Utah

Utah solar in 2026

Utah has the sun and the low installed price. What it does not have is a friendly home for surplus power. Rocky Mountain Power's net billing tariff pays a small export credit, not your retail rate. That changes the job. A Utah system should first cover the electricity you use while it is being made, then stop. Panels installed to chase a giant annual offset can turn a decent project into an expensive donation to the grid.

The Utah production split is real

The state is not one solar climate. St. George's modeled production is far ahead of the Wasatch Front cities. A statewide sales pitch that treats those roofs alike is weak work. Use the local production factor, then design around daytime load, especially if the house is empty in the afternoon.

Method: PVGIS v5.2 model runs by Solar Learning Lab on August 18, 2026, using the NSRDB radiation database. Assumptions: fixed roof mount, south facing, 30 degree tilt, 14 percent losses. Your roof will differ. The 12.89 kW example matches the EnergySage Utah average system.

Utah benefits that need a deadline check

Schedule 137 turns a sizing decision into cash flow

New Utah residential projects are on net billing. Rocky Mountain Power's Schedule 137 pays 4.855 cents per exported kWh from June through September and 4.030 cents from October through May. The utility updates those figures each March 1. Against a 12.96 cent residential rate, exported electricity is not carrying the same value as a kWh that avoids a purchase at the meter. That gap is the reason an annual-offset percentage alone is not enough to judge a proposal.

Ask the bidder for a production split. The document should show expected kWh used in the home while they are generated and expected kWh sent to the grid, then apply the proper seasonal export rate. Schedule 137 took effect April 25, 2025 under Docket 24-035-04 and covers residential systems up to 25 kW. A proposal that assigns the 12.96 cent retail figure to every kWh, without identifying export treatment, is not modeling the tariff that a new customer actually receives.

Older accounts require a separate check. Schedule 135, the closed 1:1 net-metering option, is grandfathered until January 1, 2036. Schedule 136 transition customers retain their status until January 1, 2033. These dates are property-specific context, not benefits a new Schedule 137 applicant can assume. Before adding panels or changing equipment on an older system, determine which schedule applies and get written guidance on the consequences of the change.

There is a policy item to watch, not count. HB 367 (2026) would create an optional time-of-use export tariff with a floor of at least 60% of the retail rate. It is introduced legislation. The current state residential energy-systems credit also has a hard eligibility date: a system must be completed and placed in service before January 1, 2028. The available statutory page does not state the credit's dollar value or cap. A signed deal is not the same as a system placed in service.

Sources: Utah Clean Energy, HB 367, and Utah Code § 59-10-1014.

Run the conservative Utah case

This calculator uses the retail rate for production, so it is not a quote for Schedule 137 exports. Keep the system near the electricity you can use while the sun is up, then compare the result with a bid that states its export assumption. The range also matters: St. George is not Ogden.

Utah installers with published review records

The Utah sample is centered on the Wasatch Front because that is where these verified review records sit. Review volume is not proof that a bid is correctly sized for net billing. Make every firm show the Schedule 137 export value it assumed and confirm the electrical and contractor credentials required for the job.