utah is a state with abundant sunshine which makes rooftop solar panels a worthwhile investment for homeowners looking to produce clean energy and save on electricity bills see how utah solar incentives can help you save on your solar project including the federal tax credit a state tax credit worth 400 and solar battery benefits we at the guides home team have researched the top solar companies reviewed solar cost data and spoken with industry experts to determine solar costs in utah and ways to save read on to learn more about federal state and local solar incentives in the beehive state the federal solar tax credit officially called the investment tax credit itc allows you to deduct 30 of your solar system cost from your federal tax burden in other words you get a tax deduction of 300 for every 1000 invested in photovoltaic pv systems and other clean energy technologies you can claim the federal tax credit for the year you install a solar power system if your tax liability is not high enough to deduct the full incentive you can roll over the difference to the next year you can combine the federal tax credit with state tax credits and other local incentives to lower your installation costs which helps reduce your panel payback period the average cost of solar panels in utah is 278 per watt or 16680 for a 6 kilowatt kw system the below table summarizes typical solar costs for various system sizes including the cost before and after the federal tax credit while all utah residents can claim the federal tax credit the financial incentives available from the state government and utility companies are limited while the state offers a tax credit and solar battery incentive there are no utah solar rebates property tax exemptions or sales tax exemptions incentive value 25 of solar system costs or 400 whichever is less the renewable energy systems tax credit restc is the only solar power incentive the utah state government offers it is also available for wind turbines geothermal systems hydroelectric generators biomass systems and some renewable thermal technologies you can claim the restc for 25 of your solar project costs under the following limitations   you can claim 25 or up to 400 for solar pv systems whichever is less   you can claim 25 or up to 2000 for other renewable energy systems whichever is less if you considered a 6 kw solar panel system priced at 16680 an uncapped 25 tax credit would equal 4170 but you would only get 400 in this case which only covers 24 of your solar investment initially the restc had a higher limit per solar installation you could claim up to 1600 between 2017 and 2020 up to 1200 in 2021 and up to 800 in 2022 the benefit will no longer be available for home solar systems after dec 31 2023 you can find tax credit applications and a video outlining the process on the utah office of energy development’s website there is an application fee of 15 which must be paid by credit card if your application is approved you will receive a tc40e form to formally deduct the income tax credit the utah solar tax credit is more favorable if you’re considering solar panels for a commercial building while the rate is 10 instead of 25 the maximum amount you can receive is 50000 per solar project so a business owner who installs a 300 kw solar array worth 500000 would see the maximum tax credit of 50000 incentive value 400 per kilowatt of battery capacity upfront then 15 per kilowatt per year rocky mountain power is the largest electric company in utah serving 75 of the state’s territory customers who install solar panels with an energy storage system can utilize the wattsmart battery program which offers the following benefits   an upfront rebate of 400 per kilowatt of battery capacity covering up to 70 of equipment costs   an annual electric bill credit of 15 per kilowatt starting from the second year so for example a battery with a rated power output of 5 kw would qualify for 2000 upfront and 75 per year to participate in this rebate program you must install solar batteries approved by rocky mountain power utah introduced a state net metering policy for renewable energy systems in 2002 which also covers lithiumion batteries rocky mountain power offers net metering for residential solar energy systems up to 25 kw and nonresidential systems up to 2000 kw if you receive electricity from a smaller municipal utility or electric cooperative net metering availability may vary rocky mountain power has the largest net metering program in utah with net metering the company will pay you for the excess energy your panels generate in exchange for electricity bill credits the tariff rate or amount you receive for your energy production depends on the month you can roll unused credits over to the next month but unused balances expire once per year how to enroll in net metering your solar installer can help connect your system with the rocky mountain power grid and ensure your panels meet the company’s interconnection requirements once connected you can participate in net metering you must complete the following steps to interconnect your solar panel system with rocky mountain power and participate in net metering   submit the application and pay any corresponding fees and taxes   complete your solar installation and get an inspection from a local authority like your city or county electrical inspector   rocky mountain power will install a bidirectional power meter within 10 days after which you can generate solar electricity and participate in net metering this process generally takes 70 days including 30 days for installation and approval 30 days for inspection and 10 days to place the power meter local electricity prices in utah are among the lowest in the us at 1078 centskwh according to the us energy information administration solar panels are very productive due to the abundance of sunshine in utah but low electricity prices mean the savings per kilowatthour are not as high as in other states you can estimate the productivity of a solar power system using the global solar atlas you can zoom into your location and click on the map to display detailed information about solar resources look for the specific photovoltaic power output which is measured in kilowatthours produced per kilowatt of peak solar capacity kwhkwp   for example if you click on salt lake city you will find a solar productivity value of around 1600 kwhkwp   you can estimate the annual productivity of a solar power system by multiplying this value by your solar system size   so at 1600 kwhkwp a 5 kw system would produce around 8000 kwh per year while a 10 kw system would produce around 16000 kwh per year   considering an electricity price of 1078 centskwh a 5 kw system generating 8000 kwh per year can potentially save 862 in annual energy bills a 5 kw rooftop solar system costs around 13900 in utah when you subtract the 30 federal tax credit and the 400 state tax credit your outofpocket cost drops to around 9330 considering 862 in annual energy savings your payback period is around 108 years a payback period of 10 or more years may seem long but the best solar panels have a lifespan of around 25 years and come with a 25 to 30year warranty in other words the warrantycovered service life is more than double your payback period so you can recoup the cost of your system and continue to benefit from energy savings for a decade while utah does not have as many solar resources as states like california you can still take advantage of incentive programs to lower the cost of your home solar system local energy costs in utah are low compared to the rest of the us which means your solar payback period may be longer than in some other states however you can ensure a return on investment by purchasing highquality solar panels with a long warranty and using a professional solar installation company utah residents can claim a state tax credit worth 400 for residential pv systems up to 25 kw in size which you can combine with the 30 federal tax credit if you’re considering energy storage for your solar panel system you can also benefit from the rocky mountain power wattsmart battery program together these incentives can help lower your overall cost of going solar in utah leonardo david is an electromechanical engineer mba energy consultant and technical writer his energyefficiency and solar consulting experience covers sectors including banking textile manufacturing plastics processing pharmaceutics education food processing real estate and retail he has also been writing articles about energy and engineering topics since 2015 tori addison is an editor with over five years of experience in the digital marketing industry her includes communications and marketing work in the nonprofit governmental and academic sectors a journalist by trade she started her career covering politics and news in new york’s hudson valley her work included coverage of local and state budgets federal financial regulations and health care legislation