Solar by state
Solar in Washington, by the numbers
Utilities and their rates, adoption, ten years of growth, batteries, ownership, state rules and installer licensing in Washington, from federal 2024 data.
Washington in brief
1.76% of Washington homes had rooftop solar in 2024, the 24th-highest of 51 (3.55% nationally). Power cost 11.90¢/kWh, below the national 16.48¢, and the average system was 7.23 kW. Puget Sound Energy serves 32.4% of homes.
Where does Washington stand out?
The four measures, beyond price and adoption, on which Washington sits furthest from the middle of the ranking.
Washington solar in numbers, 2024
Every Washington figure next to the national one, with its place in the ranking (highest first, out of the jurisdictions reporting it).
| Measure | Washington | United States | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes with a metered rooftop system | 1.76% | 3.55% | 24th-highest of 51 |
| Rooftop systems counted | 59,235 | 5,077,543 | 18th-highest of 51 |
| Average system size | 7.23 kW | 6.74 kW | 21st-lowest of 51 |
| Residential price | 11.90¢/kWh | 16.48¢/kWh | 5th-lowest of 51 |
| Average monthly bill | $113.68 | $142.26 | 13th-lowest of 51 |
| Use per home | 11,465 kWh/yr | 10,359 kWh/yr | 20th-highest of 51 |
| Systems with a battery | 4.35% | 5.86% | 11th-highest of 47 |
| Leased or on a PPA | 0.2% | 29.1% | 6th-lowest of 38 |
| Growth in systems, five years | 20.5% a year | — | 17th-lowest of 51 |
| Minutes without power per customer | 644 | 297 (median state) | 12th-highest of 51 |
| Homes on a time-varying rate | 0.27% | 11.1% | 10th-lowest of 51 |
| Installed rooftop capacity | 428.0 MW | 34,226 MW | — |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861, 2024 final release, retrieved 2 September 2026. The Washington ratios and ranks are HyreSolar calculations from EIA inputs.
Which utility serves Washington, and what does it charge?
The 8 largest utilities selling to Washington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puget Sound Energy | Investor-owned | 1,091,599 (32.4%) | 14.63¢ | 875 kWh | 23,770 (2.2%) |
| City of Seattle | Municipal | 459,964 (13.7%) | 14.09¢ | 601 kWh | 7,560 (1.6%) |
| PUD No 1 of Snohomish County | Public power district | 346,532 (10.3%) | 11.51¢ | 946 kWh | 4,755 (1.4%) |
| Avista Corporation | Investor-owned | 246,055 (7.3%) | 11.87¢ | 901 kWh | 4,425 (1.8%) |
| PUD No 1 of Clark County | Public power district | 219,477 (6.5%) | 10.41¢ | 1,008 kWh | 3,049 (1.4%) |
| City of Tacoma | Municipal | 180,357 (5.4%) | 10.81¢ | 907 kWh | 2,780 (1.5%) |
| PacifiCorp | Investor-owned | 114,453 (3.4%) | 11.08¢ | 1,181 kWh | 3,433 (3.0%) |
| PUD No 1 of Benton County | Public power district | 50,072 (1.5%) | 8.81¢ | 1,220 kWh | 1,124 (2.2%) |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 2024, Sales to Ultimate Customers and Net Metering, utility level, retrieved 5 October 2026. Shares are of 3,368,879 Washington residential accounts. Each Washington 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 Washington utility figures mean for a solar quote?
EIA-861 lists 38 utilities serving homes in Washington in 2024, across 3,368,879 residential accounts.
The three largest, Puget Sound Energy, City of Seattle and PUD No 1 of Snohomish County, served 56.3% of those homes.
By ownership: investor-owned utilities 43.1%, public power districts 30.1%, municipal utilities 20.6%, electric cooperatives 4.4% and small utilities EIA counts as a group 1.9%.
All 3,368,879 Washington residential accounts bought energy from the utility that delivers it; EIA counted none on a competitive supplier. So a Washington utility’s own tariff sets both the price you avoid and the credit for what you export.
Puget Sound Energy, the largest, served 1,091,599 Washington homes (32.4%). Its full-service residential customers paid 14.63¢ per kWh, above the Washington average of 11.90¢, and used 875 kWh a month on average. 23,770 of its customers ran net-metered rooftop solar, 2.2% of its homes against 1.76% statewide.
Among the 35 Washington utilities with at least 5,000 residential customers and a full-service price, the price ran from 3.15¢ at PUD No 1 of Douglas County to 18.38¢ at Orcas Power & Light Co-op. At the Washington average of 11,465 kWh a year, that 15.23¢ gap is worth about $1,746 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 11.90¢ Washington average.
Rooftop solar is concentrated: Puget Sound Energy alone accounts for 23,770 net-metered residential systems, about 40% of the 59,235 counted in Washington, and 36 Washington utilities reported any at all. The highest adoption among the larger utilities was at PacifiCorp, where 3.0% of homes had a system.
What does power cost in Washington, and why does it matter?
Residential electricity in Washington averaged 11.90¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, the 5th-lowest of 51 and below the national 16.48¢. That is one of the lowest residential prices in the country. Each avoided kilowatt-hour is worth little, which can stretch payback in Washington whatever the sunshine.
The average Washington household bill was $113.68 a month ($1,364 a year), the 13th-lowest of 51, against $142.26 nationally. That $1,364 is the ceiling on what solar could save a typical Washington home, before fixed monthly charges.
Only 0.27% of Washington homes were on a time-varying rate in 2024 (11.1% nationally), so a flat rate is the likely starting point. 69.4% of Washington residential meters were smart meters (83.8% nationally), and a time-varying rate needs one. How time-of-use changes solar.
How many Washington homes have solar?
Washington had 59,235 rooftop systems on net metering in 2024, across 3,368,978 residential accounts: 1.76% of homes, the 24th-highest of 51. Adoption in Washington sits in the middle of the 51: neither an early market nor a late one.
The Washington market counted 8,471 more systems in 2024 than in 2023 and has grown 20.5% a year over five years, the 17th-lowest of 51. Where growth has turned nationally.
How has Washington solar changed since 2014?
Washington counted 6,067 net-metered rooftop systems in 2014 and 59,235 in 2024, 9.8 times as many. The share of homes with one moved from 0.21% to 1.76%. The biggest one-year addition came in 2023, with 11,204 more systems than the year before.
| Year | Rooftop systems | Share of homes | Average size | Residential price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 6,067 | 0.21% | 4.8 kW | 8.67¢ |
| 2016 | 12,911 | 0.43% | 5.6 kW | 9.48¢ |
| 2018 | 19,871 | 0.65% | 5.8 kW | 9.75¢ |
| 2020 | 26,322 | 0.83% | 6.5 kW | 9.87¢ |
| 2022 | 39,560 | 1.21% | 7.3 kW | 10.26¢ |
| 2024 | 59,235 | 1.76% | 7.2 kW | 11.90¢ |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 annual files 2014–2024, net-metered residential systems, retrieved 2 September 2026. Washington shares and sizes are HyreSolar calculations.
What does the Washington trend mean for a savings estimate?
Over the same years the Washington residential price went from 8.67¢ to 11.90¢ per kWh, up 37%, and the average system from 4.8 kW to 7.2 kW. A rate that has risen that far makes a 2024 bill a conservative base for a Washington savings estimate only if the trend continues, which nobody can promise.
How big is a typical Washington system?
The average Washington system was 7.23 kW in 2024, the 21st-lowest of 51, against 6.74 kW nationally. Washington homes used 11,465 kilowatt-hours a year each, the 20th-highest of 51.
A Washington home using 11,465 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 Washington?
In Washington, 0.2% 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 6th-lowest of 38, against 29.1% nationally.
Nearly every Washington 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 Washington system claims any tax credit on it: Section 48E explained.
Do Washington homes add batteries?
In Washington, 4.35% of solar systems were paired with a battery in 2024 (2,579 systems), the 11th-highest of 47. Washington’s share is below the national 5.86%.
On reliability, the average Washington customer went 644 minutes without power in 2024 counting major storms, and 157 minutes without them. The median state saw 297. Outages in every state.
Whether a battery pays in Washington turns on your utility’s export credit and your own outage history: what a home battery does.
Which Washington solar laws have we read?
Washington statutes we read ourselves. Any rule not listed here is one we have not read, not one that does not exist.
How long you have to cancel a contract
3 business days, from contract signing; no payment may be taken before the window ends and no cancellation fee may be charged. The Washington rule is written for residential solar specifically.
RCW ch. 19.95. Read at source September 2, 2026. Solar sales rules by state
What an HOA can and cannot block
The Washington access statute tests an association’s restriction two ways. On cost: no cost trigger. On output: 10%, and only for shielding a ground-mounted panel.
RCW § 64.38.055. Read at source September 2, 2026. Solar access rights by state
How do you check a solar company’s license in Washington?
We checked 55 Washington solar companies from June to August 2026 against the state license register. None of those showed an expired or revoked license when checked.
Ask which license a company holds, then confirm the number with the issuing authority yourself.
These counts describe the companies we checked on those dates, not every company in Washington, and a license current then may have lapsed since. How to verify a solar license.
Which states are closest to Washington on adoption?
The six jurisdictions nearest to Washington’s 1.76% share of homes with rooftop solar.
Where do the Washington numbers come from?
The Washington figures are HyreSolar calculations from the Form EIA-861 annual files: 59,235 net-metered residential systems counted against 3,368,978 residential accounts, sizes as means, and 38 utility-level rows for the utility table, matched to net-metering records by EIA utility number.
The method and limits cover all 51; the Washington row is in the data as a CSV.
No Washington 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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Do Washington homeowners add batteries to solar?
Is Washington a good state for solar?
Which utility serves the most homes in Washington?
Can I cancel a solar contract in Washington?
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