How Much Do Solar Panels Cost in North Carolina in 2026?

Solar panels cost about $2.35 a watt to install in North Carolina in 2026.

The average system runs close to $32,805 before any incentives.

That’s a bigger number than it would have been a year ago because the federal tax credit that used to shave 30% off it expired at the end of 2025.

Cash and loan buyers are now paying close to that full price.

North Carolina still has a few ways to lower that bill, and Duke Energy just rewrote what solar saves you every month.

Note: This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Tax credits, utility rates, and incentive programs are subject to change.

North Carolina Solar Costs by System Size

North Carolina homeowners pay an average of about $2.35 a watt for a fully installed solar system, based on marketplace pricing gathered across the state.

The typical North Carolina system runs 13.97 kilowatts and costs about $32,805 before incentives, with many homeowners landing somewhere between $27,884 and $37,726.

Size decides almost everything.

North Carolina homes also use more electricity than the typical American house, about 19,000 kilowatt-hours a year.

Installers often size a North Carolina system toward that larger end just to cover the bigger bill.

A smaller home running a 6- to 8-kilowatt system can still land closer to $15,000 to $22,000 before incentives, well under the state’s typical cost.

Why the Sticker Price Just Went Up

Solar panels in North Carolina lost their biggest financial cushion at the end of 2025, when the federal 30% tax credit expired for good.

That credit had applied to solar bought with cash or a loan for nearly two decades.

Now it’s gone.

A homeowner who would have paid $22,400 out of pocket on a $32,000 system last year owes the full $32,000 this year.

Leasing the panels or signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) is the one path still standing because the company that owns the system can claim a business version of the credit and pass part of it along as a lower monthly payment.

You just never own the panels.

What North Carolina Still Offers

North Carolina dropped its own solar tax credit years ago and hasn’t brought it back.

What’s left is a property tax break: The state excludes 80% of a solar system’s added value from your property tax bill.

State lawmakers introduced a bill in 2026 that would end that break for any system installed after July 1, 2027.

So the exclusion isn’t guaranteed to outlast the decade.

Duke Energy also runs a program called PowerPair that pays up to $9,000 to homeowners who install solar and a battery together.

Panels alone don’t qualify.

Only Duke Energy Carolinas customers can currently apply for PowerPair.

Duke Energy Progress closed its territory to new applications in November 2025.

Even Duke Energy Carolinas’ remaining capacity is running low.

North Carolina law also keeps a homeowners association (HOA) from banning a solar project outright, a protection covered in more depth in our HOA rules roundup, so a planned community isn’t the dead end it used to be.

How Net Metering Changes the Math

Duke Energy no longer credits a solar home for extra power at the full retail rate.

New solar customers go on Duke Energy's Net Metering Bridge rate (NMB) or eventually its Residential Solar Choice rate (RSC), which requires time-of-use pricing.

Either way, the power you send back to the grid earns the Net Excess Energy Credit rate, based on Duke Energy's avoided cost, not the price you'd pay to buy that same electricity back.

That's a straight pay cut.

North Carolina's Public Staff, the state agency that represents utility customers, confirms homeowners who locked in full retail-rate net metering before the 2023 cutoff keep that grandfathered deal for now.

Even they have to move onto the NMB rate by the end of 2026.

Nobody stays on the old deal forever.

How Long Until Solar Pays for Itself

A North Carolina solar system paid for itself in about 10.3 years back when the federal credit still applied.

Without it, that payback now runs closer to 14.6 years, about four and a half years longer.

A system carrying a 25-year warranty still produces free electricity for years past that point, just less of it than it would have a year ago.

That's a decade of overlap.

Where North Carolina's electric rates land compared to the rest of the country plays into why the payback runs long here.

Cheaper grid power always means smaller monthly savings, which stretches out the years it takes a system to earn back its cost.

A homeowner planning to sell the house within five years should weigh whether solar pencils out before that math ever finishes.

Why Your Region Changes the Price

The Piedmont around Charlotte and Raleigh drives North Carolina's cheapest solar quotes, while the mountain counties near Asheville tell a pricier story.

More installers compete for the same customers in that corridor, which tends to push bids lower.

Not every county gets it.

Those same mountain counties have fewer installers to choose from, and the added drive time and labor cost show up in the final quote.

Coastal counties add their own markup, since panels there need wind-rated mounting hardware built to hold up in a hurricane.

A homeowner in Wilmington and a homeowner in Boone can get quotes for the identical system that land thousands apart.

FAQ

Quick answers to what North Carolina homeowners ask most about solar costs in 2026.

What is the average cost of solar panels in North Carolina in 2026?

A North Carolina system typically runs about $32,805 before incentives, or close to $2.35 a watt, though a smaller home can pay significantly less and a larger one more.

Is there still a federal tax credit for home solar in 2026?

No, the 30% federal credit for cash and loan purchases expired on December 31, 2025. A leased or PPA system can still benefit indirectly through the installer's own tax credit.

Does North Carolina offer any solar incentives?

Yes. The state excludes 80% of a solar system's added value from property tax, and Duke Energy's PowerPair program pays up to $9,000 for a paired solar-and-battery system.

How does Duke Energy's net metering work now?

New solar customers earn the Net Excess Energy Credit rate for power sent back to the grid, based on Duke Energy's avoided cost rather than the full retail rate, plus a required minimum monthly bill.

How long does it take solar panels to pay for themselves in North Carolina?

About 14.6 years on average now that the federal credit is gone, up from roughly 10.3 years when it still applied.