Solar Panels in Roanoke, VA: 2026 Cost, Appalachian Power Net Metering & Savings

Roanoke and the bill

Appalachian Power, an AEP company, serves Roanoke. Dominion's net metering schedule is the wrong document. Valley shade is a local production issue. Roanoke is the Virginia page that is not Dominion. The resource is similar to Northern Virginia in our table and the utility is not. Valley fog and ridgelines shade some houses for much of the winter. A south-facing slope can do well. Appalachian Power's tariff is the export rule. Do not promise Dominion's terms here. The 2025 EIA residential average for Virginia was 15.28 cents per kWh. That statewide figure is what our calculator uses. It is not the Appalachian Power tariff. A rounded solar resource for this metro is about 4.5 peak sun hours a day.

Export credits and any SREC or REC

Roanoke is Appalachian Power, not Dominion Energy Virginia. Dominion's net-metering schedule does not travel to an Appalachian bill. Both companies publish their own rules for exports. Virginia systems can create renewable certificates, and the contract should say who owns them. This page does not quote a certificate price or promise that a house qualifies. Coastal hurricane language from Virginia Beach is the wrong design note for a Roanoke roof.

Roofs, climate, permits, and HOAs

Older valley houses and newer county subdivisions. Steep lots need a horizon check. Some roofs are shaded by the ridge itself. A Roanoke permit comes from the local building department, not from Appalachian Power. An HOA can add its own review. This page does not quote a VA permit fee or an approval, because both depend on the address. Name Appalachian Power. Look at the winter sun path. Do not reuse a Dominion NEM summary.

Estimated cost range

Estimated cost range for Roanoke, labeled as an estimate and not a local quote: Berkeley Lab's August 2026 update put 2025 host-owned residential systems at about $3.60 per watt before incentives, about $3.00 per watt in the cash subset, and about $4.50 per watt in the loan subset. The median size in that set was 7.7 kW. Roanoke is about 4.5 peak sun hours a day, against about 4.5 statewide. The federal residential credit under 26 U.S.C. § 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. The IRS treats that expenditure as made when the original installation is completed.

• 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.