State analysis · source documents checked 2026-09-24
Solar payback in Florida (FL) — 2026
Florida's investor-owned-utility rule banks excess energy, but unused year-end credits are not paid at the retail price.
What decides the answer in Florida
Florida Administrative Code 25-6.065 (new February 11, 2002; amended April 7, 2008) sets the net-metering terms for investor-owned utilities. Under subsection (8)(e), a month's excess generation is credited to the next month's energy consumption. Under (8)(f), those credits offset usage for not more than twelve months, and at the end of each calendar year the utility pays for any unused credits at an average annual rate based on its COG-1 as-available energy tariff. Subsection (8)(g) applies the same COG-1-based rate when a customer leaves the system. So a kWh exported in a sunny month is worth the retail energy price if the household uses it up later in the year; only the calendar-year surplus drops to the COG-1 rate. Subsection (8)(h) keeps the customer charge and any demand charge payable, whatever is exported. [1] [2]
The rule also answers the interconnection questions for a typical rooftop system. Subsection (2)(b) rates an inverter system at its DC nameplate multiplied by 0.85, so the 7 kW DC array modeled here is about 5.95 kW, inside Tier 1 (10 kW or less) in (4)(a), provided it is not above 90% of the home's service rating. For Tier 1, (4)(e) bars fees beyond those charged to customers without self-generation, including application fees; (5)(e) says the utility shall not require liability insurance; and (6)(a) exempts inverter-based Tier 1 systems from a utility-required manual disconnect switch unless the utility pays for it. The rule covers investor-owned utilities only. Municipal and cooperative utilities set their own terms, which are not reviewed here. [2]
What a year-end surplus earns depends on the utility. FPL's COG-1 schedule (Fourth Revised Sheet No. 10.100, effective January 1, 2022) prints no single cents-per-kWh price: it buys as-available energy at a cost based on FPL's actual hourly avoided energy costs, and Sheet No. 10.101 (effective January 1, 2026) says FPL will give a non-binding estimate within thirty days of a written request. FPL's net-metering provision (Eighteenth Revised Sheet No. 10.010, effective January 1, 2026) applies the COG-1-based average annual rate to unused year-end kWh as a credit on the next month's bill, and pays it when an account closes. It also bills the greater of the rate schedule's minimum charge or the base charge plus any demand charge; residential schedule RS-1 (Sheet No. 8.201, effective January 1, 2026) lists a 10.52-dollar base charge and a 30-dollar monthly minimum. Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric COG-1 sheets were not retrieved here, so their surplus rates remain unknown. [3] [4] [5] [6]
The lower-export row below is a stress test, not a COG-1 figure: its 5 cents/kWh is an arbitrary assumed value. It applies that value to the half of production not used on site: 5,689.73 kWh in year one, and the same half share of degraded production after that. Under (8)(e)–(f) that matches a household whose annual use is about half of what the array makes, so the whole export becomes calendar-year surplus. A household whose annual use matches production would instead carry most exports forward at the retail energy price. Production itself is the site's heuristic, 7 kW × 5.71 kWh/m²/day × 365 × 0.78 = 11,379.46 kWh. The same PVWatts v8 request that supplies the sunlight input (published in /data/state-insolation-pvwatts.json) reports 1,556.8 kWh per kW, or 10,897.60 kWh for 7 kW, so for Florida the heuristic runs 4.4% above PVWatts' own output. Recomputed on the PVWatts figure with the same model, the retail-value benchmark payback lengthens from 12.10 to 12.56 years. [2]
Two Florida statutes lower the taxes on the system itself. Neither is a cash payment, and neither changes the payback figures on this page. Section 212.08(7)(hh) of the 2026 Florida Statutes reads: “Also exempt are solar energy systems or any component thereof”, and the Florida Solar Energy Center certifies to the Department of Revenue the list of equipment that qualifies. The 3.20-dollar-per-watt installed cost used here is a round planning figure that neither adds nor removes sales tax, so if a Florida quote charges sales tax on the solar equipment, ask the installer why. Section 193.624(2)(a) says that for residential property “the just value of the property attributable to a renewable energy source device may not be considered” in the assessed value; the section's definition names photovoltaic modules and inverters, and subsection (3) applies it to devices installed on or after January 1, 2013 on new and existing homes. A note to the section says the 2017 amendments to subsections (2) and (3) expire on December 31, 2037; the residential text that returns then still leaves out the increase in just value attributable to installing the device. [7] [8]
How Florida pays for an exported kilowatt-hour
Net metering, subject to eligible charges and surplus settlement. Retail netting under 25-6.065 covers energy used within a twelve-month credit window. It does not cover customer, demand or minimum charges, or a persistent calendar-year surplus, which settles at a COG-1-based rate. A 25-year constant-price scenario is a sensitivity assumption, not a promise about future regulation.
Document: Final adopted rule 5455200 (register page; its title omits the word Net). Effective/source period: April 7, 2008.
Applies to: Customer-owned renewable generation interconnected to investor-owned utilities. Relevant passage: “History–New 2-11-02, Amended 4-7-08.”.
Florida 25-6.065 adopted text — Monthly kWh carryforward for up to twelve months, year-end and exit settlement at a COG-1-based rate, the customer and demand charges that netting does not remove, the tier boundaries, the 0.85 DC-to-AC rating rule, no extra Tier 1 fees, no required liability insurance for Tier 1 and the disconnect-switch exemption.
Document: 25-6.065 Interconnection and Net Metering of Customer-Owned Renewable Generation (a single Word file with no internal links). The claims above rely on subsections (2)(b), (4)(a), (4)(e), (5)(e), (6)(a) and (8)(e)–(h); the passage quotes (4)(e), (5)(e), (8)(f) and (8)(h), in that order, with gaps marked …. Effective/source period: April 7, 2008.
Applies to: Eligible investor-owned-utility customer generators, with Tier 1 meaning a gross power rating of 10 kW AC or less; not municipal or cooperative utilities. Relevant passage: “Tier 1 customers who request interconnection of customer-owned renewable generation shall not be charged fees in addition to those charged to other retail customers without self-generation, including application fees. … The investor-owned utility shall not require liability insurance for Tier 1. … At the end of each calendar year, the investor-owned utility shall pay the customer for any unused energy credits at an average annual rate based on the investor-owned utility’s COG-1, as-available energy tariff. … Regardless of whether excess energy is delivered to the investor-owned utility’s electric grid, the customer shall continue to pay the applicable customer charge and applicable demand charge for the maximum measured demand during the billing period.”.
Document: Eighteenth Revised Sheet No. 10.010, Contract Provisions - Various: Net Metering of Customer-Owned Renewable Generation. Effective/source period: January 1, 2026.
Applies to: FPL customers with an executed Interconnection Agreement for Customer-Owned Renewable Generation, up to 2 MW. Relevant passage: “In the last billing cycle month of each calendar year, any unused credits for excess kWh generated will be credited to the next month’s billing cycle using the average annual rate based on the Company’s COG-1, As-Available Energy Tariff.”.
Applies to: Qualifying facilities selling as-available energy to FPL. Relevant passage: “As-Available Energy is purchased at a unit cost, in cents per kilowatt-hour, based on the Company's actual hourly avoided energy costs”.
Applies to: Qualifying facilities under COG-1. Relevant passage: “FPL will provide its most recent non-binding estimate of future AS-Available avoided cost projections within thirty days of a written request.”.
Document: 2026 Florida Statutes, section 212.08(7)(hh), Solar energy systems. Effective/source period: 2026 Florida Statutes as published by the Legislature; retrieved September 24, 2026.
Applies to: Purchasers of solar energy systems or components on the Florida Solar Energy Center's certified list. Relevant passage: “Also exempt are solar energy systems or any component thereof. The Florida Solar Energy Center shall from time to time certify to the department a list of equipment and requisite hardware considered to be a solar energy system or a component thereof.”.
Florida Statutes 193.624 — Residential property-assessment exclusion, the equipment it covers, its start date and the 2037 reversion.
Document: 2026 Florida Statutes, section 193.624, Assessment of renewable energy source devices, subsections (1)(a), (2)(a) and (3), with the section note on the 2037 expiry. Effective/source period: Applies to residential devices installed on or after January 1, 2013; 2017 amendments to (2) and (3) expire December 31, 2037.
Applies to: New and existing residential real property with a renewable energy source device. Relevant passage: “For residential purposes, the just value of the property attributable to a renewable energy source device may not be considered.”.
“Source documents checked 2026-09-24” means each linked document was retrieved on that date and the passage quoted under it is the text the claims in this section rely on. The date covers only those claims. It is not a household eligibility decision or a guarantee that a tariff is still current, so check the linked live documents before signing a contract, and report corrections via the contact page.
Common retail-value benchmark — not a household forecast
No incentives; every modeled kWh is valued at the historical state-average retail price. The household scenarios below separate assumed import/export prices, consumption share, cash cost and receipt timing.
How Florida compares with the other 50 records in this dataset
Measure
Florida
Dataset median
Rank of 51
Avg residential rate
14.14¢/kWh
14.91¢/kWh
33rd highest
NSRDB daily sunlight (one location per state)
5.7 kWh/m²/day
4.9 kWh/m²/day
6th highest
Retail benchmark payback
12.1 years
13.0 years
21st fastest on this benchmark
Household scenarios below (range)
12.1 years to 16.8 years
—
Not ranked across states
The rank compares every state on the same full-retail basis; it is a benchmark, not a forecast for a new Florida customer. The household scenarios below, each with its own stated import price, export credit, cost and incentive timing, give 12.1 years to 16.8 years.
Rate: Calendar year 2024 annual average, from the EIA. Sunlight is NSRDB data via NLR PVWatts v8 at each state's 2020 Census center of population, one location per state (request settings and the values PVWatts returned are in state-insolation-pvwatts.json). Ranks and medians are computed across the 50 states and DC in this dataset. Every input behind the payback figure is printed in the assumptions block below, and the full 51-row table is at /states.
Reproduce the Florida household comparisons
These are hypothetical households, not customer results or offers. All start from an assumed 7 kW array producing 11379.46 kWh in year one; any row that changes production (a battery or a production-stress row) says so. The sunlight input is NSRDB data via PVWatts v8 for one location per state (request and response in state-insolation-pvwatts.json; see the methodology), not a production estimate for your roof. No federal credit is applied. No loan, income-tax effect on incentive revenue, battery replacement or future tariff change is modeled.
The benchmark row prices every kWh at the EIA average cited above. Where another row applies a published figure (for example a tariff or rider rate or charge, a program incentive rate, a statutory fee schedule, or a tax credit's rate, cap or carryforward period), that figure comes from a document in the sources list above. Every other price, consumption share, cost, fee, receipt date and amount of tax a household can use in a year is assumed. Eligibility remains conditional. The annual split does not reproduce monthly netting, time-of-use periods, credit caps, curtailment or minimum bills. Annual fees represent incremental solar costs, not charges you would pay with or without solar.
Production degrades by assumed 0.5% per year. The main result increases both import and export prices by assumed 3% per year; the flat-price column sets that to zero. Neither escalation is a tariff forecast. Fixed fees and scheduled receipts do not escalate. Energy savings accrue uniformly within a year for interpolation; incentives arrive only at year end.
Modeled results, not guarantees. No break-even means no crossing inside 25 years, not a calculated date beyond year 25.
Scenario
Initial cash cost
Year 1 energy value
Year 1 net cash incl. receipts
Payback
Flat-price payback
25-year net cash after cost
Common retail-value benchmark — no incentives
$22,400.00
$1,609.06
$1,609.06
12.1 years
14.4 years
Modeled $32,455.08
Hypothetical household — no incentives
$22,400.00
$1,609.06
$1,609.06
12.1 years
14.4 years
Modeled $32,455.08
Illustrative higher cash price — no incentives
$26,880.00
$1,609.06
$1,609.06
14.1 years
17.4 years
Modeled $27,975.08
Lower export value: assumed annual surplus equal to 50% of production at 5 cents (arbitrary stress value) — no incentives
$22,400.00
$1,089.01
$1,089.01
16.8 years
21.7 years
Modeled $14,726.11
Inputs, receipts and annual arithmetic: Common retail-value benchmark — no incentives
Historical state-average import value for ALL production; only a comparison, not an address-specific tariff.
Assumed initial cash cost $22,400.00, not reduced by any upfront credit or rebate; any receipt is listed below and arrives at year end. Import 14.140¢/kWh; export 14.140¢/kWh; self-use 100%; incremental fixed annual cost $0.00.
Year-one modeled energy value = 11379.46 × [(100/100 × 14.14/100) + ((1 − 100/100) × 14.14/100)] = $1,609.06. Subtract the annual fixed cost and add only that year's receipts for net cash. Display rounds cents; the downloadable calculation retains full precision.
Incentive basis: None; no eligibility or benefit assumed. Modeled total receipts inside 25 years: $0.00. These are not subtracted from initial cash cost.
The exact input fields and all 25 modelled years for this row are in the JSON download above.
Inputs, receipts and annual arithmetic: Hypothetical household — no incentives
Usage price assumed equal to the 14.14-cent EIA 2024 Florida average that the benchmark row uses, not an FPL, Duke Energy Florida or Tampa Electric bill price. Import equals export because Rule 25-6.065(8)(e)–(f) credits a month's excess generation to later energy consumption for up to twelve months and pays the COG-1-based rate only on credits unused at the end of the calendar year, so for a household whose annual use at least matches production the 50% self-use figure has no effect and this row gives the same result as the benchmark. The lower-export row below tests a calendar-year surplus instead.
Assumed initial cash cost $22,400.00, not reduced by any upfront credit or rebate; any receipt is listed below and arrives at year end. Import 14.140¢/kWh; export 14.140¢/kWh; self-use 50%; incremental fixed annual cost $0.00.
Year-one modeled energy value = 11379.46 × [(50/100 × 14.14/100) + ((1 − 50/100) × 14.14/100)] = $1,609.06. Subtract the annual fixed cost and add only that year's receipts for net cash. Display rounds cents; the downloadable calculation retains full precision.
Incentive basis: None; no eligibility or benefit assumed. Modeled total receipts inside 25 years: $0.00. These are not subtracted from initial cash cost.
The exact input fields and all 25 modelled years for this row are in the JSON download above.
Inputs, receipts and annual arithmetic: Illustrative higher cash price — no incentives
Same production, prices, consumption share and fees, but cash cost is 20% higher; not a market-price estimate.
Assumed initial cash cost $26,880.00, not reduced by any upfront credit or rebate; any receipt is listed below and arrives at year end. Import 14.140¢/kWh; export 14.140¢/kWh; self-use 50%; incremental fixed annual cost $0.00.
Year-one modeled energy value = 11379.46 × [(50/100 × 14.14/100) + ((1 − 50/100) × 14.14/100)] = $1,609.06. Subtract the annual fixed cost and add only that year's receipts for net cash. Display rounds cents; the downloadable calculation retains full precision.
Incentive basis: None; no eligibility or benefit assumed. Modeled total receipts inside 25 years: $0.00. These are not subtracted from initial cash cost.
The exact input fields and all 25 modelled years for this row are in the JSON download above.
Inputs, receipts and annual arithmetic: Lower export value: assumed annual surplus equal to 50% of production at 5 cents (arbitrary stress value) — no incentives
Stress test, not a COG-1 price: the 5 cents/kWh is an arbitrary assumed value, and no utility's calendar-year surplus rate is modeled. It is applied to the 50% of production not used on site (5689.73 kWh in year one), which describes a household whose annual use is only about half of what the array produces, so that every export is left over at the end of the calendar year. A household whose annual use matches production would instead carry most exports forward at the retail energy price, as in the hypothetical household row. This annual model does not reproduce the monthly carry-forward.
Assumed initial cash cost $22,400.00, not reduced by any upfront credit or rebate; any receipt is listed below and arrives at year end. Import 14.140¢/kWh; export 5.000¢/kWh; self-use 50%; incremental fixed annual cost $0.00.
Year-one modeled energy value = 11379.46 × [(50/100 × 14.14/100) + ((1 − 50/100) × 5/100)] = $1,089.01. Subtract the annual fixed cost and add only that year's receipts for net cash. Display rounds cents; the downloadable calculation retains full precision.
Incentive basis: None; no eligibility or benefit assumed. Modeled total receipts inside 25 years: $0.00. These are not subtracted from initial cash cost.
The exact input fields and all 25 modelled years for this row are in the JSON download above.
Formula and modeling limitations · Use the editable calculator below to test your own cash price and energy split. It cannot confirm utility enrollment or tax eligibility.
Assumptions behind the Florida retail-value benchmark
A common full-retail comparison, not an address-specific forecast. Size alone does not change payback when cash cost and production both scale proportionally. Use the worksheet to vary cash price, production, self-consumption, export value and recurring costs.
System modeled
7 kW DC
Assumed installed cost
$22,400 (assumed $3.20/W DC)
Annual production, year 1
11,379 kWh
Production basis
NSRDB daily sunlight on a 20° south-facing panel at Florida's 2020 Census population center (5.71 kWh/m²/day, via PVWatts v8). Annual production = system kW × this input × 365 × assumed performance ratio. PVWatts' own modelled AC output for the same request is 1,556.8 kWh per kW, or 10,898 kWh for 7 kW, so this shortcut runs 4.4% above it; on the PVWatts figure the benchmark payback would be 12.6 years.
Performance ratio (system losses)
0.78
EIA state-average retail rate
14.14¢/kWh — Calendar year 2024 annual average
Panel degradation
0.5%/yr
Assumed electricity price escalation
3.0%/yr, not a forecast
Model horizon
25 years
Federal tax credit applied
None included in this benchmark
State or utility incentives applied
None deducted in this benchmark. Where a household scenario above applies a published tariff rate or a conditional receipt, its row says so; this benchmark applies none of them
Assumed value of all production
Full retail rate, including exports; not a utility tariff lookup
Recurring operating costs applied
None in this benchmark; editable in worksheet
How the payback figure reconciles
Modelled $22,400 ÷ modelled $1,609 of year-one savings = 13.9 years — the straight division, if electricity prices never move and the panels never age.
With 0.5%/yr degradation and prices held flat: 14.4 years.
With the same degradation and electricity prices rising 3.0%/yr: 12.1 years — the retail-value benchmark, not a household forecast.
Production stress test, same assumed prices: 20% less production (shading, a poorer roof angle) gives 14.6 years; 20% more production gives 10.3 years. This is a what-if range, not a confidence interval.
These price-growth rates are assumptions, not forecasts of your utility's tariff. None of these cases models financing, taxes, battery dispatch or actual utility settlement. No crossing within 25 years does not establish a crossing later. Full wording on the methodology.
Solar cash-flow worksheet
Compare assumed cash flows, not an address-specific forecast. No tariff, roof or incentive eligibility is looked up. Your worksheet entries are calculated in this browser; the worksheet does not send them anywhere or save them between visits. The site also loads Google advertising code; the privacy page explains what that code may collect and your choices.
Starting retail rate: 14.14¢/kWh — Calendar year 2024 annual average (Florida), from EIA Table 2.10. It is not your current tariff. All cost, export, usage, escalation and incentive entries are assumptions.
With no incentives or recurring costs, fixed cost/W and proportional generation mean that increasing size scales cost and savings equally: payback years cancel out. Unedited price and production follow that rule here. Once you edit either, it stays fixed when size changes; update it deliberately. Different cash prices, shading/production and export shares can change payback.
Optional assumed cash incentives — zero by default
No federal, state or utility incentive is inferred. Check eligibility and actual receipt timing. Recurring and delayed incentives arrive at year end; do not enter the same benefit in multiple fields. Operating cash is approximated uniformly within each year.
Your entered scenario — modelled, not a quote
Modelled installed cash price
$22,400
Modelled initial outlay after upfront rebate
$22,400
Modelled year-one net cash, including receipts/costs
$1,609
Modelled first cash-flow break-even
12.1 years
Modelled 25-year net cash after initial outlay
$32,455
Modelled production in year one
11,379 kWh
Modelled year-one energy value before costs/incentives: $1,609.
No break-even inside 25 years means the model never crosses within its horizon; it does not predict a later crossing. This is undiscounted cash flow, not investment return. A first crossing can reverse if later operating costs exceed cash benefits. Financing, taxes, changing export rules, time-of-use settlement, credit expiry and battery dispatch are not simulated.
Assumed price-escalation sensitivity
Same entered inputs, degradation and nominal fixed costs; only import/export price escalation changes. These are scenarios, not forecasts.
0%/year: 14.4 years
3%/year: 12.1 years
6%/year: 10.6 years
Separate common retail-value benchmark
This comparison uses 7 kW, assumed $3.20/W, production from the state's one-location NSRDB sunlight input and 14.14¢/kWh (Calendar year 2024 annual average) for every kWh. It ignores your entered cash price, production, tariff, costs and incentives; assumes 0.5% degradation and 3% escalation. It is not an address forecast.
Benchmark assumed cash price
$22,400
Benchmark modelled year-one value
$1,609
Benchmark modelled break-even
12.1 years
Reproduce the 25-year modelled cash flows for your entered scenario
Annual cash = degraded production × weighted import/export price × price-escalation factor − annual fixed cost + eligible year-end receipts. Cumulative cash starts at negative initial outlay. Incentives after year 25 are excluded.
Use your utility tariff and a site-specific production assessment to refine inputs. Methodology and limitations.
Estimate only. State comparisons are common retail-value benchmarks, not forecasts for your roof. Custom scenarios depend on the cash price, production, import/export prices, self-consumption and other assumptions entered. They are not quotes or guarantees. Listed incentives do not establish eligibility or a payment date. The Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D, the 30% federal tax credit) expired for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Verify all numbers with a licensed installer and your utility before making a purchase decision. See full disclaimer.
Compare every state
Florida is one of 17 jurisdictions with a written analysis on this site: 16 states and the District of Columbia. The rate, sunlight, modeled payback and recorded incentives for all 50 states and DC — including those without a page — are in one sortable table.