Nebraska's electricity prices average $0.11/kWh, slightly down from last year's prices and three cents below the national average of $0.14/kWh.
Cost of a Solar Install
The average cost of a 5.5kW (equivalent to saving about 100 trees a year) solar power system starts around $12,000 in Nebraska. That system would pay for itself through energy savings within 6-7 years. System life can span well over 25 years, and savings will improve with inflation.
Going Solar in the Cornhusker State
With 4-4.5 peak sun hours daily, Nebraska is a great state for DIY Solar projects. Solar energy accounted for less than 0.2% of the state's net power generation in 2019, but that figure had roughly doubled since 2017. In 2016 about $9 million was invested into solar power systems across the state, supporting 30 solar companies and over 1,500 employees.
Nebraska state policy offers net metering in name. Each month, the value of any Net Excess Generation (NEG) from a home solar system is credited to the next power bill. The utility can set the rate of the credit. Solar power systems above 25kW in capacity are not eligible for net metering, which does not affect most homeowners to harshly. However, homeowners can only qualify for net metering on a first-come first-serve basis up to a certain point, where net power generation from net-metered solar power systems account for 1% of the utility company's peak demand from the previous year.
