Virginia solar rebates and tax credits calculator

Solar incentive

Federal ITC 30% (tax credit)

State tax credit: No

Net metering (by utility)

Calculate for your home's location

There can be solar tax credits and incentives available at the federal, state and local levels. The calculator above will show you the value of all incentives your home is eligible for.

Summary of Virginia solar incentives 2024

Virginia has made a huge splash with their Clean Economy Act, requiring 100% of electricity come from clean sources like solar and wind by 2050. The law sets a solar energy specific target of 2,000 megawatts of solar by 2030, a huge amount of new power. 

However, there aren’t significant home solar incentives stemming from it to report on -- yet! That’s perhaps because this mandatory requirement is so new, that utility companies here, like Dominion Energy haven’t figured out how they plan to meet their target. 

In the meantime, solar power is still a pretty sweet investment, even without big state incentives chipping in.

On this page, you can:

  1. Learn what solar incentives are available to Virginia homeowners

  2. See what Virginia solar incentives you qualify for based on your utility company and city

  3. Find out how much these incentives and/or Virginia solar tax credits will reduce your cost to go solar and add batteries

Federal solar investment tax credit

The federal solar investment tax credit will have the biggest impact on the cost you will face to go solar in Virginia

If you install your photovoltaic system before the end of 2032, the federal tax credit is 30% of the cost of your solar panel system. This is 30% off the entire cost of the system including equipment, labor, and permitting.

Example: If your solar energy system costs $20,000, your federal solar tax credit would be $20,000 x 30% = $6,000.

The federal tax credit falls to 26% starting in 2033.

Net energy metering in Virginia

With net metering in some states, you get full retail rate credit for the amount of electricity you send back into the grid with your solar panels.

Net Metering requires your utility to monitor how much energy your solar power system produces and how much energy you actually consume, and make sure you get credit for the surplus. After all, you are helping to stabilize the grid and helping them transition to a cleaner energy future. 

Virginia’s net-metering law applies to all home solar systems up to 20 kilowatts (kW) in size. All the extra solar energy you create and aren’t able to use in your home is applied as a credit to your next bill at the utility’s avoided cost rate. The avoided cost rate is about $0.02/kwh, or about a third of the retail electricity rate of $0.12/kwh. Therefore, it’s important to size your system well so you aren’t generating much more valuable electricity than you can use. Regardless, it’s helpful Virginia compels utilities to provide at least some credit to you when you provide power back to the grid. 

All the total surplus built during each 12-month billing cycle may be carried over indefinitely, or you can choose to sell the electricity back to the utility at the end of the 12-month period. In order to sell the electricity to the utility you must negotiate a power purchase agreement before starting net metering.

Virginia solar rebates

While Virginia does not have a dedicated state rebate for solar panel installation, some manufacturers like LG offer their own solar rebates. These programs are usually time sensitive. For example, LG offers a $600 solar rebate on their equipment, which your installer can help you redeem over the next year. 

Cost of solar panels in your part of Virginia after all applicable solar incentives

Showing data for:

Utility provider: Northern Virginia Elec Coop
Utility bill: $ 154

Prices based on a 11.3kW system, after 30% federal tax credit

Solar prices near you

Cost range of local prices

$17,859-$21,828

Payback period

9.5-11.6 years

Net profit (savings less system cost)

$37,907-$46,331

Average size system installed in VA in 2024

11.3kW

Solar panel cost calculator

Best 10 solar companies in Virginia

43 solar companies in Virginia provide pricing on SolarReviews. Here are the best rated companies near you.

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