Is solar worth it in Delaware in 2026?

How Delaware pays for your solar power

Net metering at the retail rate. Delaware law credits excess solar in kWh to later months at supply plus distribution rates, with year-end carryover; residential systems up to 25 kW. Delmarva customers can get $0.80/W up to $10,000.

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

State or utility incentive	What it is worth
Green Energy Program solar grant (Delmarva Power customers)	$0.80/W up to 50,000 W, maximum $10,000 (rates effective July 1, 2026)
Solar + Storage Pilot Program battery grant (Delmarva Power customers)	$250/kWh of storage, up to $6,000 for residential

How exports are credited

Delaware’s rule is set by statute, not by a utility. Title 26, Section 1014 of the Delaware Code requires the Public Service Commission to adopt net energy metering rules for customers who own, lease or contract with a third party for a solar, wind, hydro, fuel cell or anaerobic digester system on their premises. The rules cover customers of Delmarva Power & Light (DP&L), Delaware Electric Cooperative (DEC) and municipal electric companies, with details that differ for the last two.

For residential customers of all three, the system can be no larger than 25 kW. Farm customers on a residential tariff can go up to 150 kW.

Any production beyond what the home uses in a billing period becomes an Excess kWh Credit. Those credits roll forward to later monthly bills and offset consumption there. At the end of the annualized billing period, unused credits carry over into the next one. Residential customers have no cap on how much carries over (the statute allows the Commission to limit carryover only for non-farm nonresidential customers).

For Commission-regulated utilities, since January 1, 2024, each Excess kWh Credit is valued at the sum of the volumetric (per-kWh) supply and distribution charges on the customer’s rate schedule. Societal benefits program charges are excluded, and credits cannot reduce fixed monthly customer charges. Because imports and exports are netted in kWh across the period, most exports offset usage at close to the retail energy rate. The customer keeps the renewable energy credits unless they sign them away by contract.

Supply-side credits are the responsibility of whichever company supplies the customer’s electricity, not only the distribution utility.

State incentives in 2026

Both programs below are run by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) through the Green Energy Program, and are open to Delmarva Power customers only.

• Solar grant: $0.80 per watt for residential systems up to 50,000 W, with a $10,000 maximum. Residential PPA or lease systems get no grant. A grant cannot exceed 50% of project cost, total project cost must be $6.00/W or less, and a shade analysis must show a TSRF of 70% or more. Applications filed more than 12 months after installation are ineligible. Applicants sign their solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) to the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility. DNREC warns that high demand has delayed some grant payments.
• Battery grant (Solar + Storage Pilot, launched August 2026): $250 per kWh of storage, up to $6,000 for residential. The battery must be owned by the homeowner, installed behind the meter, able to island during outages, and enrolled in a Delmarva active dispatch program for 10 years once that is available. A battery added to an existing system qualifies only if the solar interconnected within the last 12 months and was approved for the solar grant.

DNREC also lists a Low- to Moderate-Income Solar Program (a free system up to 4.0 kW for low-income households, 70% funded up to 6.0 kW for moderate income). Its page does not say whether it is accepting applications in 2026, so it is not listed above; call DNREC at 302-735-3480.

The federal residential credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025. See the federal credit explainer.

What it means for payback

Because credits bank in kWh and carry across years, oversizing is penalized less than in states that pay a low rate for exports. A system sized to roughly a year of household use works well: summer surplus offsets winter shortfall. The credit excludes societal benefits charges and fixed charges, so each banked kWh is worth somewhat less than a kWh bought, and the monthly customer charge is never offset.

The $0.80/W grant matters. On the $3.60/W national cost used by the calculator, a 7 kW system (7,000 W) would qualify for $5,600 before the 50% and $6.00/W conditions. Confirm the grant is still funded before signing, since payments have been delayed.

A battery earns less from avoided export loss here than in net-billing states, because exports are already credited near retail. The $6,000 battery grant narrows the cost, but the 10-year dispatch enrollment is a real commitment. See are solar batteries worth it.

Other rules worth knowing

Delaware’s statute requires electric suppliers to adopt the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s model interconnection procedures and bars them from requiring excessive controls, unnecessary tests or excessive liability insurance for qualifying systems. Residential customers pay no more than $200 toward any new or replacement meter needed for net metering, and the utility keeps ownership of the meter.

Co-op and municipal customers should confirm their rules with Delaware Electric Cooperative or their city utility, since the Commission’s administrative rules apply only to Delmarva Power. Leasing is allowed under the statute, but leased systems get no state grant (see lease vs buy).

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