Virginia has three sets of solar rules: Dominion Energy, Appalachian Power and the electric co-ops. In all three, power you send to the grid cancels power you buy later, kWh for kWh. A typical system sized to your use pays for itself in about 14 years in our example; built well past your use, about 22. Shade can rule a roof out first.
Typical payback, sized to your useAbout 14 years
Sized to use vs built biggerAbout 14 to 22 years
Typical owned 9.42 kW Virginia system at $26,282 cash (EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026), exports netted kWh for kWh. At Dominion’s 150% size limit, about 22 years. EIA average price; our assumptions: 40% of the solar power used at home as it is made, 60% sent to the grid, $283 a year of owner costs. See the math.
- Your territory: Dominion, Appalachian Power or a co-op. Each sets its own size limit and year-end price.
- System size: matched to your last 12 months of use. Power left at year end earns a few cents at most.
- Shade: a shade report for your own roof comes before any payback number.
2026 rules: new home systems get no 30% federal homeowner credit (IRS). Dominion’s new net metering rules start with applications approved on or after May 1, 2027, not before.
How we checked this guide
Net metering rules come from the Code of Virginia, State Corporation Commission filings and utility tariffs; the price from the U.S. Energy Information Administration; the example system 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.
Shade first, size second: what decides a Virginia roof
Virginia’s tree canopy rules out more roofs than any tariff does. A production estimate for your ZIP code means little on a wooded lot, so shade comes first, then size, then which utility reads your meter. Read each row across.
Trees and roof
Worth a closer look
Little shade from late morning to mid afternoon, and a roof with years of life left.
Pause and check
Trees that stay shade the roof at midday, or the roof needs replacing soon.
Check next: a shade report for your roof, not a ZIP-code estimate.
System size
Worth a closer look
Yearly output close to what your home used in the last 12 months.
Pause and check
A proposal sized toward Dominion’s 150% limit “for later”, with no new electric load planned.
Check next: your 12-month usage printed next to the system’s year-one kWh.
Territory and approval date
Worth a closer look
The quote names your utility and its year-end rule.
Pause and check
A statewide average rate, or a claim that Dominion’s new rules already apply.
Check next: whether Dominion is likely to approve the application before May 1, 2027.
Price and financing
Worth a closer look
A cash price near the Index’s $26,282 for 9.42 kW ($2.79 per watt).
Pause and check
A $0-down contract or a loan with a dealer fee.
Check next: the cash price next to the financed total, with APR, fees and term.
Time in the home
Worth a closer look
You plan to stay well past the payback year in your quote.
Pause and check
A likely move before the panels have paid for themselves.
Check next: what happens to any contract if you sell.
A Virginia system that fits your use, and one that does not
Three terms first. A kWh (kilowatt-hour) is the unit your power bill counts. An export credit is what you get for each kWh your panels send to the grid. Simple payback is the years your savings take to cover what you paid: net cost divided by yearly savings.
In Virginia, a kWh you send out cancels a kWh you buy later in the same net metering year (12 months). So when the panels make about what your home uses, every kWh is worth the full price.
- Cash price
- $26,282
- Confirmed incentives
- $0
- Year-one production
- 12,971 kWh
- Used at home / exported
- 40% / 60%
- Average price (EIA, 12 months)
- $0.1648/kWh
- Export credit
- $0.1648/kWh
- Owner-cost allowance
- $283/yr
- Used-at-home value
12,971 × 40% × $0.1648$855/yr - Export value
12,971 × 60% × $0.1648$1,283/yr - Yearly savings after owner costs
$855 + $1,283 − $283$1,855/yr - Simple cash payback
$26,282 ÷ $1,855about 14.2 years
Inputs: the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Virginia system (9.42 kW, $26,282 cash, September 2026; 1,377 kWh per kW a year, so 12,971 kWh in year one). No rebate is subtracted: Virginia has none. Exports are credited at the full price because they cancel later purchases kWh for kWh while output stays within use. The 16.48¢ EIA average includes fixed charges, 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, 60% sent to the grid, $283 a year of owner costs ($30 per kW, including a reserve for a new inverter). The 40/60 split is a planning assumption based on home-use research, not a measured Virginia average.
Now put the same panels on a home that uses less. Dominion allows a system up to 150% of yearly use. At that limit the home uses about 8,650 kWh a year, and about 4,320 kWh, a third of the output, is left when the period closes. With a purchase agreement Dominion pays 6.003 cents per kWh for each. Our second case values every exported kWh at about 7.75¢, a cautious blend of kWh-for-kWh credits and that year-end price.
| Scenario | Export credit | Export value | Yearly savings | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sized to your use | $0.1648/kWh | $1,283 | $1,855 | about 14.2 years |
| Built to Dominion’s limit | $0.0775/kWh | $603 | $1,176 | about 22.4 years |
The extra third of the panels costs as much as the rest and earns a fraction. Without a purchase agreement it earns nothing, and the gap grows. Size is the lever you control, and it is set before you sign.
Run your own Virginia numbers
The tool starts with the sized-to-use case. Enter your quote and the per-kWh charges from your bill, then press Calculate. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Example result
about 14.2 years
simple cash payback
- Used-at-home value
- $855/yr
- Export value
- $1,283/yr
- Owner costs
- −$283/yr
- Yearly savings
- $1,855/yr
- Net cost
- $26,282
Starts with the sized-to-use case. Flat first-year values. To test an oversized system, lower the export credit to 0.0775.
Where the power goes, and why it all counts at full price
Much of the output goes to the grid. In Virginia it rolls forward as a kWh credit and cancels power you buy at night or in winter. Example: 100 kWh cancelled that way are worth $16.48 at the average price. Left over at year end, the same 100 kWh earn about $6 from Dominion or $5.66 from Appalachian Power with an agreement.
Used at home: 5,188 kWh. Each one replaces power you would have bought, so it saves the full variable rate ($0.1648 here).
Sent to the grid: 7,783 kWh. These earn whatever your utility pays for exports ($0.1648 here). Here that matches the price you pay, but check your utility’s rule.
Virginia homes paid an average of 16.48¢ per kWh from August 2025 to July 2026 (EIA), fixed charges included.
Get quotes sized to your own bills
A Virginia quote should start from your 12 months of usage and your utility’s rules. Ask for both in writing.
Solar providers that serve your area may contact you, and they pay EcoGen for the introduction. How we make money.
Dominion, Appalachian Power or a co-op: what changes
What differs is the size limit and what leftover power earns when the net metering year (12 months) closes.
| Territory | Largest home system | Size limit against your use | Leftover power at year end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dominion Energy (approved before May 1, 2027) | 25 kW | 150% of expected yearly use | 6.003 cents per kWh with a purchase agreement; the price is reset each year |
| Appalachian Power (requests after November 27, 2025) | 25 kW | 100% of expected yearly use | 5.66 cents per kWh with an agreement; lost without one |
| Electric co-ops | 20 kW | No more than expected yearly use | Set by each co-op. Rappahannock Electric Cooperative pays about 30% to 40% of its retail energy rate |
Appalachian Power and the co-ops cap a system at your expected use, which mostly keeps you in the first case. Dominion’s limit is wider, so there it is up to you to turn down panels you will not use.
Dominion’s new rules from May 1, 2027
Under the State Corporation Commission’s order of April 30, 2026, applications Dominion approves on or after May 1, 2027 are netted in 30 minutes blocks, pay a $1 a month charge, and get 5.829 cents per kWh automatically for leftover power at year end. Credits still count kWh for kWh, so a system sized to your use changes little.
Applications approved before May 1, 2027 keep the current terms. Adding panels or a battery after that date moves a system to the new rules.
Two smaller pieces of value: property tax and certificates
Property tax. Under Va. Code § 58.1-3661, a home system of 25 kW or less is exempt from state and local property tax in every Virginia city and county. Ask your commissioner of the revenue how to claim it.
Renewable energy certificates. One certificate per 1,000 kWh means about 13 a year for the typical system. Virginia Energy says owners generally get $10 to $75 each; Dominion pays $10 under a purchase agreement, about $130 a year. The example leaves this out.
For loans, see our solar financing guide; for $0-down offers, our free solar guide for Virginia.
Six things a Virginia quote has to show
A quote that skips these lines cannot back up its payback number.
- Utility, rate and timing. Your utility by name, its per-kWh rate, and at Dominion the expected approval date.
- Usage next to output. Your last 12 months of kWh beside the system’s year-one kWh.
- Shade report. Measured for your roof.
- Year-end power. What leftover kWh earn, and whether the quote assumed a purchase agreement.
- Cash and financed prices. Both totals side by side, with any dealer fee shown.
- Contractor license. A Virginia contractor license whose class covers the size of the job.
Compare Virginia solar quotes
Ask each installer to size the system from your own bills. 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 for net metering with your utility.
More Virginia solar guides
- Virginia solar incentives: bill credits, property tax and the 2027 Dominion change
- What solar costs in Virginia
- Free solar panels in Virginia: what $0-down really means
- Are solar panels worth it? The national guide and payback calculator
All 51 state guides
Virginia solar questions
Are solar panels worth it in Virginia?
They can be, on an unshaded roof with a system sized to your use. In our example a typical owned system pays back in about 14 years, and about 22 if it is built well past what the home uses. Your territory, trees and time in the home decide the rest.
Is solar worth it in Virginia without the federal tax credit?
It can be, on bill savings alone. The homeowner credit is not available for systems installed after December 31, 2025, and Virginia has no cash rebate, so our example subtracts nothing from the $26,282 price. That is why sizing and shade matter more than they used to.
Why does my utility change the answer?
Each territory sets its own size limit and year-end price. Dominion allows up to 150% of your yearly use and pays 6.003 cents per kWh for leftover power with a purchase agreement. Appalachian Power caps size at 100% and pays 5.66 cents per kWh. Co-ops set their own price; without an agreement, leftover power earns nothing.
Do trees really rule out Virginia homes?
Often. Shade from late morning to mid afternoon cuts the power that pays for the system, and no tariff makes that up. Ask for a shade report built for your roof. If the trees are staying and it shows heavy midday shade, skipping solar is a fair answer.
Is solar worth it in Northern Virginia with HOA rules?
The money follows Dominion’s rules. An HOA can set conditions, but Virginia law treats a restriction as unreasonable if it raises the installation cost by 5% or cuts expected output by 10%. Ask the installer how it handles association approval in your county.
How long does solar take to pay off in Virginia?
In our example, about 14 years for a typical system sized to your use, paid in cash. That uses the 16.48¢ EIA average, so your own rate schedule moves it. A heavily shaded roof or an oversized system pushes it longer. Ask each quote to show its payback on your utility’s rates.
Sources, method and corrections
The example uses the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Virginia system (September 2026). Our assumptions: 40% of the solar power used at home as it is made and 60% sent to the grid, and $283 a year of owner costs ($30 per kW, including a reserve for a new inverter). The second case assumes a home that uses two-thirds of the output, the most Dominion’s 150% limit allows, and values every exported kWh at about 7.75¢. Simple payback uses flat first-year values and leaves out certificate sales. The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing.
Updated October 2026: 40% home use and 60% exports, and owner costs of $30 per kW a year.
Spotted an error? Tell us through our corrections and feedback process.
- Dominion Energy Virginia: Terms and Conditions XXV, net metering (size limit and year-end purchase price)
- State Corporation Commission: Final Order and Dominion NEM 2.0 tariff, Case PUR-2025-00079 (Dominion’s new rules from May 1, 2027)
- Appalachian Power: Optional Rider N.M.S. II (purchase agreement rate)
- Rappahannock Electric Cooperative: Net metering (co-op purchase price)
- Code of Virginia § 56-594: net energy metering (12-month period and size limits)
- Code of Virginia § 56-594.01: co-op net metering (co-op size limit)
- Code of Virginia § 58.1-3661: solar property tax exemption (property tax exemption)
- Code of Virginia § 55.1-1820.1: HOA solar restrictions (HOA limits)
- Virginia Energy: On-site solar (renewable energy certificates)
- Dominion Energy Virginia: Net metering (certificate price under Rider G)
- 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 (no credit for property installed after December 31, 2025)
- EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026: what solar costs in Virginia (typical system, price and production)
