Kentucky · Net metering · Mid-stack program
KY Net Metering
Sets the billing terms for excess solar generation sent back to the grid by residential customers in Kentucky -- see the credit rate and how it shapes payback below.
- Avoided cost rate
- stated benefit
- Residential
- eligible customers
- 17.7 yr
- Kentucky baseline payback
- 2
- other Kentucky programs
Mid-stack program · mid directory
Kentucky stacks 3 tracked programs; this net metering sits beside peer levers on a 17.7-year modeled baseline.
- Stack3 programs
- In-state #1/2
- Type #14/46
- Baseline17.7 yr
In-state directory place #1 of 2 (mid alphabet). National net metering directory #14 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
Kentucky provides net metering at avoided cost rate for systems up to 30 kW.
Program at a glance
- Program type
- Net metering
- Eligible customers
- Residential
- Stated benefit
- Avoided cost rate
- State electricity rate
- 11.8¢/kWh
- Kentucky solar score
- 21/100
Solar's trajectory in Kentucky
The market this incentive operates in: total installed solar capacity in Kentucky reported to the EIA.
Kentucky's solar incentive stack
How this net metering sits among Kentucky's 2 tracked programs, by type
- Net metering
Net metering
1 programs
- Tax credit
Tax credit
1 programs
What this shows Kentucky tracks 2 incentive types; net metering (1 program) governs the billing side, while the state's other tracked types handle upfront cost or ongoing payments.
Where this net metering sits in Kentucky's mid-size stack
The KY Net Metering governs how Kentucky 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 Avoided cost rate. 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. Kentucky averages 4.5 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 11.8¢/kWh, producing an estimated 7,884 kWh/year and $930 of annual utility offset on a typical 6 kW system costing $16,500. That baseline already implies a 17.7-year simple payback and a 25-year modeled net of roughly $6,750 before this incentive - every dollar this net metering delivers compresses that payback further.
A handful of other levers are worth checking alongside this one. Kentucky has 3 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE, including adjacent options like KY Renewable Energy Tax Credit. 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.
Other Kentucky incentives
Frequently asked questions
What is the KY Net Metering among Kentucky's mid-size programs?
How does the KY Net Metering work?
Who is eligible for the KY Net Metering?
How does this incentive affect solar ROI in Kentucky?
Are there other solar incentives in Kentucky?
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 · Kentucky solar data · ROI calculator · All incentives.