State solar profile · #5 of 51
Solar in Nevada: fast modeled payback
Nevada clears a modeled 11.9-yr break-even (#13 of 51) at 12.5¢/kWh and 6.2 kWh/m²/day, with 4 DSIRE programs in the stack.
- 6.2
- kWh/m²/day irradiance
- 12.5¢
- avg electricity rate
- 11.9 yr
- payback (#13)
- 4
- incentive programs
NREL/EIA solar strip
Nameplate NV · Nevada score #5/51
Nevada | 53/100 | 11.9 yr payback | 5.3 GW
- BOOK 53/100
- VS-AVG #5/51
- GW 6.2 kWh
- IRR 12.5c/kWh
- STRIP 11.9 yr
- FORM860 5.3 GW
- MW 4 programs
- SCORE near New Mexico
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 → · Net-metering guide → · Personalized estimate → · All state rows → · States ranked → · Payback vs U.S. avg (14.2 yr): 2.3 yr faster
Modeled 6 kW payback · Nevada and nearest peers
Shorter bars = faster simple payback on the NREL/EIA model
- NY
New York
11 years
- VT
Vermont
12 years
- TX
Texas
12 years
- NV
Nevada
12 years
- FL
Florida
12 years
- CO
Colorado
12 years
What this shows Nevada sits at 11.9 years among nearest payback peers (2.3 yr faster vs the 14.2-yr U.S. average).
Fast-band 25-year ROI · Nevada
$16,200
system cost
$1,358/yr
modeled savings
11.9 yr
break-even
+$17,750
25-year net
At $16,200 and $1,358/yr, Nevada is already in the faster third of modeled paybacks. Roof, shading, and tariff still move the real number. Run a personalized estimate →
Installed solar capacity in Nevada, 2007–2024
Total solar nameplate capacity in Nevada reported to the EIA, utility-scale and reported distributed systems. The number of reporting facilities grew 22x (3 to 66) between 2007 and 2024, and the average site size grew from 26 MW to 80 MW per site, a shift toward larger utility-scale installations.
Nevada on the sun-and-speed corner
Irradiance 6.2 kWh/m²/day (at/above the 4.8 national mean) vs 11.9-yr payback (fast band vs 14.2-yr mean). Crosshairs mark those means.
Solar & grid details
- Net-metering policy
- full
- Renewable portfolio standard
- Mandatory (50% by 2030)
- Installed cost / watt
- $2.70/W
- Annual production (6 kW)
- 10,862 kWh
- Installed capacity (EIA 2024)
- 5.3 GW
- Notable programs
- NV Energy Greenlink Rebate
Top incentive programs
4 programs available for Nevada residents
All Nevada solar incentives (4)
NV Renewable Energy Property Tax Exemption
Partial property tax abatement
Nevada provides property tax abatement for renewable energy systems.
Tax exemptionNV Renewable Energy Sales Tax Exemption
Sales tax exemption on equipment
Solar energy equipment purchased in Nevada is exempt from sales and use tax.
Net meteringNV Net Metering
Time-of-use rate credits
NV Energy provides net metering credits at applicable time-of-use rates.
RebateNV Energy Greenlink Rebate
Varies
NV Energy offers rebates for solar paired with battery storage.
Other fast-payback peers for Nevada
Two non-geographic peer sets for Nevada: composite score neighbors and payback-year neighbors (deduped so each row links a distinct comparison).
Similar composite solar score
Nearest nationwide matches on the NREL/EIA/DSIRE blend (53/100 here).
- New Mexico · score 57/100
- Texas · score 49/100
- Florida · score 47/100
- Arizona · score 61/100
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.