Delaware sets its solar bill credits in state law: every kWh you send out comes back 1 for 1, and by law unused kWh now roll into the next year, though Delmarva’s tariff still forfeited them when we read it on October 16, 2026. Your utility and the grant move the answer. On our utility figures a typical owned Delmarva Power system pays back in about 11.8 years before incentives, and a co-op system in about 17.6. The grant then cuts what you pay.
Simple payback before incentives, DelmarvaAbout 11.8 years
Delmarva or the co-opAbout 11.8 to 17.6 years
Typical owned 10.60 kW Delaware system at $29,998 cash (EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026), before the grant. Delmarva Power’s EIA price of 18.791¢ less its $14.72 monthly customer charge (17.151¢), banked kWh used later at that price. No upkeep and no price rises. See the math.
- Grant: pre-approval comes before the panels go up, and it costs your SRECs.
- Utility: Delmarva, the co-op or a town utility each set a different grant.
- Federal credit: gone for new systems. A quote that counts it is wrong.
2026 rules: new home systems get no 30% federal homeowner credit (IRS). Delaware has no state solar tax credit. Bill credits stay 1 for 1 in kWh under 26 Del. C. § 1014, and unused credits now carry into the next year.
How we checked this guide
Rules come from the Delaware Code, DNREC, Solar Grant Delaware and SREC Delaware; prices from the U.S. EIA; the example system from the EcoGen Solar Cost Index. Assumed numbers are labelled.
The writer and checker shown above are EcoGen staff. EcoGen is paid when homeowners request quotes, which is explained beside the quote form. Read our editorial standards.
What stays put in Delaware, and what you still have to check
Other states have cut export credits. Delaware went the other way: its net metering law covers every utility, sets no end date for home systems, and in 2025 stopped the yearly loss of unused credits. The grant, your roof and your utility are where homes differ. Read each row across.
The grant
Worth a closer look
You own the system and got pre-approval before installation.
Pause and check
The panels went up first, or the quote is a lease or PPA, which gets no grant.
Check next: the pre-approval letter, and who files each grant form.
Your utility
Worth a closer look
Delmarva Power bills you, so the $0.80 per watt grant and the battery rebate are open to you.
Pause and check
A town utility bills you, or you live in a co-op area closed to new exporting solar.
Check next: your utility’s grant and, for co-op members, the territory map.
Roof and shade
Worth a closer look
An unshaded roof with years of life left, with a shade report of 70% or better.
Pause and check
Heavy shade, a poor roof angle, or a roof due for replacement before payback.
Check next: the shade report the grant needs, and the roof’s age.
System size
Worth a closer look
The system makes about what your home uses in a year.
Pause and check
The design goes past 110% of your average use over the last two years, the most the law allows.
Check next: two years of kWh from your bills next to the quote’s year-one output.
Price and time in home
Worth a closer look
A cash price near the Index’s $2.83 per watt, and you plan to stay past payback.
Pause and check
A move likely within about 12 years, or a dealer fee in the loan.
Check next: cash and financed prices side by side, with APR and fees.
A typical Delaware system, before the grant
Simple payback is the years your savings take to cover what you paid: net cost divided by yearly savings. A kWh (kilowatt-hour) is the unit on your power bill. An export credit is what you get for each kWh your panels send to the grid. In Delaware it is a kWh you use on a later bill, so we value it at the full price.
- Cash price
- $29,998
- Confirmed incentives
- $0 (the grant comes later; see below)
- Year-one production
- 14,851 kWh
- Used at home / exported
- 40% / 60%
- Delmarva price for power you use (EIA, 12 months, less $14.72 a month)
- $0.17151/kWh
- Export credit
- $0.17151/kWh
- Owner costs counted
- $0/yr
- Used-at-home value
14,851 × 40% × $0.17151$1,019/yr - Export value
14,851 × 60% × $0.17151$1,528/yr - Yearly savings
$1,019 + $1,528$2,547/yr - Simple payback before incentives
$29,998 ÷ $2,547about 11.8 years
Inputs: the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Delaware system (10.60 kW, $29,998 cash, September 2026) and EcoGen’s per-utility payback figures of October 19, 2026: 1,401 kWh per kW a year, and Delmarva’s EIA average of 18.791¢ for August 2025 to July 2026 less its $14.72 monthly customer charge, which credits do not cover. Banked kWh are used later at the same price, so the 40/60 split does not change the result. No upkeep and no price rises are counted. The Green Energy Program grant, $0.80 per watt ($8,480), arrives after installation and lowers your cost to $21,518; we print paybacks before incentives.
Now compare the two utilities that serve most Delaware homes. Same panels and price; each utility’s own price sets the savings.
| Scenario | Incentives | Net cost | Yearly savings | Simple payback before incentives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delmarva Power | $0 | $29,998 | $2,547 | about 11.8 years |
| Delaware Electric Cooperative | $0 | $29,998 | $1,702 | about 17.6 years |
The Delmarva grant lowers your cost to $21,518 and the co-op grant to $24,998, if you get pre-approval before installing. The grant is the one time-sensitive line in a Delaware solar plan.
Try your own Delaware quote
The tool starts with the grant case. Enter your own quote and bill, then press Calculate. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Example result
about 11.8 years
simple cash payback
- Used-at-home value
- $1,019/yr
- Export value
- $1,528/yr
- Owner costs
- −$0/yr
- Yearly savings
- $2,547/yr
- Net cost
- $29,998
Starts before the grant, at Delmarva’s price. Enter 8480 in incentives to see your cost after the Delmarva grant. Flat first-year values; rates, panel wear and repairs will change the result.
Why a banked kWh keeps its value in Delaware
Delaware banks your extra power as energy, not dollars. A kWh banked in June is still a kWh in January, so its value rises when prices rise.
Used at home: 5,916 kWh. Each one replaces power you would have bought, so it saves the full variable rate ($0.1779 here).
Sent to the grid: 8,873 kWh. These earn whatever your utility pays for exports ($0.1779 here). Here that matches the price you pay, but check your utility’s rule.
Since January 1, 2024, a Delmarva Power credit is worth the per-kWh supply and delivery charges, minus societal benefits charges, and never lowers the fixed monthly charge. A law approved on July 16, 2025 ended the loss of unused credits at the end of each yearly billing period; utilities have until December 1, 2026 to update their billing. Delmarva’s own tariff still said on October 16, 2026 that leftover credits go back to it at the end of the yearly period, so ask whether it has changed its billing.
A homeowner pays no more than $200 toward a net meter. Delaware homes paid an average of 17.79¢ per kWh from August 2025 to July 2026 (EIA).
Find out which Delaware utility serves you
Delmarva, the co-op and the town utilities each run a different grant, or none. Ask each installer which one they modeled and whether they file the pre-approval.
Solar providers that serve your area may contact you, and they pay EcoGen for the introduction. How we make money.
The name on your bill sets your grant
Delaware has no statewide solar grant. Each utility group runs its own, or none.
Utility | Share of Delaware homes (EIA, 2024) | Solar grant for a typical system |
|---|---|---|
Delmarva Power | about 64% | $0.80 per watt up to $10,000: $8,480 on 10.60 kW. |
Delaware Electric Cooperative | about 22% | $0.70 per watt would be $7,420, so it stops at the $5,000 cap. |
Town utilities (Dover, Newark and seven more) | about 13% | Newark only, up to $3,500, paid from a queue. |
Co-op members: the co-op says parts of its territory are closed to new solar that sends power out. Check the map on its solar page, and ask whether its billing still drops unused credits each year.
A grant, not a tax credit, and what it costs you
Unlike a tax credit, a Delaware grant has steps: an energy audit, pre-approval before the panels go up, then final forms. Pre-approval holds the money for 6 months; payment typically follows within 10 to 12 weeks of final approval.
The grant costs your SRECs, the certificates your system earns for every 1,000 kWh it makes. Skip the grant and you can bid them in the SREC Delaware auction: 10 SRECs at the last round’s average of $39.39 earn $393.90 a year. No new window was announced when we checked, so our example counts none.
| Option | Who owns the panels | Upfront | Ongoing | Check before signing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | You | Full price | None to a lender. | Grant pre-approval before work starts. |
| Energize Delaware solar loan | You | Ask the lender | A 3.9% loan of $5,000 to $50,000, up to 15 years. | Its page still lists a 30% federal credit. Leave it out. |
| Bank or installer loan | You | Often $0 | Loan payment plus your remaining utility bill. | Cash vs financed price. A dealer fee can cancel out the grant. |
| Lease or PPA | Solar company | Often $0 | A monthly or per-kWh payment. | No Delmarva grant. Ask who keeps the SRECs. |
Low-income households can check DNREC’s pilot, which installs up to 4.0 kW at no cost. More in our solar financing guide.
Six things to settle before a Delaware contract
The bill-credit math is set by law. These lines are where two quotes differ.
- Your utility by name. And the grant the quote assumed.
- Grant steps in order. Energy audit, pre-approval before install, final forms within 12 months of finishing.
- Price per watt. The grant needs a total cost of $6.00 per watt or less.
- The SREC trade. Either the grant or your own SREC sales, never both. Which one the quote counts.
- Size against your use. Year-one kWh next to two years of bills, within 110%.
- No federal credit. Any line that subtracts 30% for a system finished in 2026 makes the payback look shorter than it is.
Compare Delaware solar quotes
Ask each installer which grant they modeled and whether they handle pre-approval. Enter your ZIP code to request quotes from solar providers that serve your area.
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. This is not an application to the Green Energy Program.
More Delaware solar guides
- Delaware solar guide: utilities, incentives and installers in one place
- Delaware solar companies: compare local installers before you request quotes
- Delaware solar incentives: utility grants, SRECs and bill credits
- What solar costs in Delaware
- Free solar panels in Delaware: what is real
- Are solar panels worth it? The national guide and payback calculator
All 51 state guides
Delaware solar questions
Are solar panels worth it in Delaware?
They can be for an owned system on an unshaded roof in a home you plan to keep. On our utility figures a typical Delmarva Power system pays back in about 11.8 years before incentives, and the state grant then cuts what you pay. Shade, a roof due for work or an early move change that.
Does Delaware still have net metering?
Yes, with every utility, under 26 Del. C. § 1014. Home systems up to 25 kW are credited in kWh against later bills. Since January 1, 2024, Delmarva credits cover the per-kWh supply and delivery charges, not the fixed monthly charge. We found no end date for home net metering in the law.
What happens to my extra Delaware solar power?
It becomes a kWh credit for a later bill. Power banked in June covers power you use in winter. A law approved July 16, 2025 ended the loss of unused credits at the end of each year, and utilities have until December 1, 2026 to bill that way. Ask yours if it has.
Does Delaware have a solar tax credit?
No. The state’s list of tax credits has no credit for home solar. Delaware pays a one-time grant instead, set by your utility: $0.80 per watt up to $10,000 for Delmarva Power homes, $0.70 per watt up to $5,000 for co-op members. The grant needs approval before installation.
Can I still get the federal solar tax credit in Delaware?
Not for a home system you own. The IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit is not available for property installed after December 31, 2025. Our example counts no federal credit. Some quotes and even some program pages still mention 30%; leave it out of your math.
Can I take the Delaware grant and still sell my SRECs?
No. Both grant programs take the system’s SRECs, the certificates it earns for every 1,000 kWh it makes. Skip the grant and you can bid them in the SREC Delaware auction, where new systems last won $32.00 to $42.89 each. The last bid window ran November 3 to 14, 2025.
Sources, method and corrections
The example uses the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Delaware system (September 2026) and EcoGen’s per-utility payback figures of October 19, 2026: Delmarva’s EIA 12-month price less its fixed monthly charge, every banked kWh used later at the same price, no upkeep and no price rises. Simple payback uses flat first-year values and is shown before the grant. The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing.
Spotted an error? Tell us through our corrections and feedback process.
- Delaware Code, Title 26, § 1014: net metering (checked October 5, 2026)
- Laws of Delaware, Senate Bill 175: credit carry-over (approved July 16, 2025; billing by December 1, 2026)
- DNREC: Green Energy Program incentives, effective July 1, 2026 (no grant for a PPA or lease)
- DNREC: Green Energy Program instructions (payment timing)
- Solar Grant Delaware: co-op grant notice, effective July 1, 2026
- Delaware Electric Cooperative: solar interconnections (territory map)
- Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation: Newark solar grant application
- SREC Delaware: 2025 procurement and results
- Energize Delaware: residential solar loan
- U.S. EIA: Form EIA-861, 2024 customer counts (utility shares, EcoGen calculation)
- U.S. EIA: average residential electricity price by state (12-month average, August 2025 to July 2026, as used in the Cost Index)
- IRS: Residential Clean Energy Credit (not available for property installed after December 31, 2025)
- EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026: what solar costs in Delaware (typical system size, price and output)
