Mississippi pays more for the solar power you send to the grid than that power is worth to the utility. The premium helps, but it does not make solar quick. In our example a typical Entergy Mississippi home pays back in about 19 years, or about 17 when the household qualifies for the income adder. Using more of your solar power at home shortens it most.
Typical payback, Entergy MississippiAbout 19 years
Standard or income-adder creditAbout 17 to 19 years
Typical owned 9.12 kW Mississippi system at $23,621 cash (EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026), exports credited at Entergy’s 6.1 cents per kWh; about 17 years at the 8.1 cents per kWh income-adder credit. Our assumptions: 60% of the solar power used at home, 40% sent to the grid, $200 a year in owner costs. See the math.
- Your utility: the premium is a state rule for Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power only.
- Household income: at or below 225% of the poverty level, exports earn 2.0 cents per kWh more.
- Daytime use: power you use at home saves about 14.77¢; exports earn 6.1 cents per kWh at Entergy.
2026 rules: new home systems get no 30% federal homeowner credit (IRS). Entergy Mississippi’s 6.1 cents per kWh export credit applies to bills from February 2026, and the Public Service Commission is reviewing its solar rule in Docket 2025-AD-61.
How we checked this guide
Export credits come from the Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power rate sheets, co-op prices from the Cooperative Energy rate sheet, and the electricity price from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The example system is the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Mississippi home. Where we had to 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.
Four things that decide a Mississippi roof
The premium sets a floor under the export credit. These points settle the rest. Read each row across.
Your utility
Worth a closer look
Entergy Mississippi or Mississippi Power sends your bill, so the state adder applies.
Pause and check
A co-op or TVA local power company sends it; the state rule does not reach you.
Check next: the export price your utility pays, in writing, before you size anything.
Daytime use
Worth a closer look
Someone is home in the day, or cooling and a pool pump run while the sun is up.
Pause and check
The house is empty on weekdays, so more of the power earns the export credit, not the full price.
Check next: the home-use share the quote assumed, and why.
Household income
Worth a closer look
Your income is at or below 225% of the poverty level, so exports earn the extra 2.0 cents per kWh.
Pause and check
The quote counts the adder or a $3,000 payment you have not been approved for.
Check next: your utility’s written approval of the adder before it goes into the numbers.
Price and time in home
Worth a closer look
Near the Index’s $23,621 for 9.12 kW ($2.59 per watt), and you plan to stay well past payback.
Pause and check
A loan with a dealer fee, or a likely move before the panels have paid for themselves.
Check next: the cash price next to the financed price, plus APR, fees and term.
One Entergy home, two income levels
Simple payback is the years your savings take to cover what you paid: net cost divided by yearly savings. Here is the typical Mississippi system on Entergy at the standard credit, with no rebate to subtract.
- Cash price
- $23,621
- Confirmed incentives
- $0
- Year-one production
- 13,005 kWh
- Used at home / exported
- 60% / 40%
- Average price (EIA, 12 months)
- $0.1477/kWh
- Export credit
- $0.061/kWh
- Owner-cost allowance
- $200/yr
- Used-at-home value
13,005 × 60% × $0.1477$1,153/yr - Export value
13,005 × 40% × $0.061$317/yr - Yearly savings after owner costs
$1,153 + $317 − $200$1,270/yr - Simple cash payback
$23,621 ÷ $1,270about 18.6 years
Inputs: the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Mississippi system (9.12 kW, $23,621 cash, September 2026; 1,426 kWh per kW a year, so about 13,005 kWh in year one). No rebate is counted. Exports earn Entergy Mississippi’s 6.1 cents per kWh. The 14.77¢ EIA average includes fixed charges, so the rate you really avoid is likely a little lower. Our assumptions: 60% of the solar power used at home, 40% sent to the grid, $200 a year in owner costs. The cost page’s about 12.3 years is a best case with no owner costs.
Now give the same house the income adder. Only the power sent to the grid earns 2.0 cents per kWh more, worth about $104 a year in our example.
| Scenario | Export credit | Export value | Yearly savings | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard credit | $0.061/kWh | $317 | $1,270 | about 18.6 years |
| With the income adder | $0.081/kWh | $421 | $1,374 | about 17.2 years |
Both are long waits, and the gap is modest. What moves the number further is how much solar power you use at home, the price you pay, and whether a utility payment turns out to be open.
Put your own Mississippi bill in
The tool starts with the standard Entergy case. Set the export credit to 8.1 cents per kWh if you qualify for the income adder, or to your co-op’s price, then press Calculate. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Example result
about 18.6 years
simple cash payback
- Used-at-home value
- $1,153/yr
- Export value
- $317/yr
- Owner costs
- −$200/yr
- Yearly savings
- $1,270/yr
- Net cost
- $23,621
Starts with the standard Entergy case above. Try a higher home-use share if someone is home in the day. Flat first-year values; rates, panel wear and repairs will change the result.
Where each kWh from your roof ends up
Power you use as it is made saves the full price. Power you do not use earns the export credit, well under half the average price at Entergy. That is why the home-use share matters more than the adder.
Used at home: 7,803 kWh. Each one replaces power you would have bought, so it saves the full variable rate ($0.1477 here).
Sent to the grid: 5,202 kWh. These earn whatever your utility pays for exports ($0.061 here). That can be far less.
The credit comes off your bill in dollars, cannot lower the fixed customer charge, and carries to the next bill. Mississippi homes paid 14.77¢ per kWh on average from August 2025 to July 2026 (EIA). Entergy homes averaged 13.21 cents per kWh in 2024, so an Entergy home likely avoids less and waits a little longer.
Find out which credit your roof would earn
A Mississippi quote should name your utility and the export credit it used, cent for cent.
Solar providers that serve your area may contact you, and they pay EcoGen for the introduction. How we make money.
Co-op or TVA power? The premium stops here
The state rule reaches only the two investor-owned utilities, about about 4 in 10 Mississippi homes.
| Utility | Pays for extra power | Ask before you sign |
|---|---|---|
| Entergy Mississippi (about 29% of homes) | 6.1 cents per kWh, or 8.1 cents per kWh with the income adder | Whether you qualify for the adder. |
| Mississippi Power (about 12% of homes) | 5.59 cents per kWh or 6.01 cents per kWh by season | Which credit option the quote used. |
| Co-ops supplied by Cooperative Energy | 4.5 cents per kWh under Rate DG-1 | Today’s price, in writing. |
| TVA local power companies (about 27% of homes) | Sold to TVA on its terms | Today’s price, in writing. |
On a co-op, power used at home still saves the full price; only exports lose the adder. Shares of homes: EIA-861, 2024.
Size caps, certificates and money not to count on
- Size. Up to 20 kW at both utilities. Entergy also caps it at 110% of last year’s use; Mississippi Power applies 110% to past peak demand. Add an electric car or heat pump first, then size the panels.
- A cap on the program. First come, first served until solar reaches 3% of each utility’s peak demand.
- Certificates. At Entergy, taking the adder sends your RECs to the utility, so they add nothing to your return.
- Utility payments. Mississippi Power lists its $3,000 income payment and $2,000 battery payment as suspended. Entergy’s rate sheet lists the same amounts, but we could not confirm they are open, and none runs past the end of 2027.
- Fees and timing. Entergy charges $95 once, or $135 if you need a new meter, and wants the agreement 30 business days before you connect.
Six lines to find on a Mississippi solar quote
The export credit is the number most likely to be wrong. Check two or three quotes against this list.
- Your utility, by name. Entergy Mississippi, Mississippi Power, a co-op or a TVA local power company.
- The export credit used. At Entergy, 6.1 cents per kWh, or 8.1 cents per kWh only if you qualify for the income adder.
- Home-use share. The share of solar power the quote expects you to use at home, and why.
- Size and certificates. kW and year-one kWh inside the 110% limit, with no REC income counted.
- No tax credit or unconfirmed rebate. The federal credit ended for systems finished after December 31, 2025.
- Cash and financed prices. Both totals side by side, with any dealer fee shown.
Compare Mississippi solar quotes
Ask each installer to name your utility and the exact export credit behind its savings. 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.
Mississippi guides to read next
- Mississippi solar incentives: the export credit and the income rule
- What solar costs in Mississippi
- Free solar panels in Mississippi: what a no-cost offer means
- Are solar panels worth it? The national guide and payback calculator
All 51 state guides
Your Mississippi solar questions
Are solar panels worth it in Mississippi?
They can be if you stay put. In our example a typical owned system on Entergy Mississippi pays back in about 19 years at the 6.1 cents per kWh export credit and about 17 with the income adder. Using more solar power at home or paying less would shorten it.
What is the Mississippi solar adder?
A state rule makes Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power pay a fixed 2.5 cents per kWh per exported kWh on top of avoided cost. At Entergy that gives 3.6 cents per kWh plus 2.5 cents per kWh, or 6.1 cents per kWh. In our example the adder is worth about $130 a year.
What low-income solar help does Mississippi offer?
Households at or below 225% of the federal poverty level earn 2.0 cents per kWh more per exported kWh, up to $74,250 for a family of four in 2026. Mississippi Power lists its $3,000 and $2,000 payments as suspended. Entergy’s rate sheet lists the same amounts, but we could not confirm they are open.
How big can a Mississippi solar system be?
Up to 20 kW at Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power. Entergy also limits it to 110% of the electricity you used last year; Mississippi Power uses your past peak demand. You cannot size for an electric car you have not bought yet.
Do I keep the renewable energy certificates in Mississippi?
Not at Entergy Mississippi. When you take the 2.5 cents per kWh adder, your renewable energy certificates (RECs), the proof that your power came from solar, go to Entergy. A proposal that counts certificate income is wrong. Mississippi Power customers should ask.
Does the adder apply on a co-op or TVA power?
No. The state rule covers Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power, about about 4 in 10 homes. Co-ops supplied by Cooperative Energy, such as Coast Electric, pay 4.5 cents per kWh and can change it with 30 days’ notice. TVA local power companies sell extra power to TVA.
Sources, method and corrections
The example uses the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Mississippi system (September 2026) and the Entergy Mississippi credit for bills from February 2026. Our assumptions: 60% of the solar power used at home and 40% sent to the grid, and $200 a year in owner costs. No rebate is counted, because we could not confirm one is open. Simple payback uses flat first-year values. The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing.
Updated: size and price from the September 2026 Index; the 6.1 cents per kWh credit named as Entergy’s; utility payments shown as suspended or unconfirmed.
Spotted an error? Tell us through our corrections and feedback process.
- Entergy Mississippi: Schedule NEM-2 and Attachment A (credit, adders, limits, fees; checked September 30, 2026)
- Entergy Mississippi: Level 1 interconnection agreement (notice period)
- Mississippi Power: Rate RENM-3 and Basic Avoided Energy Cost Bulletin (seasonal credits, issued January 20, 2026)
- Mississippi Power: pricing and rates (RENM-I listed as suspended)
- Cooperative Energy Rate DG-1 (Coast Electric copy) (co-op purchase price, effective January 1, 2025)
- Mississippi Public Service Commission: October 2026 utility docket (Docket 2025-AD-61)
- U.S. HHS: 2026 poverty guidelines (income limit for the adder)
- U.S. EIA: Form EIA-861, 2024 data (utility shares and 2024 prices)
- U.S. EIA: average residential electricity price by state (12-month average, as used in the Cost Index)
- IRS: Residential Clean Energy Credit
- EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026: what solar costs in Mississippi (typical system)
