Solar Panels in Virginia: 2026 Cost, Incentives & Savings

• Cash

  $3.00/W

  $23,100

  Subset classified as cash

• Middle published case

  $3.60/W

  $27,720

  All host-owned systems

• Loan

  $4.50/W

  $34,650

  Financed subset, before interest

Before incentives. A loan price here excludes interest. The federal residential credit under section 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Berkeley Lab, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage, August 2026 data update.

How to read Virginia

Virginia's 2025 EIA residential average was 15.28 cents per kWh. Dominion Energy Virginia serves Virginia Beach and Richmond. The coast has hurricane exposure. The Piedmont has trees. We do not quote a state incentive.

Utilities

Dominion Energy Virginia serves Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond, and most of Northern Virginia including Arlington and Alexandria. Appalachian Power serves much of the southwest, including the Roanoke area in whole or in part depending on the address. NOVEC and cooperatives serve other northern and rural pockets. The bill decides.

Export credits and tariffs

Dominion Energy Virginia has a net metering schedule for eligible residential customer-generators. The Virginia State Corporation Commission has an active record on how new customers are credited, including Dominion's later net metering tariff. Credits, caps, and fees belong in the current schedule, not in a 2019 summary. Appalachian Power serves southwest Virginia and is a different tariff. Renewable energy credits, if the system is certified, should have their ownership stated in the contract. We do not promise a credit price or that every house is eligible. Sources: Virginia SCC and the Dominion net metering schedule.

Climate and roofs

Coastal Hampton Roads is a wind and flood conversation. Northern Virginia is a tree and roof-plane conversation. Richmond sits between them. Snow is occasional and usually short-lived on a pitched roof.

Cities

• Virginia Beach

  Dominion on the Atlantic coast, with hurricane exposure and a large suburban roof stock.

• Richmond

  Dominion again, inland, with more tree canopy and less coastal wind than Virginia Beach.

• Norfolk

  Dominion in Hampton Roads, naval housing excluded, flood zones not solved by modules.

• Chesapeake

  Dominion in a large suburban city south of Norfolk, with newer roofs than the urban core.

• Arlington

  Dominion in Northern Virginia, with small lots, trees, and a high share of attached housing.

• Alexandria

  Dominion next to Arlington, with a historic district and more detached roofs farther west.

• Newport News

  Dominion on the Peninsula, between the shipyard and suburban roofs.

• Roanoke

  Appalachian Power in the southwest, not Dominion.