Is Solar Worth It in South Carolina in 2026?
South Carolina gets a genuinely useful amount of sun — around 216 sunny days a year and roughly 1,410 kWh of production per installed kilowatt annually in the Greenville area. Solid, if not spectacular next to Florida or Arizona. What makes South Carolina different in 2026: the federal credit is gone, but the state still runs one of the more generous state income tax credits in the country, and electricity rates here have climbed for two decades.
The honest complication is net metering. South Carolina doesn't have one net metering rule — it has at least three, depending on your utility and when you applied. Some neighbors locked in full retail-rate credit for years; new applicants at Duke Energy get a much lower export rate. The same rooftop and the same bill can pencil out very differently depending on which utility serves your address. This page walks through South Carolina's real numbers so you can run your own math instead of trusting a sales pitch.
South Carolina Electricity Prices Keep Climbing
Solar is a bet that your electricity bill will keep rising — every kWh your roof makes is one you don't buy from Duke or Dominion. Here's the multi-decade trend, from federal EIA data.
Full South Carolina electricity price data (1990–2025)
| Year | South Carolina (¢/kWh) | US avg (¢/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.2 | 7.8 |
| 1991 | 7.2 | 8.0 |
| 1992 | 7.2 | 8.2 |
| 1993 | 7.3 | 8.3 |
| 1994 | 7.5 | 8.4 |
| 1995 | 7.5 | 8.4 |
| 1996 | 7.5 | 8.4 |
| 1997 | 7.5 | 8.4 |
| 1998 | 7.5 | 8.3 |
| 1999 | 7.6 | 8.2 |
| 2000 | 7.6 | 8.2 |
| 2001 | 7.7 | 8.6 |
| 2002 | 7.7 | 8.4 |
| 2003 | 8.0 | 8.7 |
| 2004 | 8.1 | 9.0 |
| 2005 | 8.7 | 9.5 |
| 2006 | 9.0 | 10.4 |
| 2007 | 9.2 | 10.7 |
| 2008 | 9.9 | 11.3 |
| 2009 | 10.4 | 11.5 |
| 2010 | 10.5 | 11.5 |
| 2011 | 11.1 | 11.7 |
| 2012 | 11.8 | 11.9 |
| 2013 | 12.0 | 12.1 |
| 2014 | 12.5 | 12.5 |
| 2015 | 12.6 | 12.7 |
| 2016 | 12.7 | 12.6 |
| 2017 | 13.0 | 12.9 |
| 2018 | 12.4 | 12.9 |
| 2019 | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| 2020 | 12.8 | 13.2 |
| 2021 | 12.9 | 13.7 |
| 2022 | 13.6 | 15.0 |
| 2023 | 13.7 | 16.0 |
| 2024 | 14.2 | 16.5 |
| 2025 * | 15.0 | 17.3 |
Source: US EIA, average residential retail electricity price. Values in cents per kWh. * 2025 is preliminary.
South Carolina residential customers paid about 15¢ per kWh in 2025, up roughly 73 percent since 2005 — one of the steeper 20-year climbs in the Southeast. Over the last decade the pace has cooled to about 1.8 percent a year, but it's still a one-way ratchet. Every kilowatt-hour you don't buy is worth more here than it was five years ago, and there's no reason to expect that trend to reverse.
The South Carolina Sun, Month by Month
Panels respond to how high the sun climbs and how long it stays up, not to air temperature. At roughly 34°N, South Carolina sits in the mid-latitude solar band — better sun angles than New England, weaker than the Gulf Coast.
South Carolina monthly solar production data
| Month | kWh per installed kW |
|---|---|
| Jan | 108 |
| Feb | 108 |
| Mar | 125 |
| Apr | 132 |
| May | 133 |
| Jun | 127 |
| Jul | 122 |
| Aug | 121 |
| Sep | 111 |
| Oct | 122 |
| Nov | 108 |
| Dec | 93 |
| Year | 1410 |
Source: NREL PVWatts typical-year estimate (Greenville), per installed kW at latitude tilt.
Spring and early fall are your best production months — long days without the summer haze and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter production drops off more than it does in Florida, but 216 sunny days a year still add up to a respectable annual total. If your bills spike with summer AC, banking spring surplus credits against a July or August bill is exactly what net metering — in whichever form your utility offers it — is supposed to do.
What Solar Costs in South Carolina in 2026
Most South Carolina installs run about $2.50 to $2.60 per watt as of mid-2026, per EnergySage's state data. The average South Carolina system also runs unusually large — around 13.7 to 14.4 kW — putting a typical gross cost around $34,000 to $37,000 before credits. With no federal credit available to buyers in 2026, the state tax credit and sales tax exemption below are doing more of the work than they used to.
| System Size | Typical 2026 Cost | Roughly Offsets | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kW | $12,500 to $13,000 | ~7,050 kWh/yr (~$88/mo at 15¢) | Smaller home, lower usage |
| 8 kW | $20,000 to $20,800 | ~11,280 kWh/yr (~$141/mo) | Average-to-small SC home |
| 12 kW | $30,000 to $31,200 | ~16,920 kWh/yr (~$212/mo) | Typical SC-sized system, large home |
A South Carolina system is often sized larger than these examples — the state average is closer to 14 kW than 8 kW. Get at least three quotes and compare price per watt, not just the total.
Estimate Your South Carolina Payback
The calculator below starts from South Carolina's average rate and Greenville-area production. Enter your own monthly bill to see an estimated system size, payback period, and 25-year savings. South Carolina rates have climbed roughly 1.8 percent a year over the last decade — a reasonable starting point for the inflation field, though you can drag it to test other scenarios.
South Carolina Solar Incentives in 2026
Here's what's gone and what's still real.
- Gone — the 30 percent federal credit: The 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit was repealed for installations completed after December 31, 2025. If a quote still assumes it, the rest of that quote is probably outdated too.
- Still here — the SC state income tax credit: Under S.C. Code §12-6-3587, South Carolina offers a 25 percent state income tax credit on system purchase and installation cost. It's not a lump sum: it's capped at $3,500 per year per facility (or 50 percent of that year's tax liability, whichever is smaller), with unused credit carried forward up to 10 years. On a $35,000 system, 25 percent is roughly $8,750 total — collected in $3,500-a-year installments over two to three years, not all at once. Equipment must be SRCC-certified, and you can't claim the credit until installation is complete.
- Still here — sales tax exemption: South Carolina exempts qualifying solar equipment from the state's 6 percent sales and use tax, usually applied automatically by the installer at checkout — confirm it's reflected in your quote.
- Still here — property tax exemption: Residential systems of 20 kW or less (including battery storage) are excluded from your property tax valuation, whether owned or leased — 2025 legislation (H.3354) extended the exemption to leased and third-party-owned systems. Confirm with your county assessor, since administration is local. See our property taxes and home finances guide.
- Utility-specific — Santee Cooper rebate: Santee Cooper customers can get a rebate around $0.95 per watt, capped near $5,700. Not available statewide.
- 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. It may lower your lease rate, or it may not.
Plan your cash flow around the per-year cap: a $35,000 system's full 25 percent state credit typically takes two to three tax years to realize, not one.
Solar Choice Metering: How Export Credits Work Here
South Carolina no longer has a single statewide "net metering" law by that name. What it has now is Solar Choice Metering, created under the 2019 SC Energy Freedom Act (Act 62), and it plays out differently by utility and application date — the single most date-sensitive fact on this page, so confirm current terms with your utility or the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) before signing anything.
- Legacy full retail net metering: Applied before May 16, 2019? You keep 1-for-1 full retail credit only through December 31, 2025 — this grandfathered deal is expiring right around now. Applied May 16, 2019–May 31, 2021? Full retail credit lasts through May 31, 2029.
- New customers (applied since June 1, 2021): You're on the permanent Solar Choice tariffs, and the deal depends on your utility. Dominion Energy South Carolina offers 1-to-1 monthly credits with an annual November true-up, paying out leftover credits at a lower avoided-cost rate. Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress don't offer full retail net metering for new customers — exports are credited at a low Net Excess Generation rate, roughly 4¢ per kWh versus the roughly 15¢ retail rate, often under a time-of-use schedule.
- Electric cooperatives: Not covered by Solar Choice Metering — co-ops set their own, often less favorable, terms. Ask directly what yours pays for exported power.
The upshot: South Carolina has moved from "sell your extra power back at retail" — true here only a few years ago, and still shaping neighbors' expectations — toward a hybrid, utility-dependent model leaning on avoided-cost rates for new applicants. On Duke Energy today, a ~4¢ export rate means the case now rests on using your own power, not selling it — a different pitch than your neighbor got in 2019.
Because Duke's export rate sits so far below retail, a system applying today in Duke territory earns more from covering your own usage than from selling surplus back. That tilts the math toward a battery — storing midday solar for evening use instead of exporting it at a quarter of retail value. A battery adds real up-front cost, so price it as an add-on rather than assume it pays back as fast as the panels.
How to Go Solar in South Carolina
Work through these steps in order.
- Pull your last 12 power bills and calculate your true average monthly cost — South Carolina bills swing between mild spring months and hot, humid summers.
- Identify your utility (Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, Dominion Energy South Carolina, Santee Cooper, or a cooperative) — it changes both your export rate and which rebates apply.
- Ask each installer for the exact Solar Choice tariff name you'd be placed on and the export rate in writing — don't accept "net metering" as a generic answer.
- Confirm your roof has at least 10 to 15 years of life left, or replace it first — see our roofing guide.
- Get at least three quotes, each reflecting 2026 reality: no phantom federal credit, and the state credit modeled as $3,500 a year, not a lump sum.
- On Duke Energy, ask installers to price a battery option alongside panels-only, since self-consumption is worth roughly four times more than export under Duke's current rate.
- Have a licensed electrician confirm your panel and wiring can handle the added load — see our electrical guide.
For the fundamentals of how solar works, sizing, and buying versus leasing, read our main solar panels guide.
Sources
Figures on this page are 2026-current. Rates: US EIA, Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price (2025 values preliminary). Federal credit repeal: Public Law 119-21 (OBBBA). Production estimates: NREL PVWatts. State tax credit: S.C. Code §12-6-3587. Sales tax exemption: SCDOR guidance. Property tax lease extension: SC H.3354/H.4460 and SEIA coverage. Solar Choice Metering: SC ORS — Energy Freedom Act and SC Solar Office. We review these figures every six months, net metering terms sooner given how fast they change.