Is solar worth it in Missouri in 2026?

How Missouri pays for your solar power

Net metering at the retail rate. Missouri law makes every utility net your solar against your use each billing period; surplus is credited at no less than the utility's avoided fuel cost, rolls to the next period and expires after 12 months (systems up to 100 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

Missouri’s rule is a statute, the Net Metering and Easy Connection Act (RSMo 386.890). It applies to Ameren Missouri, Evergy Missouri Metro, Evergy Missouri West, Liberty, municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives, according to the Missouri Division of Energy. The Public Service Commission (PSC) writes the detailed rules for the investor-owned utilities in 20 CSR 4240-20.065.

A customer-generator can have a renewable system of up to 100 kilowatts. The utility measures net energy over the billing period, either with one bidirectional meter or with separate meters for use and production. Two cases follow:

• You used more than you made. You are billed for the net electricity supplied, on the normal rate for your class. Exports are netted against imports kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour, so the exported energy that offsets your use is worth the retail energy rate.
• You made more than you used. You pay the customer charges for the period and receive a credit for the excess kilowatt-hours that is “at least equal to the avoided fuel cost,” applied to the following billing period.

Credits expire without compensation at the earlier of 12 months after they were issued or when you disconnect service or end the net metering relationship. There is no annual cash-out. The statute defines avoided fuel cost as the utility’s current average cost of fuel, so the surplus credit is much lower than the retail rate. The statute sets a floor, and each utility’s filed tariff gives the actual cents per kWh, so check the “net metering” or “purchases from qualified net metering units” tariff of your utility.

Because the retail-rate netting happens inside each billing period, the share of exports credited at full retail depends on timing and monthly balance. This page therefore does not give a single export percentage for the state.

Utilities must accept net metering applications first come, first served until net metered capacity equals 5% of the supplier’s single-hour peak load from the previous year. After that the regulator or governing body may raise the limit. A supplier does not have to approve more than 1% of its prior-year peak load in new interconnections in a single calendar year.

Municipal utilities and cooperatives are covered by the same law, but they set their own tariffs. Ask yours for its credit rate.

State incentives in 2026

No open statewide residential solar rebate, income tax credit or sales tax exemption was confirmed in the statute and state energy office material checked. The Division of Energy fact sheet covers net metering procedure only and lists no rebate or tax incentive.

Investor-owned utility solar rebates in Missouri were tied to earlier state programs. The status of any Ameren Missouri or Evergy rebate in 2026 could not be confirmed from the utilities’ own pages, so none is listed. Some city utilities run their own rebates, so ask your municipal utility before you sign a contract.

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

What it means for payback

Missouri’s design rewards matching production to use within each billing period. Energy you export in a month and offset against that same month’s imports is credited like energy you used on site. Only the surplus beyond that is credited at the lower avoided fuel cost.

That points to a system sized close to annual use rather than well above it. An oversized array piles up surplus credits at the low rate, and unused credits expire after 12 months. Seasonal swings matter too: a spring surplus credit can offset a summer shortfall, but credits older than 12 months are lost.

Because netting covers the whole billing period, a battery adds less than it does under instant-by-instant netting. Weigh it for backup power rather than for bill savings; see are solar batteries worth it and net metering vs net billing.

Other rules worth knowing

Fees and costs. A supplier cannot charge a customer-generator any additional standby, capacity, interconnection or other fee that is not also charged to non-generating customers in the same rate class. You do pay for any extra meter or distribution equipment the connection needs, and for later meter testing or changes the system requires. The utility can spread the equipment cost over up to 12 billing cycles at your request, plus reasonable interest.

Insurance. Systems of 10 kilowatts or less need no liability insurance beyond what normal safety codes require.

Timing. The utility must answer an interconnection application within 30 days for systems of 10 kilowatts or less and within 90 days for larger ones. Approval expires if you do not finish interconnecting within a year. A certification from a qualified electrician or engineer is required before connection.

Change of ownership. When a system changes hands, the new owner must file a new interconnection application.

HOAs. Under RSMo 442.404, no deed restriction or covenant may prohibit rooftop solar panels. An association may adopt reasonable rules about placement if they do not prevent installation, impair the device, restrict its use or raise its cost or lower its efficiency.

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