State solar profile · #17 of 51
Solar in South Carolina: mid payback · strong sun
South Carolina sits in the middle of the payback pack at 14 yr (#19), so irradiance (5.2 kWh/m²/day) and the 3 tracked programs matter more than ranking alone.
- 5.2
- kWh/m²/day irradiance
- 13.2¢
- avg electricity rate
- 14 yr
- payback (#19)
- 3
- incentive programs
State solar nameplate strip
Nameplate SC · South Carolina score #17/51
South Carolina | 34/100 | 14 yr payback | 1.6 GW
- CAP 34/100
- PROG #17/51
- NEM 5.2 kWh
- PHOTO 13.2c/kWh
- BOOK 14 yr
- VS-AVG 1.6 GW
- GW 3 programs
- IRR near New Hampshire
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 → · Tax credits and incentives → · Personalized estimate → · All state rows → · States ranked → · Payback vs U.S. avg (14.2 yr): 0.2 yr faster
Modeled 6 kW payback · South Carolina and nearest peers
Shorter bars = faster simple payback on the NREL/EIA model
- KS
Kansas
14 years
- SC
South Carolina
14 years
- IL
Illinois
14 years
- PA
Pennsylvania
14 years
- WI
Wisconsin
14 years
- MD
Maryland
14 years
What this shows South Carolina sits at 14 years among nearest payback peers (0.2 yr faster vs the 14.2-yr U.S. average).
Mid-pack 25-year ROI · South Carolina
$16,800
system cost
$1,203/yr
modeled savings
14 yr
break-even
+$13,275
25-year net
Mid-band math for South Carolina: $16,800 system cost vs $1,203/yr savings. Incentive stacking usually decides the edge case. Run a personalized estimate →
Installed solar capacity in South Carolina, 2013–2024
Total solar nameplate capacity in South Carolina reported to the EIA, utility-scale and reported distributed systems. The number of reporting facilities grew 121x (1 to 121) between 2013 and 2024, and the average site size grew from 3 MW to 14 MW per site, a shift toward larger utility-scale installations.
South Carolina's national sun-vs-payback seat
Irradiance 5.2 kWh/m²/day (at/above the 4.8 national mean) vs 14-yr payback (mid band vs 14.2-yr mean). Crosshairs mark those means.
Solar & grid details
- Net-metering policy
- partial
- Renewable portfolio standard
- Voluntary (2% by 2021)
- Installed cost / watt
- $2.80/W
- Annual production (6 kW)
- 9,110 kWh
- Installed capacity (EIA 2024)
- 1.6 GW
- Notable programs
- Dominion SC Solar Program
Top incentive programs
3 programs available for South Carolina residents
All South Carolina solar incentives (3)
SC Solar Property Tax Exemption
Property tax exemption
South Carolina exempts solar energy systems from property tax assessment.
Net meteringSC Net Metering
Retail rate credit
South Carolina utilities offer net metering for systems up to 20 kW.
Tax creditSC Solar Energy Tax Credit
25% of cost, max $3,500/year
South Carolina income tax credit of 25% of installed solar cost, up to $3,500 per year.
Score and payback neighbors for South Carolina
Two non-geographic peer sets for South Carolina: 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 (34/100 here).
- New Hampshire · score 34/100
- New Jersey · score 34/100
- North Carolina · score 33/100
- District of Columbia · score 32/100
Similar modeled payback
Nearest payback-year peers nationwide (14 yr modeled here).
- Illinois · 14 yr payback
- Pennsylvania · 14.2 yr payback
- Wisconsin · 14.2 yr payback
- Kansas · 13.7 yr payback
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.