Is solar worth it in North Carolina?
At North Carolina’s average rate of 14.5¢/kWh and about 1350 kWh per kW of panels a year, a typical home pays back its system in roughly 21.4 years on electricity savings alone — no federal credit, which ended for buyers at the end of 2025 — then keeps saving. Run your own numbers below.
Sources: EIA · NREL · IRS. No federal credit — it ended 31 Dec 2025.
Independent estimate for guidance only — not a quote or advice. New time-of-use net-metering tariffs pay less than the old retail rate — model conservatively.
What drives solar payback in North Carolina
North Carolina homeowners pay about 14.5¢/kWh, which is 3.9¢ below the national average. A rooftop here generates roughly 1350 kWh per kW each year — about the typical US figure. On exports, North Carolina offers partial / below-retail export credit: New time-of-use net-metering tariffs pay less than the old retail rate — model conservatively.
North Carolina electricity price trend
Average residential rate, monthly, May 2023 – Apr 2026. Up 26% over the period.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Electric Power Monthly · range 12.39–16.25¢/kWh
A worked example
For a North Carolina home with a $127/month power bill (typical household usage at North Carolina’s rate):
That nets out to a payback of about 21.4 years — shorter than simply dividing net cost by year-one savings, because power prices climb ~2.5%/yr so your savings grow each year. Year-one savings already reflect North Carolina’s below-retail export rate (you save full value on the power you use as it’s made, less on what you export), which is why they’re lower than the bill. Assumes 3.00 $/W installed before incentives and a typical 40% self-consumption; your actual cost, roof and usage will differ — adjust the calculator above.
Who supplies your power in North Carolina
North Carolina is dominated by two Duke Energy subsidiaries — Duke Energy Carolinas (the west and Charlotte area) and Duke Energy Progress (the east, including Raleigh and the coast) — which together serve most of the state's homes. Dominion Energy North Carolina covers the north-east corner. Beyond the investor-owned giants, there is a large co-operative sector — dozens of member-owned co-ops such as EnergyUnited, Blue Ridge and Randolph EMC, coordinated through North Carolina's Electric Membership Corporation — plus municipal systems grouped under ElectriCities. Your rooftop terms depend heavily on which of these serves you: Duke's rules are the reference point, but co-op and municipal net-metering policies vary and are often less generous, so confirm your own utility's current tariff before you sign anything.
What you’re paid for what you export
The clock matters in North Carolina. Duke Energy's simple retail net-metering days are over: new solar customers now choose between a ‘bridge’ rate, which sidesteps mandatory time-of-use pricing, and the time-of-use ‘Residential Solar Choice’ tariff — and the bridge option closes to new applicants at the end of 2026, after which every newcomer gets the time-of-use structure. Both regimes net monthly and deliberately pay less for exports than the old retail deal: credits are set at time-varying energy rates, worth far less in cheap off-peak hours than the roughly 14 cents/kWh you pay to import, and the plans layer on a minimum bill plus, in some cases, fixed grid-access or non-bypassable charges. So the real money is in self-consumption — power used on-site as it's generated is worth full retail, exports notably less. Size to your daytime load rather than to zero out the bill, and treat any quote built on generous export assumptions with suspicion.
North Carolina incentives & taxes in 2026
North Carolina once had a 35% state renewable-energy tax credit; it expired back in 2015 and nobody in Raleigh has revived it. There's no meaningful residential SREC market either. What survives is a property-tax abatement exempting most of the value your panels add to the house — unglamorous, but it quietly protects the payback. The bright spot has been Duke Energy's PowerPair pilot, which pairs upfront rebates for solar and battery storage worth several thousand dollars combined. It is capacity-capped and enrolment-limited, though: as of early 2026 the Duke Energy Progress side was already fully allocated with a waitlist. Budget as if you won't get it, and be pleasantly surprised if you do.
The 30% federal credit ended on 31 December 2025 and can now only reach a homeowner indirectly through a lease or PPA. Check the current state and utility programs on DSIRE’s North Carolina list, then type any incentive into the calculator above to see how it shortens your payback.
What solar costs in North Carolina
Twenty to twenty-four thousand dollars is the realistic pre-incentive window for an 8 kW system in North Carolina — roughly $2.50 to $3.10 per watt, with the competitive Charlotte and Triangle markets at the cheaper end. Output is the good news: at about 1,350 kWh per installed kW each year, that 8 kW array generates around 10,800 kWh annually on the state's good sun. The sticker is also, near enough, what you'll actually finance, so put at least three installers in competition before you commit.
The honest verdict for North Carolina
Call North Carolina a middling case in 2026 and you won't be far wrong. The sunshine is genuinely good and the hardware sensibly priced, but the supports that used to carry the payback have thinned: exports now earn below retail, and there's no state tax credit or SREC income to lean on. A cash purchase sized to your own daytime use pays back in something like 11–14 years — longer if you over-size for export. It still adds up for owners who stay put, self-consume well, and manage to land a PowerPair rebate or add a battery. Go in clear-eyed and model conservatively.
Sources for this page
Driving electric — or heating electric — in North Carolina?
Your home electricity rate also sets what it costs to charge an EV and whether a heat pump beats a gas furnace. See the North Carolina EV charging cost and the North Carolina heat pump vs gas comparison.