SC Net Metering

The SC Net Metering governs how South Carolina 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. South Carolina averages 5.2 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 13.2¢/kWh, producing an estimated 9,110 kWh/year and $1,203 of annual utility offset on a typical 6 kW system costing $16,800. That baseline already implies a 14-year simple payback and a 25-year modeled net of roughly $13,275 before this incentive - every dollar this net metering delivers compresses that payback further.

A handful of other levers are worth checking alongside this one. South Carolina has 4 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE, including adjacent options like SC Solar Property Tax Exemption, SC Solar Energy Tax Credit. The state's net-metering policy is classified as partial, which governs how excess generation is credited and often decides whether a given program is worth claiming for a specific household.