Is solar worth it in Nevada in 2026?

How Nevada pays for your solar power

Net billing (exports credited below retail). NV Energy credits exported solar at 75% of the retail rate for 20 years (Tier 4, state law AB 405, since 2020); no capacity cap.

In the calculator, 40% of your solar output is used at home at the retail price and the rest is exported at about 75% of retail, so each solar kWh is worth 85% of the retail price on average. Change it if your utility pays more or less. Method

How exports are credited

Nevada’s rule comes from the legislature, not from a utility decision. Assembly Bill 405 (2017) set a tiered net metering structure for renewable systems of 25 kilowatts or less, which covers a typical home rooftop. The rate steps down each time the combined applied-for and installed capacity at a tier reaches 80 megawatts, according to the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN).

The four tiers credit exports at a share of the retail rate:

• Tier 1: 95% (closed in August 2018)
• Tier 2: 88% (closed in June 2019)
• Tier 3: 81% (closed in June 2020)
• Tier 4: 75% (open now)

A new customer signs up under Tier 4. The PUCN says the Tier 4 rate has no capacity limit and “will remain 75% of the retail rate unless modified by legislative action.” Whichever tier a customer signs up under is kept for 20 years at the location where the system was installed. The PUCN capacity table, last updated September 8, 2026, lists Tiers 1 to 3 as closed and Tier 4 as open.

For this purpose, “retail rate” is the Base Tariff General Rate, the Base Tariff Energy Rate and the Deferred Energy Accounting Adjustment rate added together. The credit is therefore not a fixed price. It moves when NV Energy’s rates move, and NV Energy publishes the per-kWh credit by tier, season and time of day in its rate schedules. Exports are netted against usage within each billing period, and surplus is credited on the bill and carried into later periods, per the PUCN.

This applies to NV Energy’s two operating companies, Nevada Power in the south and Sierra Pacific Power in the north. Because the credit is below the retail rate, the class is net billing rather than full net metering. The PUCN also says net metering customers stay in the same customer class as other customers and pay the same basic service charge and other fees.

State incentives in 2026

No open statewide residential rebate or state income tax credit turned up in the sources checked.

• The Lower Income Solar Energy Program, run by NV Energy and the Governor’s Office of Energy, was discontinued as of June 2022.
• The Governor’s Office of Energy runs a Renewable Energy Tax Abatement program under NRS 701A.300 to 701A.450. The state pages describe it as an application program for renewable energy facilities. This research did not confirm that a home rooftop system qualifies, so it is not listed as an incentive.

The federal residential credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025, so it does not offset cost in 2026.

What it means for payback

A 75% credit means each exported kilowatt-hour is worth less than one used on site. Sizing a system to cover daytime household use, and shifting flexible loads such as laundry or EV charging to sunny hours, helps more than oversizing to export. The 20-year lock gives a predictable credit formula for two decades, but the dollar value still follows NV Energy’s future rates. A battery can let a household store midday output for evening use instead of exporting it at the reduced credit, and whether that pays off depends on its added cost.

Other rules worth knowing

The 25 kW limit means the AB 405 tiers cover typical homes and small businesses. The credit period is tied to the address, so the rate stays with the property where the system was originally installed. Exact current credits for a given address depend on the utility territory and rate plan, and are listed in NV Energy’s net metering rate sheet.

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