For most Wyoming homes, solar is a slow investment. With no rebate, no tax credit and cheap power, a typical owned system on Rocky Mountain Power pays back in about 15.9 years in our example when it fits the home, simple payback before incentives. Oversize it, and extra credits sell for about 1.4 cents per kWh each January, so it takes much longer. Rising rates or a lower price would shorten both.
Simple payback before incentives, sized to your useAbout 15.9 years
Other utilities, sized to your use15.8 to 26.3 years
Typical owned 7.04 kW Wyoming system at $22,106 cash (EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026), Rocky Mountain Power’s 15.67¢ EIA average price with its fixed monthly charge taken out, every credit used. No upkeep or price rises counted. See the math.
- System size: about what your home uses in a year, never more.
- Utility: state law covers power companies and co-ops, not city-owned utilities.
- Time in home: plan to stay well past the payback year.
2026 rules: new home systems get no 30% federal homeowner credit (IRS). Wyoming has no state rebate, no state tax credit and no sales tax exemption for solar. Net metering is unchanged: bills to cut it failed in 2025, and none passed in 2026.
How we checked this guide
Rules come from Wyoming statutes, utility price sheets and Public Service Commission records; power prices from the U.S. EIA. The example is the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Wyoming system. 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.
Who should go solar in Wyoming now, and who should wait?
Wyoming has strong sun. The problem is money: every dollar has to come back through a cheap power bill. Read each row across.
System size
Worth a closer look
Year-one output is close to the kWh on your last 12 bills.
Pause and check
The system fills the roof, and the extra kWh sell cheap in January.
Check next: your yearly kWh next to the system’s year-one kWh.
Utility
Worth a closer look
A power company or co-op bills you, so state net metering applies.
Pause and check
A city or town sends your bill, outside the state law.
Check next: your utility’s solar rules in writing.
Price
Worth a closer look
A cash price near the Index’s $22,106 for 7.04 kW ($3.14 per watt), paid in cash or with a low-fee loan.
Pause and check
A quote well above that, or loan fees that add years.
Check next: the cash price next to the financed price, with APR and fees.
Roof, wind and snow
Worth a closer look
An unshaded, south-facing roof with years of life left.
Pause and check
A roof due for replacement, heavy shade, or a quote silent on wind and snow loads.
Check next: the roof’s age, a shade report and the racking’s wind and snow rating.
Time in home
Worth a closer look
You plan to stay long past payback.
Pause and check
A likely move long before the payback year.
Check next: your honest moving horizon against the payback year on the quote.
Running the numbers on a typical Wyoming roof
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: the cost divided by a year of savings.
In Wyoming, a kWh you send out comes back as a credit on a later bill, worth the full price if you use it before the year ends. Here is the typical system when every credit gets used.
- Cash price
- $22,106
- Confirmed incentives
- $0
- Year-one production
- 11,271 kWh
- Rocky Mountain Power price, fixed charge taken out
- $0.1232/kWh
- Export credit
- Same, kWh for kWh
- Upkeep and price rises
- Not counted
- Value of the year’s output
11,271 × $0.12318$1,388/yr - Yearly savings
$1,388 − $0$1,388/yr - Simple payback before incentives
$22,106 ÷ $1,388about 15.9 years
Inputs: the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Wyoming system (7.04 kW, $22,106 cash, September 2026) at about 1,601 kWh per kW a year. No incentive is counted; Wyoming has none. Rocky Mountain Power homes paid 15.67¢ per kWh on average from August 2025 to July 2026 (EIA), not the 14.01¢ statewide average. kWh credits never pay the fixed monthly charge, so it is taken out, which leaves 12.32¢. With every credit used before January, each kWh sent out counts at that price, whatever share you use as it is made. No upkeep and no price rises are counted.
The same panels pay back at a different pace on each utility, because each one’s price differs. Same math, same system, every credit used.
Utility | Price per kWh | EIA average | Yearly savings | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rocky Mountain Power | $0.1232/kWh | $0.1567 | $1,388 | about 15.9 years |
Powder River Energy | $0.1239/kWh | $0.1239 | $1,397 | about 15.8 years |
Black Hills Power | $0.1205/kWh | $0.1398 | $1,358 | about 16.3 years |
Montana-Dakota Utilities | $0.0931/kWh | $0.1362 | $1,049 | about 21.1 years |
Lower Valley Energy | $0.0746/kWh | $0.0746 | $841 | about 26.3 years |
Now put the same panels on a home that uses far less than they make. Credits pile up unused, and each January the utility buys them at its avoided cost, the price it would pay for power elsewhere: 1.418 cents per kWh at Rocky Mountain Power. Every kWh that ends up in that sale earns about a ninth of what a used credit saves, so payback runs much longer; our per-utility figures do not model it. It costs nothing to get right: match the system to your bills.
Try it with your own Wyoming quote
The tool opens with every credit used. Enter your quote and your own price per kWh, then press Calculate. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Example result
about 15.9 years
simple payback before incentives
- Used-at-home value
- $555/yr
- Export value
- $833/yr
- Owner costs
- −$0/yr
- Yearly savings
- $1,388/yr
- Net cost
- $22,106
Starts with every credit used on Rocky Mountain Power, no upkeep. To test an oversized system, set the export credit to the January price. Flat first-year values; rates, panel wear and repairs will move the result.
Cheap power today, and what could change the answer
Wyoming homes paid an average of 14.01¢ per kWh from August 2025 to July 2026. That ranks 13th lowest of 51 states, counting DC (EIA). Cheap power means each solar kWh replaces less money.
That average includes the fixed monthly charge, and kWh credits never pay it. A home with low use pays mostly fixed charges, which leaves solar little to replace.
Three things could improve the answer, and none is a new incentive:
- Higher rates. Rocky Mountain Power applied for 8.8 percent more in overall rates (PSC notice of May 18, 2026), with a first step proposed from March 15, 2027. Montana-Dakota Utilities applied for 24.36 percent the year before. The commission decides what is approved. Our example counts no rate growth, so any increase shortens payback.
- A lower price. A quote below the typical $3.14 per watt takes years off.
- A better fit. Sizing to your yearly use keeps you in the first case.
If none applies to your home, waiting costs you little. Even our sized-right example on Rocky Mountain Power takes about 15.9 years before incentives.
The January sale: why system size matters more than panel brand
Wyoming’s net metering law (W.S. 37-16-101 to 37-16-104) covers home systems up to 25 kW. Extra kWh become a credit on your next bill, one for one. At the start of each calendar year, the law makes you sell any leftover credits to the utility at its avoided cost.
With easy numbers: use 100 kWh of credits during the year, and they save you about $14.01 at the state average price. Leave the same 100 kWh unused, and Rocky Mountain Power pays $1.42 for them in January. A credit you use is worth about 10 times more than one you sell.
Used at home: 4,508 kWh. Each one replaces power you would have bought, so it saves the full price ($0.1232 here).
Sent to the grid: 6,763 kWh. These earn whatever your utility pays for exports ($0.1232 here, as credits used before January). Here that matches the price you pay, but check your utility’s rule.
| Utility | January price for leftover credits | 100 leftover kWh earn |
|---|---|---|
| Rocky Mountain Power | 1.418 cents per kWh in 2026 (Schedule 37). An update has been pending since July 10, 2026. | $1.42 |
| Powder River Energy | 1.4686 cents per kWh since January 1, 2026, down from 2.0437 cents. | $1.47 |
Other utilities set their own avoided cost; ask yours. A system that fits the home uses its summer credits later. Trouble starts only when it makes more in a year than the home uses.
Get a quote sized to your own bills
Ask each installer to show year-one kWh next to a year of your use. Extra size earns very little here.
Solar providers that serve your area may contact you, and they pay EcoGen for the introduction. How we make money.
Which utility sends your bill?
The state net metering law applies to power companies, electric co-ops and irrigation districts. It leaves out utilities owned by a city or town. Rocky Mountain Power serves about 4 in 10 Wyoming homes. Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power, Montana-Dakota Utilities and co-ops such as Powder River Energy serve much of the rest.
Each utility sets its own January price. On March 25, 2026, the commission gave notice that Montana-Dakota Utilities applied to update its net metering rate.
If a city or town sends your bill, get its solar policy in writing before you request quotes.
Cash, loan or lease in a no-credit state
Owning the panels keeps every credit with you, and cash gives the shortest payback. With a payback this long, loan fees and interest can wipe out the gain, so compare cash and financed prices side by side.
With a lease, a solar company owns the system and you pay it each month. Ask who receives the credits, how the payment rises and what happens if you sell. See our Wyoming zero-down guide and solar financing guide.
Before you sign: what a Wyoming quote must show
Line up two or three quotes. One that cannot show its kWh math cannot show its payback either.
- Year-one kWh against your use. The system’s output next to a full year of your bills.
- Your utility by name. And the price per kWh the quote assumed, not a national average.
- January price for leftovers. The avoided cost your utility pays for unused credits each year.
- No phantom incentives. No federal credit, state rebate or sales tax exemption counted in the price.
- Cash and financed prices. Both totals side by side, with any dealer fee shown.
Compare Wyoming solar quotes
Ask each installer to size the system to your yearly use and to show the price per kWh they assumed. 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 Wyoming solar guides
- Wyoming solar guide: utilities, incentives and installers in one place
- Wyoming solar companies: compare local installers before you request quotes
- Wyoming solar incentives: one net metering law, no rebates
- What solar costs in Wyoming
- Free solar panels in Wyoming: what a zero-down offer means
- Are solar panels worth it? The national guide and payback calculator
All 51 state guides
Wyoming solar questions
Are solar panels worth it in Wyoming without the federal tax credit?
For some homes, slowly. The credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025, and Wyoming offers nothing in its place. In our example a typical owned system on Rocky Mountain Power, sized to the home, pays back in about 15.9 years before incentives. High use, a fair price and a long stay help most.
How long does solar take to pay back in Wyoming?
In our Rocky Mountain Power example, about 15.9 years when every credit is used before January, simple payback before incentives, and 15.8 to 26.3 years at the other utilities we model. A system so large that the extra kWh are sold each January takes much longer. Rising rates would shorten each figure.
Does Wyoming have net metering?
Yes, under W.S. 37-16-101 to 37-16-104, for systems up to 25 kW. Extra kWh become credits on your next bill, one for one. At the start of each year, leftover credits are sold to your utility at its avoided cost: 1.418 cents per kWh at Rocky Mountain Power in 2026. City-owned utilities are not covered.
How much does a solar system cost in Wyoming in 2026?
The EcoGen Solar Cost Index puts the typical Wyoming system at 7.04 kW for about $22,106 in cash, or $3.14 per watt, as of September 2026. No federal credit, state rebate or sales tax exemption lowers that price, so the full amount has to come back through your bills.
Does the Rocky Mountain Power rate request change the math?
It could. The utility asked for 8.8 percent more in overall rates, with a first step proposed from March 15, 2027. The commission has not decided. If rates rise, each kWh your panels replace is worth more, so payback shortens. Our example counts no rate growth.
Are there any Wyoming state solar incentives in 2026?
No rebate and no tax credit, since Wyoming has no personal income tax. Some guides still list a sales tax exemption for solar equipment. It is gone: the exemptions list (W.S. 39-15-103 and 39-15-105) does not name solar, so the 4% state rate applies. Net metering is the one policy that helps.
Sources, method and corrections
The example uses the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Wyoming system (September 2026) and our per-utility payback figures of October 19, 2026: Rocky Mountain Power’s 15.67¢ EIA 12-month price (August 2025 to July 2026) with its fixed monthly charge taken out; a credit used before January counts at that price. Simple payback before incentives uses flat first-year values with no upkeep and no rate growth. The oversized case, with credits sold in January, is described but not modeled. The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing.
Spotted an error? Tell us through our corrections and feedback process.
- Wyoming Statutes Title 37: net metering, W.S. 37-16-101 to 37-16-104 (checked September 30, 2026)
- Rocky Mountain Power: Wyoming Schedule 37, avoided cost prices (1.418¢ for 2026; read September 29, 2026)
- Rocky Mountain Power: Wyoming price summary (15.67¢ average home price; read October 6, 2026)
- Wyoming PSC: order on Powder River Energy’s Small Power Production rate (checked September 30, 2026)
- Wyoming PSC: public notices (rate and net metering applications; checked October 6, 2026)
- Wyoming Statutes Title 39: sales tax and property tax exemptions (checked October 1, 2026)
- Wyoming Legislature: 2025 House Bill 183, net metering amendments (failed)
- U.S. EIA: average residential electricity price by state (12-month average, August 2025 to July 2026, as used in the Cost Index)
- U.S. EIA: Form EIA-861, 2024 utility customer counts
- IRS: Residential Clean Energy Credit (not available for property installed after December 31, 2025)
- EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026: what solar costs in Wyoming
