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Solar Panels in Utah: Costs, Net Billing, Incentives and What to Buy

Utah is one of the sunniest states in the West, yet it also has some of the cheapest residential electricity in the country and an export credit that pays far less than the retail rate. That combination changes what a good solar purchase looks like in Utah. A system sized to cover what you use during the day, often paired with a battery, usually makes more sense than an oversized array built to sell power back. This guide covers prices, Rocky Mountain Power’s net billing rules, incentives that still exist in 2026, and the equipment choices that suit Utah’s snow, cold and desert heat.

Solar in Utah at a glance

Metric	What to know	Source/date
Average residential electricity price	13.12¢/kWh in July 2026; 13.16¢ year to date (Jan–Jul 2026), up 3.4% on 2025	EIA Electric Power Monthly, Sept 2026 release
Main utilities	Rocky Mountain Power (PacifiCorp) sold about 73% of Utah’s residential electricity in 2024; Provo, St. George, Dixie Escalante REA and Moon Lake Electric follow	EIA Utah electricity profile, 2024 data
Export compensation	Net billing (Schedule 137): 4.855¢/kWh June–September, 4.033¢/kWh October–May; residential systems up to 25 kW	Rocky Mountain Power Schedule 137, effective Mar 1, 2026
Sun resource	About 5.4 peak sun hours a day on an optimally tilted panel in Salt Lake City and about 6.5 in St. George; about 1,600 and 1,870 kWh per kW per year	Global Solar Atlas, long-term averages, retrieved Oct 2026
State incentives	No residential solar tax credit after 2023; commercial credit of 10% up to $50,000 for systems placed in service by January 1, 2028	Utah Office of Energy Development, checked Oct 2026

Electricity prices and utilities

Utah’s low rates are the main reason solar pays back more slowly here than in high-price states. EIA puts Utah’s year-to-date residential average at 13.16¢/kWh through July 2026, compared with 18.19¢ nationally. Rocky Mountain Power serves most homes along the Wasatch Front, while cities such as Provo and St. George and cooperatives such as Dixie Escalante run their own utilities with their own solar rules. If your bill does not say Rocky Mountain Power, ask your utility for its customer-generation tariff before you size a system.

Net metering and selling power back

Full retail net metering is closed in Utah. Rocky Mountain Power keeps older customers on grandfathered Schedule 135 and transition Schedule 136, but new systems go on Schedule 137 net billing. You pay the normal rate for every kWh you draw from the grid. Exports are credited at the rates above, which are reset each March. Credits carry forward month to month, but any left at the March meter read expire.

In practice, every kWh your home uses directly is worth roughly three times as much as one you export. That favors:

• Sizing the array to your daytime load rather than your annual total
• Facing some panels west if your use peaks in the late afternoon
• Adding a battery to shift midday output into the evening

Incentives in Utah

• State tax credit. Utah’s Renewable Energy Systems Tax Credit phased down to $400 in 2023. Residential solar PV installed in 2024 or later does not qualify, although carryforwards of earlier credits are allowed through 2027 (Utah State Tax Commission). Commercial systems can still claim a refundable credit of 10% of eligible cost, capped at $50,000, if completed and placed in service by January 1, 2028.
• Federal credit for homeowners. The IRS states that the 30% residential clean energy credit is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025.
• Business and farm projects. Under IRS Notice 2025-42, solar facilities that begin construction after July 4, 2026 must be placed in service by December 31, 2027 to qualify for the Section 48E or 45Y credits. Check with a tax professional before you rely on any federal credit.
• Batteries. Under Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart Battery program, as changed on June 15, 2026, a residential battery under 10 kW earns a $1,000 upfront incentive, and systems of 10 kW or more are capped at $2,000, plus ongoing bill credits. Only listed batteries qualify, and the utility manages them.

Climate and what it means for your equipment

• Snow. Utah’s ground snow loads are set by state amendments to the building code and change with elevation. County design tables, such as Duchesne County’s (2023), point designers to the Utah Snow Load Study for site-specific values. A bench home in Salt Lake and a cabin near Park City need different racking spans, attachment spacing and panel load ratings. Ask for the module’s tested snow load (Pa) and match it to your engineered load.
• Cold. Clear winter mornings raise panel voltage. Size strings so that the open-circuit voltage at the coldest expected temperature stays below the inverter’s or charge controller’s maximum input.
• Heat. St. George averages about 18°C over the year, compared with 10.7°C in Salt Lake City (Global Solar Atlas). In southern Utah, choose modules with a smaller (less negative) temperature coefficient of Pmax, and leave air space behind them.
• Hail. Utah is not among the top ten states for major hail events (Insurance Information Institute, 2025), but storms do occur. The standard IEC hail test uses only a 25 mm ice ball (Kiwa PVEL), so look for modules tested beyond that minimum.

What to buy in Utah

For a typical Wasatch Front home, a self-consumption design works best: a moderately sized array, a hybrid inverter that is battery-ready, and a battery on the Wattsmart eligible list if you want the incentive. Compare brands, wattage and price per watt in the solar panels for sale range, and read A1 SolarStore’s Utah solar guide for state-specific product options.

Farms, ranches and businesses with large daytime loads can use more panels before exports dominate, and a non-residential system can be up to 2 MW under Schedule 137. For those projects, compare commercial solar panels and wholesale panels by the pallet. Our guide to buying solar panels by the pallet explains freight and price per watt. If you are comparing installer quotes, check that the savings are modeled on export credits, not on the retail rate, using our checklist of what a home solar proposal should explain. For battery and backup trade-offs, see our solar energy deep dive.

Permits and interconnection

You will need a building and electrical permit from your city or county and an interconnection agreement with your utility before you switch on. For Rocky Mountain Power, a Level 1 interconnection review costs $60. Inverter-based systems of 10 kW or less do not need a separate utility disconnect switch, while larger systems need a lockable switch within 10 feet of the meter (Schedule 137). Installers submit applications through Rocky Mountain Power’s customer generation portal.

Contact the Utah office

Frequently Asked Questions