Solar by state
Solar in Tennessee, by the numbers
Utilities and their rates, adoption, ten years of growth, batteries, ownership, state rules and installer licensing in Tennessee, from federal 2024 data.
Tennessee in brief
under 0.01% of Tennessee homes had rooftop solar in 2024, the lowest of 51 (3.55% nationally). Power cost 12.42¢/kWh, below the national 16.48¢, and the average system was 6.95 kW. Nashville Electric Service serves 13.2% of homes.
Where does Tennessee stand out?
The four measures, beyond price and adoption, on which Tennessee sits furthest from the middle of the ranking.
Tennessee solar in numbers, 2024
Every Tennessee figure next to the national one, with its place in the ranking (highest first, out of the jurisdictions reporting it).
| Measure | Tennessee | United States | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes with a metered rooftop system | under 0.01% | 3.55% | lowest of 51 |
| Rooftop systems counted | 86 | 5,077,543 | 3rd-lowest of 51 |
| Average system size | 6.95 kW | 6.74 kW | 19th-lowest of 51 |
| Residential price | 12.42¢/kWh | 16.48¢/kWh | 9th-lowest of 51 |
| Average monthly bill | $143.32 | $142.26 | 21st-highest of 51 |
| Use per home | 13,843 kWh/yr | 10,359 kWh/yr | 3rd-highest of 51 |
| Systems with a battery | 39.53% | 5.86% | highest of 47 |
| Leased or on a PPA | 0.0% | 29.1% | lowest of 38 |
| Growth in systems, five years | 33.9% a year | — | 12th-highest of 51 |
| Minutes without power per customer | 289 | 297 (median state) | 24th-lowest of 51 |
| Homes on a time-varying rate | 0.31% | 11.1% | 12th-lowest of 51 |
| Installed rooftop capacity | 0.6 MW | 34,226 MW | — |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861, 2024 final release, retrieved 2 September 2026. The Tennessee ratios and ranks are HyreSolar calculations from EIA inputs.
Which utility serves Tennessee, and what does it charge?
The 8 largest utilities selling to Tennessee homes, by residential customers, with the price full-service customers paid and how many run net-metered solar.
| Utility | Type | Homes served | Price per kWh | Use per home, monthly | Net-metered systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville Electric Service | Municipal | 417,640 (13.2%) | 13.47¢ | 1,021 kWh | None reported |
| City of Memphis | Municipal | 380,286 (12.0%) | 12.16¢ | 1,139 kWh | None reported |
| Middle Tennessee E M C | Co-op | 307,370 (9.7%) | 11.76¢ | 1,261 kWh | None reported |
| Knoxville Utilities Board | Municipal | 193,707 (6.1%) | 12.54¢ | 1,093 kWh | None reported |
| City of Chattanooga | Municipal | 164,417 (5.2%) | 12.32¢ | 1,110 kWh | None reported |
| Volunteer Electric Co-op | Co-op | 104,387 (3.3%) | 12.19¢ | 1,183 kWh | None reported |
| Cumberland Electric Member Corporation | Co-op | 100,585 (3.2%) | 12.99¢ | 1,362 kWh | None reported |
| City of Clarksville | Municipal | 75,953 (2.4%) | 12.77¢ | 1,121 kWh | None reported |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 2024, Sales to Ultimate Customers and Net Metering, utility level, retrieved 5 October 2026. Shares are of 3,166,103 Tennessee residential accounts. Each Tennessee price is residential revenue divided by sales for full-service customers (HyreSolar calculation); a wires company’s price is its default-service price.
What do the Tennessee utility figures mean for a solar quote?
EIA-861 lists 87 utilities serving homes in Tennessee in 2024, across 3,166,103 residential accounts. The three largest, Nashville Electric Service, City of Memphis and Middle Tennessee E M C, served 34.9% of those homes. By ownership: municipal utilities 66.0%, electric cooperatives 32.6% and investor-owned utilities 1.4%.
All 3,166,103 Tennessee residential accounts bought energy from the utility that delivers it; EIA counted none on a competitive supplier. So a Tennessee utility’s own tariff sets both the price you avoid and the credit for what you export.
Nashville Electric Service, the largest, served 417,640 Tennessee homes (13.2%). Its full-service residential customers paid 13.47¢ per kWh, above the Tennessee average of 12.42¢, and used 1,021 kWh a month on average.
EIA-861 lists no net-metered residential systems for Nashville Electric Service in 2024, so ask it in writing how exported power is credited before sizing a system.
Among the 71 Tennessee utilities with at least 5,000 residential customers and a full-service price, the price ran from 10.81¢ at City of Bristol to 14.33¢ at Forked Deer Electric Co-op. At the Tennessee average of 13,843 kWh a year, that 3.52¢ gap is worth about $487 a year (our arithmetic), so the same system offsets more money in one territory than the other.
Price a quote on your own utility’s rate, not the 12.42¢ Tennessee average.
What does power cost in Tennessee, and why does it matter?
Residential electricity in Tennessee averaged 12.42¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, the 9th-lowest of 51 and below the national 16.48¢. Retail power in Tennessee is cheaper than in 42 of the other 50 jurisdictions. Each kilowatt-hour a system avoids is worth less, which lengthens payback.
The average Tennessee household bill was $143.32 a month ($1,720 a year), the 21st-highest of 51, against $142.26 nationally. That $1,720 is the ceiling on what solar could save a typical Tennessee home, before fixed monthly charges.
Only 0.31% of Tennessee homes were on a time-varying rate in 2024 (11.1% nationally), so a flat rate is the likely starting point. 95.4% of Tennessee residential meters were smart meters (83.8% nationally), and a time-varying rate needs one. How time-of-use changes solar.
How many Tennessee homes have solar?
Tennessee had 86 rooftop systems on net metering in 2024, across 3,166,103 residential accounts: under 0.01% of homes, the lowest of 51. Tennessee is one of the least developed rooftop markets in the country. Expect few local installers and a permit office with little solar experience, and allow time for both.
The Tennessee market counted 8 more systems in 2024 than in 2023 and has grown 33.9% a year over five years, the 12th-highest of 51. Where growth has turned nationally.
How has Tennessee solar changed since 2014?
Tennessee counted 7 net-metered rooftop systems in 2014 and 86 in 2024, 12.3 times as many. The share of homes with one moved from under 0.01% to under 0.01%. The biggest one-year addition came in 2023, with 21 more systems than the year before.
| Year | Rooftop systems | Share of homes | Average size | Residential price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 7 | under 0.01% | 7.3 kW | 10.32¢ |
| 2016 | 9 | under 0.01% | 8.1 kW | 10.41¢ |
| 2018 | 14 | under 0.01% | 7.6 kW | 10.71¢ |
| 2020 | 24 | under 0.01% | 7.2 kW | 10.76¢ |
| 2022 | 57 | under 0.01% | 6.7 kW | 12.25¢ |
| 2024 | 86 | under 0.01% | 7.0 kW | 12.42¢ |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 annual files 2014–2024, net-metered residential systems, retrieved 2 September 2026. Tennessee shares and sizes are HyreSolar calculations.
What does the Tennessee trend mean for a savings estimate?
Over the same years the Tennessee residential price went from 10.32¢ to 12.42¢ per kWh, up 20%, and the average system from 7.3 kW to 7.0 kW. With Tennessee prices up 20% across ten years, a savings estimate that assumes steep yearly rate rises is assuming more than this record shows.
How big is a typical Tennessee system?
The average Tennessee system was 6.95 kW in 2024, the 19th-lowest of 51, against 6.74 kW nationally. Tennessee homes used 13,843 kilowatt-hours a year each, the 3rd-highest of 51.
A Tennessee home using 13,843 kWh is an average, not a design input: size from your own twelve months of bills and usable roof with cost by system size and the system size calculator.
Who owns the systems in Tennessee?
In Tennessee, 0.0% of systems were third-party owned in 2024: leased, or on a power purchase agreement (PPA), rather than owned by the household. That is the lowest of 38, against 29.1% nationally.
Nearly every Tennessee system is owned by the household. A lease or power purchase agreement would be unusual here, which is a reason to read one closely. Whoever owns a Tennessee system claims any tax credit on it: Section 48E explained.
Do Tennessee homes add batteries?
In Tennessee, 39.53% of solar systems were paired with a battery in 2024 (34 systems), the highest of 47. That is one of the highest attachment rates in the country, and 6.7 times the national share of 5.86%.
On reliability, the average Tennessee customer went 289 minutes without power in 2024 counting major storms, and 170 minutes without them. The median state saw 297. Outages in every state.
Whether a battery pays in Tennessee turns on your utility’s export credit and your own outage history: what a home battery does.
How do you check a solar company’s license in Tennessee?
We found no dedicated state register for solar work in Tennessee, so we publish no company counts. That is not evidence of light regulation: electrical work can be licensed at state or local level even where solar is never named.
With 86 systems in Tennessee, the company quoting you may be based out of state. Ask which license it holds, in which state, and confirm it with that authority. What to do when the search comes back empty.
Which states are closest to Tennessee on adoption?
The six jurisdictions nearest to Tennessee’s under 0.01% share of homes with rooftop solar.
Where do the Tennessee numbers come from?
The Tennessee figures are HyreSolar calculations from the Form EIA-861 annual files: 86 net-metered residential systems counted against 3,166,103 residential accounts, sizes as means, and 87 utility-level rows for the utility table, matched to net-metering records by EIA utility number.
The method and limits cover all 51; the Tennessee row is in the data as a CSV.
No Tennessee figure here is an estimate for one home: your roof, usage, utility tariff and tax position decide that.
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Questions
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