢/kWh, well under the 14¢ statewide figure, and that changes the payback on the same panels. Make each bidder name your utility, the rate it modeled and whether that utility’s net metering schedule is open, in writing, before you sign an installation contract.
Questions to Ask a Washington Solar Installer
Am I on Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light or Snohomish PUD, and is that utility’s net metering schedule still open?
What happens to my unused credits on March 31?
Is my utility required to offer net metering, or choosing to?
How is the sales tax exemption applied to my quote?
What production factor did you use for my specific location?
Does my service panel need upgrading, and is that in this price?
Red Flags in a Washington Solar Pitch
Washington Solar FAQs
Do Washington net metering credits expire?
Yes. Unused credits are surrendered every March 31 rather than rolling forward indefinitely, which makes system sizing a question about your consumption within that window rather than across an open-ended future.
Is net metering guaranteed in Washington?
The right carries expiry conditions rather than running forever, and at least one major utility has been continuing it voluntarily. Ask your installer which applies to your utility and what your terms are if the arrangement changes.
What incentives are left for Washington homeowners?
The sales tax exemption on qualifying systems is the main one, and it matters more now that the federal residential credit has reached $0 for systems completed after 2025. Ask for its value in dollars on your specific system.
Does solar work in a place as cloudy as western Washington?
It does, though production is lower than in sunnier states and the long summer days do much of the work. What matters is that your estimate uses a production factor for your actual location rather than a statewide average, because the variation here is large.
Are these companies based in Washington?
Yes, all three, and all three have been trading fifteen years or more. That is unusual across the states we cover and shifts the warranty conversation from whether the firm will still exist toward what its warranty actually covers.
References & Research Sources
- Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Net metering rules and annual credit reconciliation. Basis for the March 31 surrender of unused credits and the conditions attaching to the net metering right. Accessed August 31, 2026.
- Washington State Department of Revenue. Renewable energy sales and use tax exemption. Scope and application of the exemption on qualifying systems. Accessed August 31, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service. One, Big, Beautiful Bill Provisions. Section 25D repeal for systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025. Accessed August 31, 2026.
- Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Electrical contractor licensing lookup. Verification route for the contractor performing an installation. Accessed August 31, 2026.
