In North Carolina, rooftop solar is alive and well despite headwinds

Stew Miller, who launched his North Carolina rooftop solar company in the 2000s, says there’s ​“a lot of negativity” in his industry right now — and it’s easy to see why. 

A year ago, Republicans passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminating the 30% federal tax credit for households who buy rooftop panels. That blow came on top of an array of economic headwinds, including tariffs, stubbornly high interest rates, and, in many states, reduced bill credits for the electrons solar customers added to the grid.

After the tax incentives ended last December, the market for new solar panels fell sharply nationwide, and North Carolina was no exception. Between the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2026, new rooftop solar installations in the state dropped by two-thirds, according to estimates from the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association.

And yet, despite that grim data point, Miller of Yes Solar Solutions and other installers interviewed for this story stress that they’re doing better than they expected. While the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association says the number of rooftop companies in the state has shrunk — mostly because of the departure of national outfits — the firms that remain are now seeing sales rise after their initial freefall this winter.

“I would tell you if we were struggling,” said Jesse Solomon, vice president and director of sales at NC Solar Now. ​“But we just had a record month.”

Driving the current upswing is the fact that home solar is penciling out in surprising new ways. Options for customers to lease panels rather than buy them, incentives for batteries, and rising electric rates all mean that households may be able to install solar with almost no money down and start saving on their electric bills from day one.

“People were scared when we lost the tax credits,” Miller said. ​“But people are still installing solar systems, the prices of solar have come down dramatically, [and] there are financing programs, with these leases, that allow people to put solar on their homes with little to no cash up front.”

“Leasing is now alive and well”

A national leader in large ground-mounted solar projects, North Carolina is just in the middle of the pack when it comes to rooftop solar, with only about 58,000 home arrays in this state of 11 million people.

That’s primarily because it’s long been cheaper for most households to buy from the grid than to produce their own solar power. Duke Energy, the investor-owned utility that covers most of North Carolina, has historically had relatively low rates. State law prevents any party other than Duke from selling electricity, reducing competitive pricing. The company’s rebate program for solar arrays was effective but short-lived, and Duke pays grid-connected customers less for excess solar electrons than it used to.

But now, many of these dynamics are shifting, altering the finances of home solar.

Third parties still can’t sell electrons directly. But under a 2017 state law, they can rent the solar equipment itself to customers in Duke territory — up to a certain cap.

The provision was little used in North Carolina until last fall. But it became crucial after the passage of the GOP budget law, which still offers commercial entities a 30% tax credit for solar arrays through at least the end of next year.

That means installers and other third parties can access the incentive and pass the savings on to residential customers. The models for doing so vary, but rooftop companies say the bottom line is similar across the board: Many solar customers can immediately start paying less each month for their electricity.

“Leasing is now alive and well,” said Clary Franko, chief operating officer of Asheville-based Sugar Hollow Solar, who noted at least half of her customers are going that route. ​“It’s actually the most cost-effective residential option I’ve seen yet in North Carolina.”

Some installers are offering their own leases. Others are partnering with one or more of the 20-some third-party lessors registered with state regulators, including homegrown companies like Durham’s Enerwealth Solutions.

The deal can be even sweeter for Duke customers who pair solar with battery storage. Through programs called EnergyWise Home and Power Manager, those households get a monthly incentive for allowing the utility to tap their batteries 30 to 36 times per year.

“The average battery that we’re installing is an additional 50 bucks a month,” said Graham Alexander, an owner and solar energy designer at Southern Energy Management, which opened its doors in Raleigh in 2001. ​“You, as a homeowner, get the money — that’s great. The utility benefits because they get more load stability with being able to deploy those batteries.”

Another key economic driver of solar adoption in Duke territory is rising electricity rates. Residential bills have jumped by over 20% in the last five years, and the company wants to raise them by as much as another 10% over the next two. Households pay 100% of the cost of the fuels in Duke power plants, sending bills even higher.

It all adds up, said Bryce Bruncati, director of residential sales at Raleigh-based 8MSolar. He recently worked with a customer whose Duke Energy bill had jumped to $420 a month. But with a new solar array and two batteries, ​“he’s swapping that out for a $160 payment. All he had to do was sign for the lease,” Bruncati said. ​“There’s no down payment, nothing like that.”

Still, installers say not all customers prefer leasing, and the option may not be widely available after next year if state and federal law remain unchanged. What’s more, bill credits for solar households in Duke territory will decrease again on Jan. 1, 2027. And revised state electrical codes could soon add to installation costs.

While few dare to dream about it under current political conditions, the return of the 30% federal tax incentives would certainly make those coming hurdles easier to clear.

“Anybody would really value and appreciate having those back,” said Matt Abele, the executive director of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. ​“Those tax credits are reinvestments directly into ratepayers’ pockets.”

Despite all the ups and downs, veteran installers say they are feeling optimistic.

“We think that it’s great to be able to help people with a product that’s actually benefiting them — and the world on a large scale,” said Solomon of NC Solar Now. ​“And there’s just tons of room for growth. My favorite thing is when I fly out of Raleigh or Wilmington, and I look at all the roofs.”