Solar Panels in Louisiana (2026)

How Does Louisiana’s Net Metering Policy Affect Your Solar ROI?

It lowers it. In September 2019 the Louisiana Public Service Commission voted to end one-for-one net metering for new customers, replacing it with credit at the utility’s avoided cost, which is well below the retail rate you pay to buy power.

Under that order, solar you use while it is being produced still offsets retail-rate purchases. Surplus power sent to the grid is credited at avoided cost, roughly what the utility would pay to generate or buy that power. Solar Power World’s report on the vote put the avoided-cost credit at about 3 cents per kWh at the time, versus about 10 cents under the old arrangement. Customers who were already net metering were grandfathered for 15 years. Entergy Louisiana, Cleco, SWEPCO and cooperatives apply the rules through their own tariffs, and each publishes its own current avoided-cost rate.

Two exceptions matter. Residents of the City of New Orleans are not covered by the PSC’s order because Entergy New Orleans is regulated by the City Council, so confirm which rules apply to your address. Also, residential systems are capped by utility rules, so ask your installer about size limits.

Our model reflects the policy with a bill-offset factor of 0.55. That assumes about 40% of a system’s output is used on site at the retail rate and the remaining 60% is exported at roughly 3 cents (0.40 + 0.60 × 0.03 ÷ 0.1244 ≈ 0.54). The factor is an assumption, not a measured value, so we show how sensitive the result is to it below. Year-one savings at each factor: about $754 at 0.45, $922 at 0.55, $1,173 at 0.70 and $1,458 at 0.87.

Chart summary: Year-one savings range from about $754 at a 0.45 offset factor to about $1,458 at 0.87, which moves payback from roughly 30 years to roughly 15 years. Moving from mostly-exported solar to a strong daytime load cuts payback by about ten years. How much of your output you use as it is produced matters nearly as much as the price you pay for the system.

The practical takeaways:

• Size to daytime use, not annual kWh. Oversizing mostly adds low-value exports.
• Shift loads to daylight where you can: laundry, dishwashing, pool pumps and EV charging.
• Ask for your interconnection timeline and fixed charges. Utility approval can take weeks to months, which delays when savings start.

Use the solar net metering calculator to compare retail and avoided-cost crediting for your usage.

How Long Does Solar Take to Pay Back in Louisiana?

About 24.4 years for a 9 kW system bought for $22,500, based on year-one savings of roughly $920. That is close to a standard 25-year panel warranty, so the system only modestly comes out ahead.

Model inputs and results (9 kW example system)

Source: Green Energy Calculators standard model; see methodology. Rate growth of 3% a year is an assumption; actual rates may rise faster or slower.

Table summary: At the base case the system saves about $31,400 in bills over 25 years against a $22,500 cost, a net gain of roughly $8,900. The gain depends heavily on the quote and on future rate increases, which are uncertain.

Chart summary: With savings growing about 2.5 percent a year net of degradation, the $22,500 system crosses break-even in year 20 and the $27,000 system in year 23. That is earlier than the 24.4-year and 29.3-year simple paybacks, which hold year-one savings flat. If rates grow more slowly than 3 percent, both lines cross later.

Payback and 25-year net savings by installed price (same production, rate and offset inputs)

The last row is historical and no longer available for new installs.

Table summary: Each $0.50 per watt added to the quote costs about five years of payback. The ended federal credit would have cut payback from about 24 years to about 17 years at the same price.

25-year cost of staying with the utility vs going solar (model)

Table summary: A household using about as much electricity as the system produces would pay roughly $61,100 in energy costs over 25 years without solar, or about $52,200 with it including the system cost. Averaged over 300 months, that is a modest benefit of about $30 a month at the base case, versus about $77 a month in year one.

Financing makes the case harder. As an illustration, a $22,500 loan at 7% would cost about $231 a month over 12 years (about $174 over 20 years), against year-one savings of about $77 a month. A lease or PPA avoids the upfront cost, but it helps only if the contract price is clearly below your utility rate and the annual escalator is modest. Model your own quote with the solar payback calculator, and compare neighboring Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas in our payback period by state guide.

Sources

• U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: average residential electricity prices by state.
• EnergySage, The cost of solar panels in Louisiana: Louisiana price per watt, July–August 2026.
• Solar Power World, Louisiana regulators vote to end net metering benefits (September 2019).
• IRS, FAQs on §25D and other changes under Public Law 119-21.
• NREL, PVWatts Calculator: location-specific production estimates.
• DSIRE: current state and utility incentives.