Is solar worth it in Alaska in 2026?

How Alaska pays for your solar power

Net metering at the retail rate. Alaska rules net each month at retail, but a month's surplus is paid as a dollar credit at the utility's low avoided-cost rate (6.8 cents/kWh at Chugach); credits never expire and systems are capped at 25 kW.

In the calculator, 40% of your solar output is used at home at the retail price and the rest is exported at about 100% of retail (our default for this kind of rule), so each solar kWh is worth 100% of the retail price on average. Change it if your utility pays more or less. Method

How exports are credited

Alaska’s net metering rule is a Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) regulation, 3 AAC 50.900 to 50.949. It applies to regulated electric utilities and covers solar, wind, hydro and other eligible systems of 25 kilowatts or less per premises, which includes any home rooftop.

The credit works month by month under 3 AAC 50.930. The utility measures net energy in each monthly billing period:

• If the home took more from the grid than it sent out, the customer is billed for the net kilowatt-hours at the normal retail rate.
• If the home sent out more than it took, the utility credits the account with the surplus kilowatt-hours multiplied by the non-firm power rate, which is an avoided-cost rate, not the retail rate.

Those dollar credits reduce later bills, and the regulation says they “do not expire or otherwise revert to the electric utility.” So exports offset same-month use at retail, but a surplus month is valued at the lower rate. Because Alaska’s sun is strongest when demand is lowest, that surplus rule matters more here than in most states. See net metering vs net billing.

Two utilities show how it plays out:

• Chugach Electric (Anchorage area). Its tariff sheet 89.3 follows the state rule. The buyback rate on Sheet 97, effective July 1, 2026, is 6.831 cents/kWh for retail secondary (residential) service, and it is reset with fuel and purchased power rate changes. Credits do not expire, and unused credits are paid out if service ends. Chugach charges a $270 non-refundable application fee.
• Matanuska Electric Association (MEA, Mat-Su). Surplus is credited at the non-firm rate, which MEA’s rate sheet lists as 9.224 cents/kWh for the fourth quarter of 2026 and adjusts quarterly. Its interconnection agreement pays out credit balances above $15.00 annually, or when the agreement ends. MEA charges no application fee, though interconnection work can cost extra.

No export percentage is stated in the frontmatter because the credit depends on the month: same-month exports are valued at retail, surplus at the avoided-cost rate. Co-ops and municipal utilities outside these two should be asked how they apply the rule. The regulation does not apply to some small isolated systems.

State incentives in 2026

No open statewide residential solar rebate, grant or income tax credit was confirmed.

• The Alaska Energy Authority’s page says its Solar for All residential program, funded at $62.5 million in 2024, has been terminated, and that it has no active residential solar incentive program.
• Alaska law (AS 29.45.050) lets a municipality exempt residential renewable energy systems, including solar devices, from local property tax, but only by ordinance. No municipality with such an exemption was confirmed, so ask your city or borough assessor.

The federal residential credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025. See what ended and what it means.

What it means for payback

Alaska pairs high electricity prices (about 27 cents/kWh residential on average per EIA) with weak winter sun. The calculator uses a modeled output of about 904 kWh per kilowatt per year for Anchorage from PVGIS-ERA5, well below the lower 48, because of the high latitude.

Under the monthly rule, every kilowatt-hour used on site, or netted in the same month, is worth the retail rate. Every surplus kilowatt-hour is worth roughly 7 to 9 cents at the two utilities above. At MEA, the first 1,300 kWh cost 15.025 cents/kWh in the energy charge plus a 9.34 cents/kWh cost of power surcharge on all kWh, so the gap between retail and surplus value is large.

The practical result is to size for the summer months so that monthly exports stay small, not to cover the whole year. A system that makes a large June surplus earns the low rate for it, and the dollar credits then offset winter bills only in dollars. A battery shifts midday output into the evening within the same month but rarely changes the monthly net, so it is mostly a backup decision. See are solar batteries worth it.

Other rules worth knowing

• System cap: 25 kW per premises.
• Program cap: the default state limit is 1.5% of the utility’s average retail demand (3 AAC 50.910). Chugach’s tariff uses 5.0%, or 10,620 kW, and reports 6,705 kW already net metered, so the program is open but a utility can refuse an interconnection if the cap would be exceeded.
• No extra fees: a utility may not add standby, capacity or interconnection charges to net metering customers unless the RCA approves them (3 AAC 50.930(d)). Fixed monthly charges, such as MEA’s $13.00 facilities charge, still apply.
• Ownership: the system must be owned or leased by the customer, located on the premises and used mainly to offset the customer’s own use.
• Insurance: Chugach expects net metering customers to carry liability insurance if available at a reasonable cost.
• Leases: if you are considering a lease, see solar lease vs buy.

Berkeley Lab does not publish a Alaska median from enough systems, so the calculator starts from the U.S. median of $3.60/W. Put your own quote in.