State solar profile · #32 of 51

Solar in Alabama: mid payback · strong sun

Alabama sits in the middle of the payback pack at 14.4 yr (#25), so irradiance (4.9 kWh/m²/day) and the 1 tracked programs matter more than ranking alone.

4.9
kWh/m²/day irradiance
13.8¢
avg electricity rate
14.4 yr
payback (#25)
1
incentive programs
24 Marginal
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EIA Form 860 nameplate strip

Nameplate AL · Alabama score #32/51

Alabama | 24/100 | 14.4 yr payback | 666 MW

  • RATE 24/100
  • PAY #32/51
  • CAP 4.9 kWh
  • PROG 13.8c/kWh
  • NEM 14.4 yr
  • PHOTO 666 MW
  • BOOK 1 programs
  • VS-AVG near Arkansas

Stamps derive from this state's NREL irradiance, EIA Form 860 / Electric Power Monthly nameplate, and DSIRE incentive row (score, rank, sun, rate, payback, capacity, programs, peer), not a quote or site assessment. Modeled figures use a typical 6 kW system; your roof, shading, and utility tariff decide the real return. See our disclaimer. Verify with EIA Form 860 → · Read with methodology → · ROI calculator guide → · Personalized estimate → · All state rows → · States ranked → · Payback vs U.S. avg (14.2 yr): 0.2 yr slower

Modeled 6 kW payback · Alabama and nearest peers

Shorter bars = faster simple payback on the NREL/EIA model

years

What this shows Alabama sits at 14.4 years among nearest payback peers (0.2 yr slower vs the 14.2-yr U.S. average).

Source PlainSolarData model · NREL irradiance + EIA rates As of 2024

Mid-pack 25-year ROI · Alabama

$17,100

system cost

$1,185/yr

modeled savings

14.4 yr

break-even

+$12,525

25-year net

Mid-band math for Alabama: $17,100 system cost vs $1,185/yr savings. Incentive stacking usually decides the edge case. Run a personalized estimate →

Installed solar capacity in Alabama, 2016–2024

Total solar nameplate capacity in Alabama reported to the EIA, utility-scale and reported distributed systems. The number of reporting facilities grew 11x (1 to 11) between 2016 and 2024, and the average site size held near 61 MW per site, a steady installation profile.

0 MW200 MW400 MW600 MW800 MW 201620172018201920202021202220232024 666 MW
Alabama now has about 666 MW of installed solar capacity across 11 reported facilities.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, installed solar nameplate capacity As of 2024

The national sun-and-payback picture for Alabama

Irradiance 4.9 kWh/m²/day (at/above the 4.8 national mean) vs 14.4-yr payback (mid band vs 14.2-yr mean). Crosshairs mark those means.

Modest sun · fast payback (high rates)Sun + speedModest sun · slowSunny but slow (cheap power)3.24.15.05.86.74.1 yr10.0 yr15.9 yr21.8 yr27.7 yrSolar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →← Faster payback (years)HI, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.9 · ← Faster payback (years): 5.2 yrCA, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.8 · ← Faster payback (years): 6.3 yrAZ, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 6.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 10.3 yrNM, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 6.4 · ← Faster payback (years): 10.3 yrNV, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 6.2 · ← Faster payback (years): 11.9 yrTX, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.7 · ← Faster payback (years): 11.8 yrFL, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.6 · ← Faster payback (years): 12 yrCO, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 12.3 yrCT, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.1 · ← Faster payback (years): 8.9 yrMA, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.2 · ← Faster payback (years): 9.2 yrUT, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.9 · ← Faster payback (years): 14.5 yrNY, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.4 · ← Faster payback (years): 11.1 yrRI, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.2 · ← Faster payback (years): 9.7 yrME, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.3 · ← Faster payback (years): 9.3 yrNH, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.2 · ← Faster payback (years): 9.8 yrNJ, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 12.8 yrSC, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.2 · ← Faster payback (years): 14 yrNC, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.2 · ← Faster payback (years): 14.4 yrKS, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.2 · ← Faster payback (years): 13.7 yrDC, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.4 · ← Faster payback (years): 13 yrGA, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.3 · ← Faster payback (years): 14.5 yrVT, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.1 · ← Faster payback (years): 11.5 yrMD, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 14.3 yrMT, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5 · ← Faster payback (years): 16.3 yrOK, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.3 · ← Faster payback (years): 15.5 yrIL, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.3 · ← Faster payback (years): 14 yrWY, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 15.3 yrLA, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5.1 · ← Faster payback (years): 17.8 yrVA, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.8 · ← Faster payback (years): 15 yrMN, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.4 · ← Faster payback (years): 15.9 yrTN, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.9 · ← Faster payback (years): 16.7 yrAL, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.9 · ← Faster payback (years): 14.4 yrAR, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.8 · ← Faster payback (years): 17.2 yrDE, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 15.4 yrMO, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.8 · ← Faster payback (years): 15.6 yrND, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.8 · ← Faster payback (years): 18.2 yrOR, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 16.9 yrPA, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.3 · ← Faster payback (years): 14.2 yrWI, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.3 · ← Faster payback (years): 14.2 yrMS, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5 · ← Faster payback (years): 15.7 yrNE, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5 · ← Faster payback (years): 16.4 yrSD, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 5 · ← Faster payback (years): 17.1 yrIA, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 16.7 yrKY, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 17.7 yrID, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.7 · ← Faster payback (years): 20 yrMI, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4 · ← Faster payback (years): 14.4 yrOH, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.2 · ← Faster payback (years): 16.3 yrWV, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.2 · ← Faster payback (years): 19.4 yrIN, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 4.4 · ← Faster payback (years): 15.8 yrWA, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 3.5 · ← Faster payback (years): 26.6 yrAK, Solar irradiance (kWh/m²/day) →: 3.4 · ← Faster payback (years): 17 yr
Alabama (highlighted): 4.9 kWh/m²/day, 14.4-yr modeled payback - slower than the national average.

Source: PlainSolarData model, NREL irradiance + EIA rates As of 2024

Alabama vs the national payback spread

Alabama's 14.4-yr modeled break-even sits near the 14.2-yr national average, banded here in 2-year steps.

Alabama's spot in the national payback spread

Every tracked state, banded by modeled 6 kW break-even (2-yr steps).

14 Around the middle faster than 49% of 51 states

all tracked states, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainSolarData model, NREL irradiance + EIA rates · 2024

Solar & grid details

Net-metering policy
partial
Renewable portfolio standard
Voluntary (4% by 2025)
Installed cost / watt
$2.85/W
Annual production (6 kW)
8,585 kWh
Installed capacity (EIA 2024)
666 MW

Top incentive programs

1 tracked program for Alabama residents

Partial program list. PlainSolarData's list for Alabama is short or incomplete (1 tracked program; no net-metering entry although its net metering is classed partial). Other programs may exist; check DSIRE and your utility. The solar score's incentive component counts the programs tracked here, so this state's score may understate its incentives.

Performance incentive TVA Green Power Providers · Premium payment per kWh

All Alabama solar incentives (1)

Performance incentive

TVA Green Power Providers

Premium payment per kWh

TVA purchases excess solar generation at a premium rate for residential systems.

Score and payback neighbors for Alabama

Two non-geographic peer sets for Alabama: composite score neighbors and payback-year neighbors (deduped so each row links a distinct comparison).

States near this composite solar score

Nearest nationwide matches on the NREL/EIA/DSIRE blend (24/100 here).

Similar modeled payback

Nearest payback-year peers nationwide (14.4 yr modeled here).

Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published composite scores and modeled 6 kW payback years; rankings above use the same fields but sort the full corpus.

Solar resource from NREL; electricity rates and installed capacity from the U.S. EIA; incentive programs from DSIRE. See our methodology.

Compiled from official public sources by the publisher.