Is Solar Worth It in North Carolina in 2026?
North Carolina sits at a decent latitude for solar — around 35.5°N — with roughly 213 sunny days a year. A well-placed rooftop system near Charlotte produces around 1,472 kWh per installed kilowatt per year, a solid figure paired with electricity prices that have climbed steadily for two decades.
But 2026 is a genuinely different year to buy. The 30 percent federal tax credit that used to shave thousands off an install ended for systems completed after December 31, 2025 — it doesn't exist for purchased systems anymore. North Carolina's own net metering deal is also shrinking on a hard deadline: Duke Energy's legacy 1:1 credit ends for existing customers on December 31, 2026, and new applicants are already routed to a lesser bridge program. Solar can still be worth it on a sunny, south-facing roof with a high summer bill, installed before the rules tighten further — but payback now runs well past a decade on most roofs, not the 6-to-9-year pitch from a few years ago. This page has North Carolina's real numbers.
North Carolina Electricity Prices
Solar is a bet on future electricity prices: every kilowatt-hour your roof makes is one you don't buy from Duke Energy. North Carolina homes paid about 14.0¢ per kWh in 2025, up roughly 62 percent since 2005 — a steady climb that hasn't slowed, with rates rising about 2.2 percent a year over the last decade. Here's the full history, from federal EIA data.
Full North Carolina electricity price data (1990–2025)
| Year | North Carolina (¢/kWh) | US avg (¢/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| 1991 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| 1992 | 8.1 | 8.2 |
| 1993 | 8.2 | 8.3 |
| 1994 | 8.2 | 8.4 |
| 1995 | 8.1 | 8.4 |
| 1996 | 8.1 | 8.4 |
| 1997 | 8.0 | 8.4 |
| 1998 | 8.0 | 8.3 |
| 1999 | 8.0 | 8.2 |
| 2000 | 8.0 | 8.2 |
| 2001 | 8.1 | 8.6 |
| 2002 | 8.2 | 8.4 |
| 2003 | 8.3 | 8.7 |
| 2004 | 8.5 | 9.0 |
| 2005 | 8.7 | 9.5 |
| 2006 | 9.1 | 10.4 |
| 2007 | 9.4 | 10.7 |
| 2008 | 9.5 | 11.3 |
| 2009 | 10.0 | 11.5 |
| 2010 | 10.1 | 11.5 |
| 2011 | 10.3 | 11.7 |
| 2012 | 10.9 | 11.9 |
| 2013 | 11.0 | 12.1 |
| 2014 | 11.1 | 12.5 |
| 2015 | 11.3 | 12.7 |
| 2016 | 11.0 | 12.6 |
| 2017 | 10.9 | 12.9 |
| 2018 | 11.1 | 12.9 |
| 2019 | 11.4 | 13.0 |
| 2020 | 11.4 | 13.2 |
| 2021 | 11.3 | 13.7 |
| 2022 | 11.6 | 15.0 |
| 2023 | 12.9 | 16.0 |
| 2024 | 14.1 | 16.5 |
| 2025 * | 14.0 | 17.3 |
Source: US EIA, average residential retail electricity price. Values in cents per kWh. * 2025 is preliminary.
A 2.2 percent annual pace doesn't sound dramatic year to year, but compounded over a 20-to-25-year system life, it meaningfully improves the math on any panel installed today — one of the few parts of this story still working in homeowners' favor after the federal credit disappeared.
The North Carolina Sun, Month by Month
Panels respond to how high the sun climbs and how long it stays up, not to air temperature. At 35.5°N, North Carolina gets a meaningfully lower winter sun angle than states farther south, which is why its monthly production curve swings more sharply between summer and winter.
North Carolina monthly solar production data
| Month | kWh per installed kW |
|---|---|
| Jan | 109 |
| Feb | 110 |
| Mar | 125 |
| Apr | 132 |
| May | 138 |
| Jun | 126 |
| Jul | 133 |
| Aug | 134 |
| Sep | 130 |
| Oct | 120 |
| Nov | 116 |
| Dec | 101 |
| Year | 1473 |
Source: NREL PVWatts typical-year estimate (Charlotte), per installed kW at latitude tilt.
May is the strongest month — long days, a high sun angle, and skies that haven't yet turned hazy with summer humidity. December is the weakest, roughly a quarter below the May peak, from short days, a low sun angle, and more Atlantic and mountain cloud cover. If your bills spike in July and August with the AC running, strong spring production helps build a cushion — assuming your net metering credits let you bank it, which the next few sections address.
What Solar Costs in North Carolina in 2026
North Carolina installs run about $2.33 to $2.34 per watt before incentives — roughly 22 percent below the national average of about $3.00 per watt, per 2026 EnergySage local data corroborated by SEIA's Q4 2025 market figures. A typical larger system, around 13.8 kW, runs about $32,000, with a broader range of roughly $27,400 to $37,100 depending on roof complexity and equipment.
| System Size | Typical 2026 Cost | Roughly Offsets | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kW | $11,650 to $11,700 | ~7,360 kWh/yr (~$86/mo at 14.0¢) | Smaller home, lower usage |
| 8 kW | $18,640 to $18,720 | ~11,776 kWh/yr (~$137/mo) | Average North Carolina home |
| 12 kW | $27,960 to $28,080 | ~17,664 kWh/yr (~$206/mo) | Large home, heavy AC use |
Because there's no federal credit and no state sales tax exemption on the equipment, the price on the quote is essentially the price you pay in 2026. That makes comparing price-per-watt across at least three installers more important than ever.
Estimate Your North Carolina Payback
The calculator below is set to North Carolina's average electricity rate and typical local sun production. Enter your own monthly bill to see your estimated system size, payback period, and 25-year savings. North Carolina rates have risen about 2.2 percent a year over the last decade — a reasonable starting point for the inflation field, though you can drag it to test a faster or slower future.
North Carolina Solar Incentives in 2026
What's gone, what's still here, and what's utility-funded rather than state-funded.
- Gone — the 30 percent federal credit: The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit ended for installations completed after December 31, 2025, with no phase-out. If an installer's quote still assumes it, the rest of the pitch is probably out of date too.
- Gone — the state tax credit: North Carolina's former 35 percent renewable energy tax credit (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-129.16A) expired December 31, 2015. A 2022 renewal bill didn't pass, and there is no state income tax credit or cash rebate for residential solar today.
- Still here — the 80 percent property tax exclusion: Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-275(45), 80 percent of the appraised value your system adds is excluded from local property tax, automatically — no application needed. See our electrical guide for how home upgrades like this touch your utility setup.
- Utility-funded, not state-funded — Duke's PowerPair rebate: $0.36/W of solar (up to $3,600) plus $400/kWh of battery (up to $5,400) when installed together on the newer net metering rate. Duke Energy Progress exhausted its funding as of November 7, 2025; Duke Energy Carolinas still had roughly 7,210 kW left as of February 2026 — eligibility depends on which subsidiary serves you.
- Partially — leases and PPAs: Third-party-owned systems can still capture a separate federal business credit (48E) through 2027, but it belongs to the leasing company, not you. Compare a lease against a cash or loan purchase before assuming it's the better deal.
Duke Energy Net Metering in North Carolina
Net metering credits you for extra power your panels send back to the grid, letting a sunny spring afternoon offset a cloudy winter evening. In North Carolina this program is mid-transition, and the details matter more here than in almost any other state.
Under NC Utilities Commission Docket No. E-100 Sub 180 (approved March 23, 2023), Duke Energy — covering most of the state's investor-owned-utility solar customers via Carolinas and Progress — is phasing out legacy 1:1 net metering (Rider NM). Rider NM closed to new applicants September 30, 2023; existing customers keep full retail-rate credit only until December 31, 2026, then move automatically to Rider NMB (Net Metering Bridge). NMB is open now but capacity-capped — about 43.5 MW for Duke Energy Progress and 38.7 MW for Duke Energy Carolinas in 2026 — and holds a standard, non-time-of-use rate for up to 15 years. Once NMB fills, new customers land on Rider RSC (Residential Solar Choice), which mandates time-of-use pricing with critical-peak rates, a minimum monthly bill, non-bypassable storm-recovery and cybersecurity charges, and a grid-access fee above 15 kW AC.
The honest read: North Carolina no longer offers straight retail-rate net metering to new customers — it's a declining-value bridge program racing its own deadline. If export credits pay poorly under your rider, pairing panels with a battery and prioritizing self-consumption — using your own solar instead of selling it back cheap and buying it back at a higher time-of-use rate later — becomes the better strategy, exactly the gap Duke's PowerPair battery rebate helps close.
The Net Metering Cliff and Your Right to Install
Two things make North Carolina unusually time-sensitive and unusually protected, at once. First, the deadline: the December 31, 2026 cutoff for legacy Rider NM customers, plus the capacity caps on the Rider NMB bridge that replaces it, mean waiting could cost you a materially better net metering deal, not just a delayed decision. Get your interconnection application in before the caps fill.
Second, your right to install is unusually well protected in HOA communities. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 22B-20 voids any covenant that outright bans solar panels, and a 2022 North Carolina Supreme Court ruling limits HOAs to only "reasonable" aesthetic or placement restrictions — they can't raise your system's cost by more than 5 percent or cut its efficiency by more than 10 percent, and governing documents must expressly address solar before regulating it at all. A generic "architectural review" clause doesn't count.
How to Go Solar in North Carolina
Work through these steps in order before you commit.
- Pull your last 12 Duke Energy bills and find your true average monthly cost across summer AC and winter heating seasons.
- Check that your roof faces south, east, or west and gets good sun most of the day. North-facing or heavily shaded roofs rarely pay off.
- Confirm your roof has at least 10 to 15 years of life left, or budget to replace it first — see the warning signs in our roofing guide.
- Ask each installer which net metering rider you'll land on — Rider NM, NMB, or RSC — and get the specifics in writing.
- Get at least three quotes and compare price per watt, equipment, and warranties, with no phantom federal credit baked in.
- If your HOA has design guidelines, check whether they expressly address solar; if they don't, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 22B-20 likely protects your install.
- Compare each quote's payback period against how long you plan to stay in the home. With payback now well past a decade, a move within five years should be planned around resale value, not a fully realized bill reduction.
For the full picture of how panels work, sizing, and buying versus leasing, read our main solar panels guide. Wiring and any home electrical upgrades needed for interconnection are covered in our electrical guide.
Sources
Figures on this page are 2026-current, from primary sources. Rates: US EIA (2025 preliminary). Production: NREL PVWatts. Federal credit repeal: IRS and CRS IN12611. Net metering: NC Public Staff and Utility Dive. PowerPair: DSIRE. Property tax exclusion: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-275, pending changes via pv magazine USA. Expired state credit: §105-129.16A. Solar rights: §22B-20 and WFAE. Cost data: EnergySage NC. Reviewed every six months.