Is solar worth it in Wyoming?

What drives solar payback in Wyoming

Wyoming homeowners pay about 14.1¢/kWh, which is 4.3¢ below the national average. A rooftop here generates roughly 1500 kWh per kW each year — better than the typical US figure. On exports, Wyoming offers partial / below-retail export credit: Good sun but low rates and a capped net-metering program lengthen payback.

A worked example

For a Wyoming home with a $123/month power bill (typical household usage at Wyoming’s rate):

That nets out to a payback of about 20.1 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 Wyoming’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 Wyoming

Two investor-owned utilities dominate Wyoming. Rocky Mountain Power (part of PacifiCorp) serves most of the state, including Casper, Rock Springs, Laramie and much of the west and south, while Black Hills Energy covers Cheyenne and the north-east corner. Beyond the two big players, a patchwork of rural electric co-operatives — High Plains Power, Wheatland REA, Carbon Power & Light, Big Horn REC and others — serves the sparsely populated remainder, often reselling wholesale power from Basin Electric. Which one serves you matters a lot: the two IOUs follow the state net-metering statute, whereas the co-ops set their own buy-back rules, which are frequently less generous. Always confirm the specific policy with your own provider before you size a system.

What you’re paid for what you export

Push a surplus onto the Wyoming grid and don't expect much back for it. Monthly overproduction does roll forward as a credit, but whatever net excess remains at the annual true-up is bought at the utility's avoided-cost (wholesale) rate — a small fraction of the roughly 13.9 cents/kWh you pay going the other way — and the state's net-metering law caps eligible systems at 25 kW. Nor is the deal likely to improve: Rocky Mountain Power has repeatedly pressed regulators to shrink the credits further, NEM-3-style, and co-op members often start from weaker terms still. The lesson writes itself — build for your own daytime consumption, because in Wyoming solar pays when you use the power yourself, not when you ask the grid to store it at full value.

Wyoming incentives & taxes in 2026

No state income tax means no state solar tax credit — that lever simply doesn't exist in Wyoming — and the gaps don't stop there. There is no statewide rebate programme, no renewable portfolio standard, and consequently no SREC market, since nothing creates demand for the certificates. Even the sales tax applies in full to solar equipment. The one faint possibility is a small, limited incentive from a utility or co-op, which occasionally surfaces; a quick call to yours costs nothing, but don't build the business case on it.

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 Wyoming list, then type any incentive into the calculator above to see how it shortens your payback.

What solar costs in Wyoming

Labour and land are cheap in Wyoming, yet solar isn't: so few installers serve this small market that limited competition keeps installed prices a notch above the going national rate, at roughly $3.00 to $3.60 per watt. The top of that band shows up on smaller jobs and in remote spots where crews must travel. Call it $21,000 to $25,000 for a typical 7 kW system — and with incentives now very scarce, something close to that figure is what you'll actually hand over.

The honest verdict for Wyoming

The sun is the one thing Wyoming gets right for solar; the economics undo most of it. Retail power near 13.9 cents/kWh means each self-consumed kilowatt-hour saves you little, below-retail exports punish any oversizing, and state or utility incentives are as close to non-existent as anywhere in the country. For most owned systems, cash payback runs into the mid-teens of years or longer. The exceptions are real — heavy daytime usage, one of the pricier co-op tariffs, or a genuine preference for energy independence over pure return — but for the average Wyoming household in 2026 this is a long-payback state, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise.

Driving electric — or heating electric — in Wyoming?

Your home electricity rate also sets what it costs to charge an EV and whether a heat pump beats a gas furnace. See the Wyoming EV charging cost and the Wyoming heat pump vs gas comparison.

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