Idaho · Net metering · Thin-stack program
ID Net Metering
Sets the billing terms for excess solar generation sent back to the grid by residential customers in Idaho -- see the credit rate and how it shapes payback below.
- Retail rate credit
- stated benefit
- Residential
- eligible customers
- 20 yr
- Idaho baseline payback
- 1
- other Idaho programs
Thin-stack program · late directory
Idaho tracks only 2 DSIRE solar programs; this net metering carries most of the registry weight against a 20-year modeled baseline.
- Stack2 programs
- In-state #1/1
- Type #11/46
- Baseline20 yr
In-state directory place #1 of 1 (late alphabet). National net metering directory #11 of 46. Amounts and eligibility change; verify with the official program page before relying on a dollar figure. Informational only - not financial advice. See our disclaimer.
Program description
Idaho utilities must offer net metering for systems up to 25 kW.
Program at a glance
- Program type
- Net metering
- Eligible customers
- Residential
- Stated benefit
- Retail rate credit
- State electricity rate
- 10¢/kWh
- Idaho solar score
- 20/100
Solar's trajectory in Idaho
The market this incentive operates in: total installed solar capacity in Idaho reported to the EIA.
Why this net metering dominates Idaho's thin stack
The ID Net Metering governs how Idaho credits excess solar generation sent back to the grid, one of the state's DSIRE-tracked solar policies. Eligibility is scoped to residential customers, with a stated benefit of Retail rate credit. DSIRE lists no scheduled sunset, though enabling legislation and appropriations can still be revised year to year.
That baseline is slower than most states, which raises the stakes for every incentive on the table. Idaho averages 4.7 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 10¢/kWh, producing an estimated 8,234 kWh/year and $823 of annual utility offset on a typical 6 kW system costing $16,500. That baseline already implies a 20-year simple payback and a 25-year modeled net of roughly $4,075 before this incentive - every dollar this net metering delivers compresses that payback further.
Few other programs are tracked here, so this incentive carries most of the weight for Idaho solar buyers. Idaho has 2 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE. The state's net-metering policy is classified as full, which governs how excess generation is credited and often decides whether a given program is worth claiming for a specific household.
Frequently asked questions
What does the ID Net Metering cover in a thin Idaho stack?
How does the ID Net Metering work?
Who qualifies, and what does a late in-state directory place mean?
Does this single-track net metering move Idaho solar ROI?
Are there other solar incentives in Idaho?
Incentive data from the DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency); state solar economics from NREL and the U.S. EIA. See our methodology · Idaho solar data · ROI calculator · All incentives.