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Solar payback · MO

Is solar worth it in Missouri?

A 7 kW rooftop system near Kansas City produces about 10,029 kWh a year. Priced against 23 current residential tariffs in Missouri, payback runs from 13 years on the best of them to 43 on the worst.

No federal tax credit applies to a purchased system. Section 25D ended on December 31, 2025. Leases and power-purchase agreements can still reach the business credit (48E) through 2027, but it is claimed by the system's owner, not by you. Every figure on this page assumes no federal credit and no state or utility incentive.
13 yearsshortest payback, on the best tariff
1,433kWh per kW per year
#17of 52 states measured
52%used on site, not exported
$21,000system cost at $3.00/W

Why the tariff matters more than the panels

Two households in Missouri with identical roofs and identical systems can see paybacks 13 and 43 years apart, purely because they are on different tariffs. Solar produces at midday; households consume in the evening. Only 52% of what these panels make is used as it is made — the rest is exported, and what an exported kWh earns is set by the tariff and by state net metering rules, not by the hardware.

That is why the figures here are computed hour by hour against each real tariff rather than by taking a bill and assuming solar removes a share of it. How this is modeled →

Payback by tariff in Missouri

7 kW system at $3.00/W, household using 1000 kWh a month, no incentives. A range means the export credit is not filed with the tariff and the outcome depends on net metering rules — 23 of 23 tariffs here belong to a utility that reports residential net metering.

UtilityTariffStructure Annual savingPayback
Kansas City Power & Light Co (Missouri) Residential Other Use ROU Seasonal $851–$1,628 13–25y
KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Residential Other Use (GMO) Seasonal $779–$1,529 14–27y
Kansas City Power & Light Co (Missouri) Residential Peak Adjustment Service (Schedule RPKA) Time-of-use + tiered $692–$1,321 16–30y
Union Electric Co 1(M) Residential Evening/Morning Saver Service Time-of-use + tiered $695–$1,314 16–30y
Union Electric Co 1(M) Residential Smart Saver Service Time-of-use $603–$1,245 17–35y
Kansas City Power & Light Co (Missouri) Residential High Differential Time of Use (Schedule RTOU-3) Time-of-use $557–$1,245 17–38y
Kansas City Power & Light Co (Missouri) Residential Time of Use - Two Period (Schedule RTOU-2) Time-of-use $609–$1,220 17–34y
KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Residential Time of Use - Three Period Time-of-use $549–$1,216 17–38y
Kansas City Power & Light Co (Missouri) Residential Schedule R General Use and Space Heat - 2 Meters - 1RS2A. 1RS3A. 1RW7A. 1RH1A Seasonal + tiered $558–$1,197 18–38y
Kansas City Power & Light Co (Missouri) Residential Schedule General Use 1RS1A, 1RSDA, 1RS1B Seasonal + tiered $552–$1,186 18–38y
Kansas City Power & Light Co Residential Other Use Service (Schedule ROU) Seasonal $617–$1,182 18–34y
Kansas City Power & Light Co (Missouri) Residential Time of Day Service - Schedule RTOD (FROZEN) Time-of-use $617–$1,146 18–34y
Kansas City Power & Light Co Residential Time Of Use Two-Period Time-of-use $575–$1,142 18–37y
KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Residential Service (GMO) Seasonal + tiered $556–$1,133 19–38y
KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Residential Service With Electric Space Heating (GMO) Seasonal + tiered $556–$1,133 19–38y

Your roof, your numbers

Change the usage, system size and installed cost, and every Missouri tariff is priced again.

Price it for your own system

What would change this

Your roof. Production is modeled for Kansas City on a south-facing array at 20° tilt. Shading, orientation and pitch all move it, and solar resource varies within Missouri itself.

Your usage pattern. A household at home during the day self-consumes more and exports less, which shortens payback wherever export credit is poor.

Rising rates. These figures hold today's prices flat. Electricity prices have been rising, and every rise shortens payback — so treat these as a conservative bound.

State and local incentives. Not included here, and in some states they are worth more than the federal credit was. Check your state energy office before deciding.

Guides to solar payback

All guides

  1. Guide · 4 min

    Why a smaller solar system pays back faster

    Doubling your panel count does not double your savings. On a real Georgia Power tariff, a 3 kW system pays back in 13 years and a 12 kW system takes 21 to 41 — and past a certain size, extra panels cannot save you anything at all.

  2. Guide · 3 min

    Where homes net-meter rooftop solar, and where almost none do

    Utilities report 5.5 million net-metered home solar systems, 41 per 1,000 households. Hawaii has 233; Tennessee and Alabama almost none.

  3. Guide · 3 min

    Solar in 2026, without the federal tax credit

    Section 25D ended on December 31, 2025. A home solar system bought in 2026 gets no federal credit at all — not a reduced one — and most payback advice still online predates that.

  4. Guide · 4 min

    Some utilities charge households for their peak demand

    59 household tariffs at 27 utilities charge for peak demand, typically $8.58 per kW a month. From 2027, southern Nevada's homes will pay one by the day.

  5. Guide · 3 min

    When is electricity most expensive? It depends on your utility

    Across 95 utilities with time-of-use rates we found 49 different weekday peak windows. Nearly all include 5 to 6 pm; little else is shared.