Solar Panels in Virginia (2026): What It Costs and What Just Changed

Q: Did Virginia change net metering in 2026?

The State Corporation Commission issued its final order on April 30, 2026 and rejected most of Dominion's NEM 2.0 proposal. Full retail 1:1 credit survives, the 12-month netting period survives, the 6% program cap survives, and homeowners keep ownership of their SRECs. Dominion got a $1 per month administrative fee and a lower year-end excess rate of about $0.05829 per kWh. Many websites still describe this as an open question. It is decided.

Q: Is the 30% federal solar tax credit still available in Virginia in 2026?

No. The Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Cash and loan buyers get no federal credit in 2026. The commercial credit (Section 48E) still exists but goes to the system owner, which in a lease or PPA is the company, not you.

Q: How much do solar panels cost in Virginia in 2026?

About $2.50 to $3.05 per watt installed before incentives. The average Virginia system is roughly 13.9 kW, or about $36,300, with a typical range of $30,900 to $41,800. A more common 8 kW system runs roughly $20,000 to $24,400.

Q: What is HB 628 and how does it affect Virginia SRECs?

House Bill 628, signed April 13, 2026, raised Virginia's behind-the-meter distributed solar carve-out from 1% to 4.5% of retail electric sales for compliance years 2026 through 2030, and to 5% from 2031 to 2045. For Dominion, that lifts annual SREC demand from roughly 740,000 to about 3.4 million credits. Supply has not grown to match. Flett Exchange sees a path toward $65 to $70 per SREC, against spot prices around $22.50 today. That is a projection, not a guarantee.

Q: Does Virginia have a state solar tax credit or rebate?

No. Virginia has no state income tax credit for solar and no statewide cash rebate, and it never has. What it has instead is full retail net metering, an SREC market, a property tax exemption for systems up to 25 kW under Virginia Code 58.1-3661, and a sales tax exemption.

Q: What is the solar payback period in Virginia in 2026?

Realistically about 10 to 12 years for a cash purchase at current SREC prices — longer than Maryland or Massachusetts. Virginia has no state credit or rebate, and electricity rates near 14 to 16 cents per kWh are below the northeastern states. If SREC prices rise toward the levels HB 628 implies, payback could shorten to roughly 9 to 10 years.

Q: Can Virginia homeowners use a power purchase agreement?

Yes, and this is new. HB 628 explicitly authorized residential customers in Dominion territory to buy solar through a PPA, a financing model previously limited to low-income customers and commercial or government entities. Be aware that under a PPA or lease the system owner generally keeps the SRECs and claims the commercial tax credit, not you.

Q: Will solar raise my property taxes in Virginia?

No. Under Virginia Code 58.1-3661, residential solar systems up to 25 kW are exempt from the additional property tax that would otherwise apply to the added home value. Note that this operates through local government, so confirm with your locality.

Two things happened in Virginia this spring that most solar websites haven't caught up with. On April 13, 2026, HB 628 raised the state's distributed solar requirement by 4.5x. On April 30, 2026, the State Corporation Commission rejected Dominion's attempt to gut net metering.

Both were decided months ago. Plenty of pages still describe the net metering case as pending — and a surprising number still tell Virginians to claim a federal tax credit that no longer exists.

Want your exact Virginia numbers? Get a free, no-obligation solar quote →

The Short Answer

Typical installed cost: about $2.50–$3.05 per watt before incentives. The average Virginia system is roughly 13.9 kW — about $36,300 (range $30,900–$41,800).
Virginia has no state tax credit and no statewide rebate. It never has. Anyone implying otherwise is guessing.
Net metering survived. The SCC's April 30 order preserved full retail 1:1 credit, the 12-month netting period, the 6% cap, and your SREC ownership.
SRECs may be about to get more valuable. HB 628 raised utility demand 4.5x while supply stayed flat.
Realistic payback: roughly 10–12 years — honestly longer than Maryland or Massachusetts, because Virginia has no state incentives and cheaper power.

The Net Metering Fight Is Over — and Solar Owners Won

Dominion spent a year trying to rewrite net metering through a proposal it called NEM 2.0. Had it passed, the export credit would have dropped from about $0.14/kWh to roughly $0.0955 — a 32% cut — and if Dominion had also taken ownership of customers' SRECs, effective compensation would have fallen to around $0.063/kWh, roughly 55% less.

The case drew a record volume of public comment. The SCC issued its final order on April 30, 2026, and rejected nearly all of it.

What Dominion asked for and did not get:

The 32% credit cut — rejected. Solar is still credited at the retail rate.
A 30-minute netting interval instead of 12 months — rejected. The 12-month crediting period holds; 30-minute measurement is informational only. This matters enormously: it's what lets you bank summer surplus against winter bills.
Ownership of your SRECs — rejected. Your credits stay yours.
A $100 application fee — rejected.
A reduction to the 6% program cap — rejected.

What Dominion did get: a $1/month administrative fee for new NEM 2.0 customers, and a lower rate for year-end excess generation — about $0.05829/kWh. Notably, the SCC set that above pure avoided cost, adding roughly a penny because your generation saves Dominion from buying renewable energy credits.

What this means practically: the economics of solar in Dominion territory are essentially unchanged. But the year-end excess rate is well below retail, so right-sizing your system matters more than ever. Building a system that overproduces on purpose means selling your surplus at 5.8¢ instead of offsetting at 16¢. Size to your usage.

HB 628: Why Your SRECs Might Be Worth More Soon

You earn one SREC per megawatt-hour your system produces — roughly 10 a year on a typical home system. Virginia utilities have to buy them to meet the Virginia Clean Economy Act's requirements.

Until this year, that requirement was small. The behind-the-meter distributed solar carve-out sat at 1% of retail electric sales — easily met by existing capacity, which is why Virginia SRECs have traded cheap.

HB 628, signed April 13, 2026, changed that. It's the first significant change to Virginia's solar market since the VCEA in 2020:

The distributed carve-out jumps from 1% to 4.5% of retail electric sales for compliance years 2026–2030, rising to 5% for 2031–2045.
For Dominion, annual SREC demand rises from roughly 740,000 to about 3.4 million credits.
The installed base of eligible Virginia solar has not grown 4.5x. That gap is what moves price.

Virginia SRECs trade around $22.50 today. Flett Exchange — the exchange itself, not a marketer — sees a path toward $65–$70 per SREC before the 2026 compliance period ends, noting that SRECs in comparable states typically trade 10–15% below the annual compliance penalty (currently listed at $57.13 for Virginia).

Read that honestly: it's a projection from a party that profits from an active SREC market, not a guarantee. On 10 SRECs a year, the difference between $22.50 and $65 is about $425/year — real money, but not the thing to bet your decision on. Model your payback at today's price and treat any increase as upside.

Two practical notes: your system must be registered with PJM-GATS through a broker or aggregator, and registering late can cost you credits generated before registration. And SREC income may be taxable.

HB 628 also unlocked residential PPAs in Dominion territory — previously restricted to low-income customers and commercial or government entities. That's a genuine new option for people who can't use a tax credit that no longer exists. Just know that under a PPA the fund typically keeps your SRECs and claims the commercial credit. See our financing guide.

The Federal Credit Is Gone — and Virginia Pages Are Especially Bad About This

Section 25D — the 30% federal residential credit — was terminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. See our 2026 tax credit guide.

Researching this page in July 2026, we found active 2026-dated Virginia pages stating that the 30% credit is "now available", that it "remains the single most powerful incentive available to Virginia homeowners in 2026", and that the 30% rate is "locked through 2032" stepping down in 2033. One walked through claiming $7,320 on a $24,400 system.

None of that is true for a system installed in 2026. If your quote has a 30% federal credit line, the net cost is overstated by roughly $6,000–$10,000. Ask for a corrected proposal.

The commercial credit (Section 48E) does survive and runs at 30% — but it belongs to whoever owns the system. In a lease or PPA that's the company; they may pass some value back through a lower rate. Compare 25-year cost, not the monthly payment.

What Solar Actually Costs in Virginia

6 kW system: ~$15,000–$18,300
8 kW system: ~$20,000–$24,400
13.9 kW (VA average): ~$36,300 (range $30,900–$41,800)

EnergySage marketplace data puts Virginia at $2.62/W as of July 2026; Wood Mackenzie/SEIA data puts it nearer $3.05/W; Virginia installers quote cash deals at $2.50–$3.00/W. Call it $2.50–$3.05 and compare quotes on cost per watt — our quote comparison tool does the math.

Not included: panel upgrades ($1,200–$2,000 if you're on 100-amp service), roof work, or a battery ($10,000–$15,000 — see our battery guide). Batteries in Virginia are about outage protection, not payback.

Your Utility Changes the Math

Virginia rates are moderate by East Coast standards — which is exactly why the payback is longer here than in Massachusetts or Maryland. Recent residential rates:

Appalachian Power: ~15.9¢/kWh
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative: ~14.8¢/kWh
Dominion Energy and NOVEC: ~13.9¢/kWh (Dominion's all-in residential rate is reported nearer 16¢)

The direction matters more than the level. Virginia electricity bills are up roughly 30% since 2021, and the SCC approved a Dominion base-rate increase in November 2025 — its first since 1992 — with further steps through 2026–2027, driven largely by data center load growth. Virginia's 2026 General Assembly session was dominated by energy affordability precisely because of this.

That's the real Virginia solar case: not today's rate, but where it's heading. Every kWh you generate is one you don't buy at whatever the data center boom does to prices.

One caveat: municipal utilities and electric cooperatives are not required to offer net metering on the same terms. The retail-rate credit described above applies to Dominion and APCo. Check your bill first.

The Rest of the Stack

Property tax exemption — under Virginia Code §58.1-3661, residential systems up to 25 kW are exempt from the added property tax on the value solar creates. It operates through local government, so confirm with your locality; savings run roughly $100–$400/year depending on your effective rate. It's worth more in Fairfax County than in a rural county.
Sales tax exemption — solar equipment is exempt from Virginia sales and use tax.
Net metering cap — first-come, first-served, capped at 6% of each utility's prior-year peak load (1% reserved for low-income customers). Confirm current availability in your territory before you sign.
Shared solar — if you can't put panels on your roof, Virginia just released 525 MW of new shared solar capacity in Dominion territory. Participants typically save 10%+ on monthly bills.
Dominion's virtual power plant pilot — filed December 2025, enrollment expected around late 2026, payment amounts not yet published. Don't budget around it yet.

The Payback Math, Shown in Full

Our calculations from the sourced figures above — not a quote, and not a promise about your home.

Assumptions: 8 kW at $2.80/W = $22,400; south-facing unshaded roof producing ~1,300 kWh per kW per year = ~10,400 kWh; electricity offset at $0.16/kWh; 10.4 SRECs/year.

System cost (no federal credit, no state credit, no rebate): $22,400
Electricity avoided (10,400 × $0.16): $1,664/yr
SREC income at today's ~$22.50: ~$234/yr
Total annual benefit: ~$1,898/yr

Simple payback at today's SREC price: $22,400 ÷ $1,898 ≈ 11.8 years.

If SRECs reach $65: SREC income becomes ~$676/yr, total ~$2,340/yr → payback ≈ 9.6 years.

So: roughly 10–12 years, depending largely on something outside your control. That's a real answer, and it's longer than a lot of Virginia solar pages will tell you. We didn't apply rate escalation — with bills up 30% since 2021 and data center demand climbing, a real model would land shorter. We left it flat because that's where optimistic savings claims come from.

What moves it down: east/west or shaded roofs cut production 15–30% and push payback out proportionally; APCo territory; low usage; a co-op that doesn't net meter at retail. What moves it up: rising rates, higher SREC prices, high usage, Northern Virginia's bigger bills and higher property tax exemption value.

When Solar Does Not Make Sense in Virginia

We generate leads for solar companies. We'd rather be straight with you — and Virginia is the state where we say this most often:

Your bill is under about $120/month. With no state incentives and moderate rates, small systems don't clear.
You're moving within 7 years. Virginia payback is long. You won't get there.
Shaded or east/west-facing roof. A 15–30% production cut pushes an 11-year payback past 14.
You're on a co-op or municipal utility that doesn't net meter at retail. Check before anything else.
Your roof needs replacing soon. Do the roof first, always.
Someone's selling you on SRECs hitting $65. That's a projection. If the math only works at $65, the math doesn't work.

If you're a Dominion or APCo customer with a south-facing roof and a $150+ monthly bill, Virginia still works — helped by a net metering policy that just survived a serious attempt to kill it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Virginia change net metering in 2026?
The SCC's April 30, 2026 final order rejected most of Dominion's NEM 2.0 proposal. Full retail 1:1 credit, the 12-month netting period, the 6% cap, and homeowner SREC ownership all survived. Dominion got a $1/month admin fee and a lower year-end excess rate (~$0.05829/kWh). Many sites still call this pending. It's decided.

Is the 30% federal solar tax credit still available in Virginia in 2026?
No. Section 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Section 48E survives but goes to the system owner — in a lease or PPA, that's the company.

How much do solar panels cost in Virginia in 2026?
About $2.50–$3.05 per watt before incentives. The average system is roughly 13.9 kW (~$36,300, range $30,900–$41,800). An 8 kW system runs ~$20,000–$24,400.

What is HB 628 and how does it affect Virginia SRECs?
Signed April 13, 2026, it raised the behind-the-meter distributed solar carve-out from 1% to 4.5% for 2026–2030 and 5% for 2031–2045. Dominion's annual SREC demand goes from ~740,000 to ~3.4 million. Flett Exchange projects a path to $65–$70 per SREC versus ~$22.50 today — a projection, not a guarantee.

Does Virginia have a state solar tax credit or rebate?
No, and it never has. Virginia offers net metering, an SREC market, a property tax exemption (§58.1-3661, systems ≤25 kW), and a sales tax exemption.

What is the solar payback period in Virginia in 2026?
Roughly 10–12 years for a cash purchase at today's SREC prices — longer than Maryland or Massachusetts. Closer to 9–10 years if SRECs rise toward HB 628's implied levels.

Can Virginia homeowners use a power purchase agreement?
Yes — new under HB 628 for Dominion residential customers. Note the system owner generally keeps the SRECs and the commercial tax credit.

Will solar raise my property taxes in Virginia?
No. Under §58.1-3661, residential systems up to 25 kW are exempt from the added property tax. It runs through local government, so confirm with your locality.

See What Solar Actually Costs on Your Roof — With 2026 Numbers

The ranges here are market averages. Your number depends on your roof, your usage, and which utility bills you. Compare solar quotes for your Virginia home → Free, no obligation — and see our certified installer standards.

More: 2026 solar cost breakdown · 2026 incentives guide · is solar worth it · state-by-state index · Maryland · North Carolina · Washington DC

Sources

SCC net metering final order (April 30, 2026): SEIA; pv magazine USA; Solar United Neighbors; Piedmont Environmental Council. HB 628 (signed April 13, 2026), carve-out and SREC demand: Flett Exchange market report. SREC spot price and SACP: Flett Exchange. Costs: EnergySage, July 2026. Utility rates: Palmetto. Dominion base-rate increase and data center load: Virtue Solar. Bills up 30% since 2021: NCEL. Shared solar expansion: CCSA. Property tax exemption: Va. Code §58.1-3661. Federal credit expiration: One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 4, 2025). Payback figures are Solar Energy Nerds calculations from the sources above, with assumptions stated in full.

See how Virginia compares nationwide: our Net Metering by State (2026) guide covers how every state's utility credits solar exports.