In Georgia, solar pays back slowly. Two things set the pace: the name on your power bill and how much solar power you use while the sun is up. Every utility here pays less for power you send out than for power you buy. In our example a typical home system pays for itself in about 24 years at Georgia Power’s credit. At the lowest published co-op credit it takes about 36 years, longer than panels usually last.
Typical payback, Georgia PowerAbout 24 years
Georgia Power to lowest co-op creditAbout 24 to 36 years
Typical owned 9.21 kW system at $25,604 cash (EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026), 7.22 cents per kWh export credit; about 36 years at Walton EMC’s 2.6 cents per kWh. EIA average price; our assumptions: 40% of the solar power used at home as it is made, 60% sent to the grid, $276 a year in owner costs. See the math.
- Your utility: it sets the export credit, from 2.6 cents per kWh to 7.22 cents per kWh among the large ones that publish a rate.
- Daytime use: a kWh used at home saves about twice what a Georgia Power export earns.
- System size: extra panels to fill the roof mostly export at the low credit.
2026 rules: home systems installed after December 31, 2025 get no federal homeowner credit (IRS). Georgia Power resets its export credit each January: 7.22 cents per kWh in 2026, and its June 26, 2026 filing points to about 7.93 cents per kWh for 2027.
How we checked this guide
Export credits and charges come from the rate sheets of Georgia Power and the large EMCs, prices from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and the example from the EcoGen Solar Cost Index. Where we assume a number, the page says so.
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.
Your utility sets the price of every kWh you send out
Georgia has no net metering at the full retail price. State law, the Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act of 2001, makes each utility credit extra power from small home systems, but each utility files its own rate. So the answer starts with the name on your bill. Georgia Power serves about half of Georgia homes; co-ops, called EMCs, serve about 4 in 10.
A kWh (kilowatt-hour) is the unit your bill counts. The export credit is what your utility pays for each kWh your panels send to the grid.
| Utility | Export credit, 2026 | Average price homes paid, 2024 | Extra cost for solar homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Power | 7.22 cents per kWh | about 15.5 cents per kWh | $100 once |
| Cobb EMC | 5.121 cents per kWh | about 11.4 cents | $100 once |
| Sawnee EMC | 3.79 cents per kWh | about 11.5 cents | Ask Sawnee |
| Walton EMC | 2.6 cents per kWh | about 13.0 cents | $800 meter, once |
| Jackson EMC | 4.32 cents per kWh | about 11.4 cents | $10 a month |
Georgia Power counts every kWh that leaves the house as an export, even if you buy it back that evening. Its program is first come, first served until small renewable systems reach 0.2% of its peak demand, and it does not publish how full it is.
Average prices are EIA-861 totals divided by kWh sold, so they include fixed charges. Sawnee’s rate is from Rider NEM-18, in force since May 1, 2026. Walton’s runs to December 31, 2026. Jackson’s 4.32 cents is the figure we read on October 6, 2026; it comes from a formula, so ask for the current rate in writing.
What makes a Georgia home a good fit, and what should slow you down
Sunshine is not the problem in Georgia; the low export credit is. Read each row across.
Your utility
Worth a closer look
Georgia Power, or a co-op that gives its credit in writing.
Pause and check
Your co-op does not publish a credit, or the quote uses Georgia Power’s rate for an EMC home.
Check next: the utility named on the quote and the export credit it used.
Daytime use
Worth a closer look
Cooling, a pool pump or an EV charging in daylight use the power as it is made.
Pause and check
The house sits empty until dark, so most output is exported.
Check next: the home-use share the quote assumed.
Roof and time in home
Worth a closer look
A roof with years of life left, and plans to stay past payback.
Pause and check
The roof needs work soon, or a move is likely within a decade.
Check next: the roof’s age and the cost to remove and refit panels.
Price and financing
Worth a closer look
A cash price near the Index’s $25,604 for 9.21 kW ($2.78 per watt).
Pause and check
A loan with a dealer fee, or a quote that still subtracts a federal tax credit.
Check next: the cash price next to the financed price, plus APR, fees and term.
How many years a typical Georgia system takes to pay back
Simple payback is the years your savings take to cover what you paid: net cost divided by yearly savings. Here is the typical Georgia system on Georgia Power, bought with cash.
- Cash price
- $25,604
- Confirmed incentives
- $0
- Year-one production
- 13,069 kWh
- Used at home / exported
- 40% / 60%
- Average price (EIA, 12 months)
- $0.1512/kWh
- Export credit
- $0.0722/kWh
- Owner-cost allowance
- $276/yr
- Used-at-home value
13,069 × 40% × $0.1512$790/yr - Export value
13,069 × 60% × $0.0722$566/yr - Yearly savings after owner costs
$790 + $566 − $276$1,080/yr - Simple cash payback
$25,604 ÷ $1,080about 23.7 years
Inputs: the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Georgia system (9.21 kW, $25,604 cash, September 2026; 1,419 kWh per kW a year, so about 13,069 kWh in year one). Georgia has no state rebate or tax credit for home solar. The export credit is Georgia Power’s 7.22 cents per kWh for 2026. The 15.12¢ EIA average includes fixed charges spread over every kWh, so the rate you really avoid is likely a little lower. Our assumptions: 40% of the solar power used at home as it is made and 60% sent to the grid, and $276 a year in owner costs ($30 per kW, including a reserve for a new inverter).
Now move the same house to Walton EMC’s 2.6 cents per kWh credit, the lowest published rate among the large utilities, and change nothing else. Only the 60% you export earns less.
| Scenario | Export credit | Export value | Yearly savings | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Power credit | $0.0722/kWh | $566 | $1,080 | about 23.7 years |
| Walton EMC credit | $0.026/kWh | $204 | $718 | about 35.7 years |
Both cases keep the statewide EIA price, so the table isolates the credit; real co-op prices differ (see the table above). At Walton’s credit the system does not pay for itself within the 25 years panels are usually expected to last.
Put your own Georgia quote in
The tool starts with the Georgia Power case above. Enter your quote’s price, your utility’s export credit and your own home-use share, then press Calculate. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Example result
about 23.7 years
simple cash payback
- Used-at-home value
- $790/yr
- Export value
- $566/yr
- Owner costs
- −$276/yr
- Yearly savings
- $1,080/yr
- Net cost
- $25,604
Starts with the Georgia Power case above. On a co-op, type your co-op’s export credit. Flat first-year values; rates, panel wear and repairs will change the result.
Daytime use: the part of the math you control
Your utility’s credit is fixed for the year; how much solar power you use as it is made is not. Each kWh used at home replaces one you would have bought at about 15.12¢. Each kWh sent to Georgia Power earns 7.22 cents per kWh, so a kWh kept at home is worth about twice an exported one.
Used at home: 5,228 kWh. Each one replaces power you would have bought, so it saves the full variable rate ($0.1512 here).
Sent to the grid: 7,841 kWh. These earn whatever your utility pays for exports ($0.0722 here). That can be far less.
The 40/60 split is a planning assumption based on home-use research, not a measured Georgia average. Georgia homes paid an average of 15.12¢ per kWh from August 2025 to July 2026 (EIA).
So bigger is not better here: panels added to fill the roof mostly export at the low credit. On Georgia Power the credit program has a 10 kW AC limit, measured at the inverter; above it, the other option pays nothing for extra power.
Get a quote built on your own utility
A Georgia quote should name your utility and the export credit it used. Ask for both before you compare prices.
Solar providers that serve your area may contact you, and they pay EcoGen for the introduction. How we make money.
Six things to find on a Georgia solar quote
A quote that assumes exports earn the full retail price overstates your savings. Leases are legal under the Solar Power Free-Market Financing Act of 2015, but Jackson and Walton rules cover member-owned systems, so ask your co-op first.
- Your utility, by name. Georgia Power or your EMC, from your bill.
- The export credit used. Cents per kWh for exports, and the year it applies to.
- Home-use share. The share of solar power you are expected to use at home, and why.
- Size against the limit. The inverter size in kW AC, under your utility’s limit.
- No federal credit subtracted. The homeowner credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025.
- Cash and financed prices. Both totals side by side, with any dealer fee shown.
Compare Georgia solar quotes
Ask each installer to name your utility and write down the export credit behind its savings estimate. 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.
More Georgia solar guides
- Georgia solar incentives: the bill credit each utility pays
- What solar costs in Georgia
- Free solar panels in Georgia: what $0-down offers mean
- Are solar panels worth it? The national guide and payback calculator
All 51 state guides
Georgia solar questions
What is the solar payback period in Georgia?
In our example, a typical owned system takes about 24 years at Georgia Power’s 7.22 cents per kWh export credit and about 36 at Walton EMC’s 2.6 cents per kWh, with 40% of the power used at home as it is made. Using more of your solar power in daylight hours shortens both.
Why do Georgia utilities pay so little for exported power?
State law, the Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act of 2001, lets each utility file its own credit and does not require more than its avoided cost: what it would pay to get that power elsewhere. Georgia Power pays 3.2188 cents plus a 4 cents adder the regulator approved.
Do solar panels increase home value in Georgia?
Any effect at sale is uncertain, and we found no Georgia figure to rely on, so our payback leaves home value out. If you may move before the payback year, count only the savings you expect while you live there.
Should I buy a battery for backup?
Buy one for backup if outages matter to you, and price it on its own line. It can store power you would export at 7.22 cents per kWh for use later. The regulator approved a Georgia Power pilot for homes with solar and a battery on July 31, 2025; no amounts are published.
Is solar worth it on a co-op like Cobb or Jackson?
It can be, but it takes longer than on Georgia Power. Cobb EMC pays 5.121 cents per kWh for extra power. Jackson EMC paid 4.32 cents per kWh when we checked on October 6, 2026, and adds $10 a month for solar homes, which counts as an extra owner cost. On a co-op, daytime use and right-sizing matter even more.
Is solar still worth it in Georgia without the federal tax credit?
It can be for the right home, but slower. The federal homeowner credit is not available for systems installed after December 31, 2025, and Georgia’s own credit only covered systems switched on by December 31, 2014. Our example counts no credit, so a quote that subtracts one is out of date.
Sources, method and corrections
The example uses the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Georgia system (September 2026), the EIA statewide average price and the export credits in force in 2026. Our assumptions: 40% of the solar power used at home as it is made and 60% sent to the grid, and $276 a year in owner costs ($30 per kW, including a reserve for a new inverter). Simple payback uses flat first-year values and leaves out home value. The calculator sends nothing.
Updated October 2026: 40% home use and 60% exports, owner costs of $30 per kW a year, and Jackson EMC’s 4.32 cents credit. Earlier: September 2026 Index system, the EIA price and Sawnee’s current credit.
Spotted an error? Tell us through our corrections and feedback process.
- Georgia Power: Residential Rooftop Solar FAQ (2026 export credit; checked October 1, 2026)
- Georgia Power: Tariff RNR-11, Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources (adder, size limit and program cap)
- Georgia Public Service Commission: Docket 16573 (2027 avoided cost filing)
- Georgia Public Service Commission: 2025 IRP order (battery pilot)
- Cobb EMC: Schedule DG-1, effective February 1, 2026 (checked September 30, 2026)
- Sawnee EMC: Net Metering Rider NEM-18 (effective May 1, 2026)
- Walton EMC: Selling your solar power (2026 credit and metering cost; checked September 30, 2026)
- Jackson EMC: Rider NM, filed with the Georgia PSC (monthly charge for solar homes)
- Official Code of Georgia (2019 release, Public.Resource.Org) (2001 and 2015 solar laws, old state tax credit)
- U.S. EIA: Form EIA-861, 2024 data (utility shares and average prices)
- 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 after December 31, 2025)
- EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026: what solar costs in Georgia (typical system size, price and production)
