Dean has connected tens of thousands of homeowners with residential solar installers across all 50 states since 2021, and works directly with installers on pricing and financing.
Washington still nets solar kilowatt-for-kilowatt under state law, one of the last full-retail netting rights in the country, and pairs it with some of the weakest sunshine. Every unit your roof makes is credited kilowatt-for-kilowatt against your bill, a statutory right at most utilities and, at Puget Sound Energy, a company commitment that has already outlived the statute. Your roof also makes less than a roof in almost any state in the country, about 40% below Nevada. The interesting question is which of those two facts wins.
Strong Netting Rules Do Not Beat Weak Sunshine
Comparing Washington against Oklahoma makes the trade visible, because the two states sit at opposite ends of both variables.
Washington is one answer of fifty; the nationwide worth-it breakdown holds the rest.
Measure | Washington | Oklahoma | Which state it favors |
|---|---|---|---|
How exports are treated | Full retail netting under state law | Surplus bought at wholesale | Washington, decisively |
Statewide average residential price (EIA) | 14.09¢ | 12.96¢ | Washington |
Annual output per kW | 1,096 kWh | 1,559 kWh | Oklahoma, by 42% |
Simple payback | 18.6 years | About 14 to 23 years | Roughly level |
Washington’s figure covers a 10.46 kW system at $30,114 producing roughly 11,464 kWh a year valued at the 14.09¢ statewide average residential price, which is ranking context rather than any utility’s filed rate, so 18.6 years is the ceiling case. Because Washington nets kilowatt-for-kilowatt, essentially all output is valued at retail, so this state needs one figure where Oklahoma needs a range. Your own payback runs on the rate your utility files, so rerun the year and the payback with the rate on your own bill. These are simple payback before financing, rate rises and degradation.
Washington wins the policy comparison and the rate comparison and still finishes level, because a 30% production deficit is a large hole to climb out of. Good rules do not compensate for a weak resource; they only stop it being worse.
Simple payback is 18.6 years at today’s rate. With rates rising 4.15% a year and 0.5% annual panel degradation, cumulative savings pass the $30,114 cost in about year 15, and that is the tenure test below.
Enter your ZIP code to confirm which Washington utility serves you and whether its net metering is still open.
Check whether your utility net metering window is open
The Right You Are Relying On Has Two Expiry Conditions
Washington net metering comes from RCW 80.60: every electric utility in the state must offer it to residential customers until a defined stopping point. That stopping point has two triggers written into RCW 80.60.020.
Trigger | What it says | Where things stand |
|---|---|---|
Capacity | Cumulative net metered generation reaching 4% of the utility’s 1996 peak demand | Puget Sound Energy has passed this. It is still enrolling at 1:1 under Schedule 150 by company commitment, not statute, until a successor schedule is filed. None has been filed. |
Date | June 30, 2029 | Whichever of the two comes first ends the obligation, so for PSE the date no longer governs |
The practical reading for a homeowner is straightforward. There is a date on the horizon after which Washington’s obligation to offer retail netting on current terms ends, and the legislature would have to act to extend it. What happens to systems already interconnected at that point is the question to put to your utility in writing, because a grandfathering commitment and a silence are very different things to be holding.
This is not a reason to rush a $30,000 decision, and anyone using it to create urgency should be treated with suspicion. It is a reason to ask one specific question and get one specific answer before signing.
Size It to the Year, Not to the Roof
Washington’s netting has a detail that changes how a system should be specified. Credits accumulate through the year and any unused balance is surrendered each March 31. Banking surplus across seasons works; banking it across years does not.
That is a good fit for Washington’s production pattern, where a strong summer legitimately carries a dark winter, and it puts a hard ceiling on useful system size. A system producing more than your annual consumption hands the excess to the utility for nothing every spring. The typical Washington household uses about 955 kWh a month, and the 10.46 kW system above produces almost exactly that across a year, which is the correct way to size here.
Ask any installer to show annual production against your annual consumption as a single comparison. If production exceeds consumption, the system is too big for Washington rules regardless of how much roof is available.
Why 431 Megawatts Are Already Up There
Washington has about 431.5 MW of residential rooftop solar, up 15.6% in a year, and it is worth understanding why a state with this little sunshine built that much.
Part of it is the netting right, which removes the export-rate problem that dominates the decision in states that buy surplus at wholesale. Part is that electricity here has risen about 4.15% a year over five years, so the thing solar hedges against is moving quickly. And Washington offers a sales tax exemption on solar equipment under RCW 82.08.962 and RCW 82.12.962, which reduces the installed cost directly at the point of purchase. It applies to systems under 100 kW, is worth roughly 9% off the invoice, and is authorized through 2029.
What none of that changes is the sun. Washington’s 3.98 peak sun hours are among the lowest in the country, and a system that must be 72% larger than a Utah household’s to serve a similar load is the reason installed costs run to $30,114 despite a competitive $2.88 per watt.
When to Walk Away in Washington
- If the roof has any meaningful shading. At 3.98 peak sun hours there is no margin. Shading that a sunnier state would shrug off turns an eighteen-year payback into something well past the warranty.
- If the roof cannot take a system this size. Washington needs a large array to cover a normal household. A roof that only fits half of it halves the lifetime value; it does not shorten the break-even date.
- If you expect to move inside fifteen years. Break-even with rising rates lands around year 15 and simple payback at 18.6, and the system needs that time to work.
- If you are a PSE customer and have not confirmed Schedule 150 is open to new applicants. File the interconnection application before the installation contract, not after.
- If a quote is sized above your annual usage. The March 31 surrender means that surplus goes to your utility for nothing.
- If a proposal shows a 30% federal credit. Section 25D is $0 for purchased systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025 under Public Law 119-21. A third-party owner may qualify for the separate Section 48E business credit under current deadlines, and whether any of that value reaches a lease or PPA payment depends on the contract, though Washington currently lists no residential lease or PPA providers.
Washington is a patient decision rather than a bad one. The rules are genuinely favorable, the rate is rising quickly, and the arithmetic works for someone staying put on an unshaded roof. Our Washington incentives guide covers the tariff and exemptions, and the Washington installer list covers who works here.
Washington Solar FAQs
Are solar panels worth it in Washington?
For a household staying put on an unshaded roof, yes, at a simple payback around 18.6 years on our figures. That is one of the longest paybacks in the country, and it comes despite Washington having one of the few remaining full-retail netting rules. The reason is production: at 3.98 peak sun hours and 1,096 kWh per kilowatt a year, a Washington roof makes 30% less than an Oklahoma roof, and good policy narrows that gap without closing it.
How does Washington net metering work?
Under RCW 80.60, every electric utility in the state must credit residential solar customers kilowatt-for-kilowatt against their consumption, which means essentially all your output is valued at the full retail rate instead of a wholesale export rate. Credits accumulate through the year and any unused balance is surrendered on March 31. That structure lets a strong summer carry a dark winter, and it puts a hard ceiling on how large a system is worth installing.
Is Washington net metering ending?
RCW 80.60.020 sets two triggers: cumulative net metered generation reaching 4% of a utility’s 1996 peak demand, or June 30, 2029. Whichever comes first ends the obligation. Puget Sound Energy has already passed the capacity trigger and continues under Schedule 150 voluntarily until a successor is filed, so ask PSE whether the schedule is open to new applicants today and get the answer dated. What happens to systems already interconnected after that point is the question to put to your utility in writing, because a grandfathering commitment and a silence are very different things to hold.
How big should a Washington solar system be?
No larger than your annual consumption. Because unused credits are surrendered every March 31, any production above what your household uses across a year is handed to the utility for nothing. The typical Washington household uses about 955 kWh a month, and a 10.46 kW system produces roughly that across a year. Ask your installer to show annual production against annual consumption as one comparison; if production is higher, the system is too big for Washington rules.
Why is solar expensive in Washington if the per-watt price is competitive?
Because you need more watts. At $2.88 per watt Washington is mid-range for installation pricing, but the weak solar resource means a household needs about 10.46 kW where a Utah household needs 6.09 kW for a comparable result. That is a 72% larger system, which is why the typical installed cost reaches $30,114 here. The state does offer a sales tax exemption on solar equipment under RCW 82.08.962 and RCW 82.12.962 for systems under 100 kW, worth roughly 9% off the invoice and authorized through 2029, which reduces that cost directly at the point of purchase.
Set the weaker sunshine against the stronger rules with your own roof and usage in front of you.
Weigh the weaker sun against the stronger rules
Methodology: cost figures use the EcoGen Solar Cost Index for Washington, $2.88 per watt as of March 1, 2026, modeled with no federal residential credit for owner-purchased systems, full retail one-to-one netting, rate escalation at the state 5-year average of 4.15%, 0.5% annual panel degradation, and a 25-year horizon.
References & Research Sources
EcoGen America reviewed RCW 80.60 for Washington’s net metering requirement and the kilowatt-for-kilowatt crediting of residential generation, RCW 80.60.020 for the 4% of 1996 peak demand capacity trigger and the June 30, 2029 date, whichever comes first, and RCW 80.60.030 for the annual surrender of unused credits on March 31; Puget Sound Energy’s Schedule 150 for its continued voluntary enrollment after passing the capacity trigger; RCW 82.08.962 and RCW 82.12.962 for the sales and use tax exemption on solar equipment for systems under 100 kW, authorized through 2029; EIA Electric Power Monthly for the 14.09¢ statewide average residential price and the five-year growth rate of roughly 4.15% a year; independent analysis of state rooftop markets for the 431.5 MW installed base and 15.6% annual growth; and IRS guidance on the Public Law 119-21 termination of Section 25D. Output of 1,096 kWh per kilowatt per year, 3.98 peak sun hours, the 10.46 kW system size, the $30,114 installed cost, the $2.88 per watt figure and the 955 kWh monthly usage are EcoGen America figures at the state benchmark as of March 1, 2026, as are the Oklahoma comparison figures. The payback figures are our own calculation and are simple payback before financing, rate escalation and degradation. That Puget Sound Energy has passed the capacity trigger is reported by the utility; confirm your own utility’s position directly. Sources accessed between June 10 and August 17, 2026.
