What Is an Export Rate?
Export rate is the credit a utility gives for each kilowatt-hour a solar system sends back to the grid. Under full retail net metering it matches the retail price, while under net billing it is lower and often changes by hour and season.
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Export rate is the credit a utility gives for each kilowatt-hour a solar system sends back to the grid. Under full retail net metering it matches the retail price, while under net billing it is lower and often changes by hour and season.
Export Rate explained
Every exported kilowatt-hour is multiplied by the export rate and applied as bill credit. The rate can be fixed, follow a published hourly schedule, or be derived by regulators from studies of the utility’s avoided costs. The gap between the price of imported power and the export credit, the spread, determines how much value comes from using solar on site compared with sending it out.
That spread explains most of what happens in a modern solar appointment. Where it is wide, sizing shifts toward the home’s own daytime use and storage looks attractive. Where exports earn close to retail, a large array that covers all usage can still make sense. Closers ask for the current tariff before showing production numbers, because identical panels produce different bill savings under different export rules.
Four confusions recur. The export rate is not the PPA rate a homeowner pays a provider, and it is not a feed-in payment, since most programs credit the bill rather than send a check. Stale numbers from old tariffs also circulate. And the rate in force on the signing date may not apply for the life of the system, because some programs lock terms for a period, which is where grandfathering comes in.
Why it matters when you're buying
Quoting savings without knowing the export rule is the fastest way to lose credibility. Confirming how exports are credited lets a closer pitch the right system size and decide early whether storage belongs in the proposal, instead of defending the numbers after the homeowner reads the tariff online.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good export rate for solar?
How do utilities set solar export rates?
Is export rate the same as the net metering rate?
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