What solar costs in Utah
Berkeley Lab does not have enough reported installations in Utah to publish a reliable local price, so the figures below use the national median. Treat them as a starting point, not a quote.
The numbers
High electricity prices make solar pay faster, so a red figure in the third box is good news for a solar buyer and bad news every other month of the year.
Holding a quote above $30,000? Installers in Utah price the same system very differently. Two more bids is the cheapest way to find out where yours sits.
Plain outbound links. We take no phone numbers and sell no leads: you give your details to the company that will actually call you, not to us.
What the roof makes month by month in Salt Lake City
A 2.7 to 1 swing across the year, which is fairly typical. Expect to export in summer and import in winter, and check how your utility settles the difference.
Figures are for an 8 kW array at 20 degrees facing south, modelled from NSRDB radiation data at Salt Lake City.
What different sizes cost in Utah
| Size | Panels | Price | Output | Year one saving | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 kW | 10 | $15,000 | 5,708 kWh | $749 | 17.0 years |
| 5 kW | 13 | $18,750 | 7,135 kWh | $936 | 17.0 years |
| 6 kW | 15 | $22,500 | 8,562 kWh | $1,123 | 17.0 years |
| 7 kW | 18 | $26,250 | 9,989 kWh | $1,311 | 17.0 years |
| 8 kWtypical | 20 | $30,000 | 11,416 kWh | $1,498 | 17.0 years |
| 10 kW | 25 | $37,500 | 14,270 kWh | $1,872 | 17.0 years |
| 12 kW | 30 | $45,000 | 17,124 kWh | $2,247 | 17.0 years |
| 15 kW | 38 | $56,250 | 21,405 kWh | $2,808 | 17.0 years |
| 20 kW | 50 | $75,000 | 28,540 kWh | $3,744 | 17.0 years |
Payback is the same at every size because this table holds the price per watt flat at the national median of $3.75: price and output both grow in step with the system, so their ratio does not change. Real quotes are not quite linear. Permitting, design and connection cost roughly the same on any roof, so a small system usually costs more per watt and a large one less, and pays back correspondingly later or sooner than shown.
Utah has too few reported installations for a local median, so the price is the national median of what households paid on host-owned systems installed in 2024-2025, compiled by Berkeley Lab. Local quotes can sit well above or below it.
7 programmes in Utah
The 30% federal credit ended for installations completed after 31 December 2025. These state, utility and local programmes are unaffected by that, and are now the only thing that reduces the price.
| Programme | Type | Run by | Reach | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interconnection Standards | Interconnection | State | statewide | June 4, 2024 |
| Renewable Energy Systems Tax Credit (Corporate) | Corporate Tax Credit | State | statewide | March 23, 2026 |
| Renewable Energy Systems Tax Credit (Personal) | Personal Tax Credit | State | statewide | March 23, 2026 |
| City of St. George - Net Metering | Net Metering | Utility | partial | March 6, 2026 |
| Dominion Energy - Residential Solar Assisted Water Heating Rebate Program | Rebate Program | Utility | partial | February 12, 2025 |
| Murray City Power - Net Metering Pilot Program | Net Metering | Utility | partial | March 23, 2026 |
| Utah Solar Easement and Access Laws | Solar/Wind Access Policy | State | partial | December 20, 2023 |
Programme index from DSIRE, N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, NC State University, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. “Partial” means it reaches only some utilities or counties. A listed programme can still be closed or out of budget, so check its own page before counting on it.
How Utah ranks
Closest on payback: Montana (16.7 yrs), West Virginia (16.9 yrs), Nebraska (17.3 yrs), Louisiana (17.7 yrs).
Solar in Utah, answered
How much do solar panels cost in Utah?
An 8 kW system in Utah, roughly 20 panels, costs about $30,000 before incentives. That is based on $3.75 per watt, the national median from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for 2024-2025, because too few Utah installations are reported to publish a local figure. There is no longer a federal tax credit to subtract from that figure.
Is there still a 30% solar tax credit in Utah?
No. The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Internal Revenue Code section 25D was terminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for expenditures made after 31 December 2025, and it did not step down first. A Utah homeowner buying a system with cash or a loan today receives no federal tax credit. Under a lease or power purchase agreement the credit survives as section 48E but belongs to the company that owns the equipment, not to the household. Utah still has 7 state, utility or local programmes covering rooftop solar.
How long do solar panels take to pay for themselves in Utah?
About 17.0 years in Utah. An 8 kW system costs roughly $30,000 and saves about $1,498 in its first year at the state's average residential rate of 13.12 cents per kilowatt-hour (EIA, July 2026). That calculation includes no federal tax credit, because the residential credit ended after 31 December 2025.
How much electricity does a solar panel produce in Utah?
Each kilowatt of panels in Utah produces about 1,427 kilowatt-hours a year, modelled at Salt Lake City facing south at a 20 degree tilt using NSRDB radiation data. An 8 kW system therefore makes roughly 11,416 kilowatt-hours a year. The national average is about 1,332 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt installed.
Is solar worth it in Utah?
It depends less on sunshine than on your electricity price. In Utah power costs 13.12 cents per kilowatt-hour (EIA, July 2026), which makes an 8 kW system pay for itself in about 17.0 years and clear roughly $17,898 over 25 years. Solar from your own roof works out at 11.2 cents per kilowatt-hour over its life, against 13.12 cents from the utility.
How many solar panels do I need in Utah?
A typical Utah installation is about 20 panels, which is 8 kW at the 400 watt module that is now standard and needs roughly 440 square feet of roof. To size it to your own use, divide your annual kilowatt-hours by 1,427, which is what each kilowatt of panels produces in Utah each year.
Do solar panels work in winter in Utah?
Yes, but output falls sharply. In Salt Lake City a kilowatt of panels makes about 163 kilowatt-hours in Jun and about 61 in Dec, a swing of 2.7 to 1 across the year. A system sized to cover your annual consumption will therefore run a surplus in summer and leave you buying power in winter, so how your utility settles that difference matters as much as the size of the array.
Three competing quotes beat any amount of comparing panel brands
Sales cost and margin are over a third of an installed price in Utah, and they are the part that competition removes. A single quote from whoever reached you first is how people end up in the top quarter of what their neighbours paid.
Plain outbound links. We take no phone numbers and sell no leads: you give your details to the company that will actually call you, not to us.
Prices and rules change. We will tell you when they do
Berkeley Lab publishes installed prices once a year, the EIA updates electricity rates every month, and Congress changed the tax treatment of all of this in 2025. One email when something on this site actually changes, and nothing else.
Email address only. No phone field, no passing you to installers, unsubscribe in one click.