Written by Dean Mahmoud, CEO, and checked by Trevor Guilday, founder.Prices from the September 2026 Cost Index. Updated October 14, 2026.
A typical Virginia system is 9.42 kW and costs about $26,282 in cash at $2.79 per watt. Sized to the power your home uses in a year, it pays back in about 14.2 years in our worked case. Built to Dominion’s 150% limit, the extra power earns about 6¢ a kWh at year end, and payback stretches to 22.4 years.
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Virginia credits solar power kWh for kWh, but only up to what your home uses over 12 months. Our two cases use the same 9.42 kW system. What changes is how big it is next to the home’s use.
| Case and export rule | Year-one savings | After upkeep | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sized to your yearly use: every kWh worth 16.48¢ (Dominion, Appalachian Power or a co-op) | $2,138 | $1,855 | 14.2 years |
| Dominion, built to the 150% limit: power sent out averages 7.75¢, with a purchase agreement | $1,458 | $1,176 | 22.4 years |
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In the 150% case, about 4,320 kWh, a third of the year’s output, is left over at year end. At 6.003¢ each it earns about $260. Size to your bills, not to your roof.
Every large Virginia utility credits solar kWh for kWh. What differs is how big your system may be and what power left after 12 months earns. The name at the top of your bill decides both.
Up to 25 kW. Leftover power earns 6.003¢, the 2025 regional market average, reset each year, only under a purchase agreement. A standby charge applies above 20 kW AC.
Next: if the system is bigger than your use, ask what the extra earns.
Up to 25 kW, under Rider N.M.S. II for requests after November 27, 2025. Leftover power earns 5.66¢ with a purchase agreement and is lost without one.
Next: size the system to your last 12 months of bills.
Co-ops allow up to 20 kW and no more than your yearly use, and pay for leftover power only under an agreement. Rappahannock Electric Cooperative says that pays about 30% to 40% of its retail energy rate.
Next: get the year-end price in writing.
| Utility | Largest system | Power left after 12 months | Standby charge above |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dominion, approved before May 1, 2027 | 25 kW and 150% of yearly use | 6.003¢ with an agreement, otherwise nothing | 20 kW AC |
| Dominion, approved from May 1, 2027 | 25 kW and 150% of yearly use | 5.829¢, paid automatically | 20 kW AC |
| Appalachian Power | 25 kW and 100% of yearly use | 5.66¢ with an agreement, otherwise lost | Ask Appalachian Power |
| Electric co-ops | 20 kW and 100% of yearly use | Set by each co-op, with an agreement | 10 kW |
| Old Dominion Power | 25 kW | Regional market average, with an agreement | Ask Old Dominion Power |
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Your net metering period is 12 months, starting with the first meter reading after your system is connected. Inside it, power you send out cancels power you buy, kWh for kWh, and extra kWh roll to the next month. Example: 100 kWh that cancel power you buy are worth $16.48 at the state average price. The same 100 kWh left over at year end earn $6.00 from Dominion or $5.66 from Appalachian Power with an agreement.
The purchase agreement is a contract in which your utility agrees to buy year-end leftover power. Ask for it in writing before your 12 months begin; one asked for later does not cover a period that has already started. At Dominion, leftover power carries into the next period only up to the amount you were billed for.
Old Dominion Power serves far southwest Virginia. City utilities such as Danville Utilities set their own rules, and Danville pays nothing for year-end leftover power. Co-op net metering is first come, first served up to a cap; on June 1, 2026 every co-op in the regional association still had room.
The kWh-for-kWh credit stays. Three things around it change, and the date that counts is the day Dominion approves your application, not the day you sign a contract.
Applications Dominion approves on or after it get the new terms.
Power in and out is compared in 30-minute blocks. Extra kWh still cancel later purchases and roll month to month.
$12 a year. Dominion may ask the regulator to change it.
For each kWh left after 12 months, with no agreement needed.
Also moved to the new terms: current solar homes that add panels or a battery after that date, and buyers who take over a home with a system after that date. Customers who meet the law’s low-income definition may choose. The State Corporation Commission set the rules in its April 30, 2026 order and fixed the start date on May 20, 2026. The order covers Dominion only.
At the $2.79 per watt benchmark, $0.10 below the US average. These are modeled cash prices, not quotes we collected.
| System size (DC) | Cash price | kWh a year |
|---|---|---|
| 5 kW | $13,950 | 6,885 kWh |
| 8 kW | $22,320 | 11,016 kWh |
| 9.42 kW (typical) | $26,282 | 12,971 kWh |
| 12 kW | $33,480 | 16,524 kWh |
No cash rebate, and no federal credit for a system you own. Virginia’s help is a statewide tax exemption and the certificates your panels earn. For a state income tax credit, ask a tax preparer before you count on one.
Home systems of 25 kW or less, in every city and county, since January 1, 2023. Ask your local tax office if it wants a form.
About 13 a year from the typical system, at the $10 each Dominion pays under a purchase agreement.
Virginia Energy’s general guide per certificate. Register in PJM-GATS yourself or through a broker.
We found no state or utility rebate. The federal credit ended for owned systems placed in service after December 31, 2025.
| Way to pay | Who owns the panels | Who keeps the certificates | Ask before you sign |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | You | You | Size against your last 12 months of use |
| Loan | You | You | Financed total next to the cash price; any dealer fee |
| Lease or PPA | The company | Usually the company | Yearly increase; who keeps the certificates; transfer or buyout if you sell |
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Virginia incentives guideWhat $0-down solar means in Virginia
Companies that list Virginia service, A to Z, not ranked. Facts from their own sites and the Virginia license registry, read October 13 to 14, 2026. Three publish no Virginia license number, so ask for it.
None of these four companies buys homeowner leads from EcoGen America. How we make money.
Ask each installer to size the system from your last 12 months of bills and to show what leftover power earns.
Size solar to your Virginia billsEcoGen 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. Privacy policy
CEO of EcoGen America. Since 2021 he has connected homeowners with residential solar installers in all 50 states.
About Dean
Founder of EcoGen America. He has worked in residential solar since 2016 and maintains the EcoGen Solar Cost Index.
About TrevorEditorial standardsCost Index methodologyVerified Installer methodology