Florida Net Metering in 2026: Still the Deal of the Decade?

The quiet miracle nobody advertises

While states like California slashed export credits, Florida’s investor-owned utilities still credit your exported kWh at essentially full retail value — every sunny-afternoon surplus offsets an evening kWh one-for-one. In the incentive landscape, that’s the deal of the decade hiding in plain sight, and it’s the backbone of why Florida solar pencils despite the state offering no cash rebates.

How it works at the big three

The full net metering guide covers mechanics; the short version: monthly netting with credits rolling forward, annual true-up at avoided-cost for leftovers (design systems to ~100% of usage, not more), and standard interconnection at FPL, Duke (guide), and TECO (guide). Municipal and co-op territories write their own rules — some strong, some stingy — verify before designing.

Grandfathering: the 20-year insurance policy

The clause that turns timing into money: systems interconnected under current rules are generally protected for 20 years if rules later change for new customers. Florida’s 2022 reform push passed the legislature before a veto saved the status quo — the pressure will return. Translation: today’s interconnection locks today’s economics; tomorrow’s waits to see what survives Tallahassee.

The stack around it

Net metering plus the federal credit, Florida’s sales and property tax exemptions, and statutory HOA protections — the whole picture lives in the Florida incentives guide, with real installed pricing in the FL cost guide. City-level numbers: Tampa, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County. Numbers for YOUR roof: the free estimate.

A worked example: the 10 kW Palm Beach roof

Concrete numbers: a 10 kW system in Palm Beach County producing ~14,500 kWh/year against a 15,000 kWh household. Under full net metering, summer afternoon surpluses bank at retail and repay evening usage one-for-one — the utility functions as a free, perfect-efficiency battery. At FPL residential rates, that’s roughly $2,000–$2,400/year in avoided cost from day one, escalating with every rate case. Installed around $25,000, federal credit takes it to ~$17,500 net: payback in the 7–9 year range, then decades of free afternoons.

What weakened elsewhere (and could here)

California’s NEM 3.0 cut export values ~75%; several states moved to “avoided cost” exports worth a third of retail. Florida’s 2022 bill would have phased exports down similarly — the veto preserved the deal, not the pressure. When reform returns, expect grandfathering for existing systems (the 2022 text included 20 years) and stepped-down rates for new ones. The asymmetry is the argument: act now and you keep today’s deal either way; wait and you inherit whatever survives the next session.

Design rules that maximize the deal

Size to ~100% of annual usage (over-production trues up at avoided cost — pennies); orient for total annual kWh rather than chasing evening peaks (full netting makes timing irrelevant — a battery-state strategy Florida doesn’t need yet); and interconnect BEFORE any battery decision — storage adds cleanly later (the FL storage guide) while the net-metering clock only starts at PTO.