State solar profile · #48 of 51

Solar in West Virginia: slow payback · modest sun

West Virginia's 19.4-yr modeled payback (#49 of 51) is on the slow side of the corpus; rates (12¢/kWh) and 2 programs decide whether sun (4.2 kWh/m²/day) still pays.

4.2
kWh/m²/day irradiance
12¢
avg electricity rate
19.4 yr
payback (#49)
2
incentive programs
18 Marginal
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EIA Form 860 nameplate strip

Nameplate WV · West Virginia score #48/51

West Virginia | 18/100 | 19.4 yr payback | 140 MW

  • STRIP 18/100
  • FORM860 #48/51
  • MW 4.2 kWh
  • SCORE 12c/kWh
  • RANK 19.4 yr
  • SUN 140 MW
  • RATE 2 programs
  • PAY near Michigan

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): 5.2 yr slower

Modeled 6 kW payback · West Virginia and nearest peers

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

years

What this shows West Virginia sits at 19.4 years among nearest payback peers (5.2 yr slower vs the 14.2-yr U.S. average).

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

Slow-band 25-year ROI · West Virginia

$17,100

system cost

$883/yr

modeled savings

19.4 yr

break-even

+$4,975

25-year net

Slow-band math: $17,100 in vs $883/yr out. Check net-metering (none) and program stack before treating the 25-year net as settled. Run a personalized estimate →

West Virginia's national sun-vs-payback seat

Irradiance 4.2 kWh/m²/day (below the 4.8 national mean) vs 19.4-yr payback (slow 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
West Virginia (highlighted): 4.2 kWh/m²/day, 19.4-yr modeled payback - slower than the national average.

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

Solar & grid details

Net-metering policy
none
Renewable portfolio standard
Mandatory (30% by 2030)
Installed cost / watt
$2.85/W
Annual production (6 kW)
7,358 kWh
Installed capacity (EIA 2024)
140 MW

Top incentive programs

2 programs available for West Virginia residents

Tax exemption WV Solar Property Tax Exemption · Property tax exemption Net metering WV Net Metering · Retail rate credit

All West Virginia solar incentives (2)

Tax exemption

WV Solar Property Tax Exemption

Property tax exemption

West Virginia exempts solar energy systems from property tax assessment.

 Net metering

WV Net Metering

Retail rate credit

West Virginia utilities offer net metering for systems up to 25 kW.

Slower-payback neighbors for West Virginia

Two non-geographic peer sets for West Virginia: 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 (18/100 here).

Similar modeled payback

Nearest payback-year peers nationwide (19.4 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.