State pages

Solar in Virginia

Mid-Atlantic production and investor-owned utility tariffs that reward using your own power. Read the current net metering terms before sizing up, because the surplus rules set the ceiling on a sensible system.

Production and price context

• Production: Roughly 1,150 to 1,350 kWh per kW per year, strongest in the south and along the coast. These are planning factors based on NREL PVWatts-style yields, not a roof-specific model.
• Electricity prices: Residential prices sit near the national middle, with Dominion Energy Virginia covering most rooftop customers.
• Average residential price: 16.36 cents per kWh in Virginia (average price by state, 2025). Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly (average price by state) (source year 2025, verified 2026-10-04). For wider utility and rate context beyond rooftop decisions, see EnergyBS.

What that production range means on a roof

Put Virginia's range on the standard 8 kW example. At 1,150 to 1,350 kWh per kW per year, the middle band of the 13 states on this site, an 8 kW system produces roughly 9,200 to 10,800 kWh in its first year. The hardware price does not change at the state line: at the NREL benchmark of $3.25 per watt, that system is $26,000 before incentives in every state. What changes is the value of a kilowatt-hour. At Virginia's average residential price, the year-one range is worth about $1,505 to $1,767 if every kilowatt-hour offsets a retail purchase, a simple payback of about 14.7 to 17.3 years with no federal credit and no incentive subtracted. At 16.36 cents, Virginia sits in the middle of this index: neither sun nor price carries the math alone. The export rule and the share of production you use yourself tip the decision, which is why two neighbours with the same roof can get different answers from the same quote.

Virginia rooftop rules have been revised repeatedly in recent legislative sessions, including caps and charges that were debated utility by utility. So the export credit is the hinge in Virginia, and its terms vary by utility and program vintage rather than sitting in one statewide rule. Confirm the credit, rollover, and any cap that applies to a new system at your address before sizing, because a system sized against the wrong export rule gives back the wrong amount every month.

Hold installer promises against that 1,150 to 1,350 kWh per kW range. A promise above the top of it for any Virginia roof needs a named production tool, stated tilt and azimuth, and a shade analysis you can reproduce. A promise near the bottom on a clean south-facing roof deserves the same questions in reverse. The state range frames the conversation; the roof-specific model, with your tariff's export value inside it, settles it.

Simple payback on the standard 8 kW example, with every assumption printed

• System size: 8 kW DC.
• Gross cost: 8,000 watts at the NREL residential benchmark of about $3.25 per watt DC (2024, checked October 4, 2026) is $26,000 before any incentive. That benchmark is a comparison line for judging quotes, not a quote, a local price survey, or a price cap.
• First-year production: 9,200 to 10,800 kWh, from the Virginia planning range of 1,150 to 1,350 kWh per kW above. Planning factors only, until a roof-specific PVWatts model exists for your address.
• Value of production: every kilowatt-hour is valued at the EIA state average residential price of 16.36 cents per kWh (2025), giving a first-year value of about $1,505 to $1,767. Valuing every kilowatt-hour at the full average price overstates savings in Virginia wherever exported energy is paid below the retail rate, and wherever fixed customer charges or minimum bills apply. Your real first-year savings will be lower than this range to the extent that you export power instead of using it yourself.
• Federal credit: none subtracted. The federal residential solar tax credit ended for systems placed in service after 2025, so this example assumes no federal credit.
• State and utility incentives: no incentive value is subtracted. Any program listed for your address in DSIRE would shorten the payback if you qualify; confirm its current value in DSIRE and your utility tariff rather than trusting a value printed in a quote.
• Not modelled: panel degradation, electricity price escalation, financing costs, maintenance, roof work, and time-of-use price differences are not modelled.
• Simple payback: $26,000 divided by the first-year value range above gives a simple payback of about 14.7 to 17.3 years. Simple payback means exactly that division; it is not a return forecast.

Run your own numbers with your actual bill and quote in the estimator, check how exports are priced in our net metering guide, and read the sizing guide before deciding how much of that 8 kW example your roof should actually carry.

Incentives and export rules to verify

Virginia rooftop rules have been revised repeatedly in recent legislative sessions, including caps and charges that were debated utility by utility. Confirm the net metering terms that apply to a new system today in DSIRE and your utility tariff.

DSIRE's Virginia listing describes the voluntary Renewable Energy Portfolio goal established in 2007, defined against 2007 base-year sales, encouraging investor-owned utilities to acquire an average of 15% renewable energy in calendar year 2025, with cost recovery and an increased rate of return for participating utilities, and up to 20% of a goal met through certificated renewable research and development expenses. Rooftop systems operate under Virginia net metering provisions overseen by the State Corporation Commission, with the operative details set by your utility; Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power are the two predominant investor-owned utilities. Confirm the current net metering eligibility, credit, and any standby or minimum bill terms for your address in DSIRE and the utility tariff.

Policy summary source: DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency), dsireusa.org, accessed 2026-10-04. Program values are never printed here as guaranteed; name the program, then confirm its current value in DSIRE and your utility tariff.

Two sources decide what applies to your address today: DSIRE, the national database of state incentives for renewables and efficiency, for programs; and your utility's current tariff or residential solar page, for export compensation, fixed charges, and rollover rules. Program names and values change through legislation and rate cases, which is why this page tells you where to verify instead of printing a program value that could be stale on arrival.

The order of decisions in Virginia

1. Confirm the export rule and any minimum bill. That prices your surplus energy.
2. Size the system against a year of bills and the export rule, using our sizing guide.
3. Price at least three quotes against the $3.25 per watt NREL benchmark line in the estimator.
4. Only then evaluate batteries, which pay through export value and rate spreads, per our battery guide.

What matters most here

Mid-Atlantic production and investor-owned utility tariffs that reward using your own power. Read the current net metering terms before sizing up, because the surplus rules set the ceiling on a sensible system. Start from that fact when you read quotes. Ask every installer to show the production tool behind their estimate, the export value inside their payback, and the incentive owner for every dollar subtracted from the price. If the answers name documents you can check in DSIRE or your tariff, you are having the right conversation. If they name deadlines and pressure instead, our quote red flags guide lists what to ask next.