What is the best solar buyback plan in Texas right now?

As of July 2026, the strongest widely available options fall into two groups: retail-match plans (your exports earn the same energy rate you pay — TXU offers this in Oncor/DFW territory, and Green Mountain has offered retail-match and high-fixed versions in CenterPoint/Houston territory), and high fixed-rate plans paying roughly 7 to 10 cents per exported kWh from providers like Rhythm, Almika, and Chariot. The honest answer is that 'best' depends on your usage pattern, whether credits roll over, and your delivery utility — rates and plans change monthly, so always read the current Electricity Facts Label before signing.

Does Texas have net metering?

No — Texas has no state-mandated net metering. In the deregulated ERCOT market, each Retail Electric Provider sets its own buyback rate for exported solar, which usually sits below the retail rate you pay. The exception is retail-match plans, which credit exports at your consumption rate and function much like 1:1 net metering. Regulated pockets (like Entergy Texas areas near The Woodlands, or municipal utilities in Austin and San Antonio) run their own tariffs instead.

Do unused solar buyback credits roll over?

Only on some plans — and it's one of the most expensive details to miss. Rollover plans carry unused credits forward month to month (though most expire when your contract ends). No-rollover plans forfeit excess credits every billing cycle, which quietly erases summer overproduction. If your system regularly produces more than you use in any month, rollover is worth more than a slightly higher headline rate.

What is the biggest solar incentive in Texas in 2026?

With the federal residential tax credit (25D) expired as of December 31, 2025, the biggest remaining incentive for Texas homeowners is the 100% property tax exemption on the value solar adds to your home (Texas Tax Code §11.27). You must file Form 50-123 with your county appraisal district — it is not automatic. At Harris County-area tax rates, that exemption is commonly worth several hundred dollars a year for the life of the system.

Should I get a battery instead of relying on buyback rates?

The math increasingly says yes for many Texas homes. When you export at 5 to 9 cents and buy back at 14 to 16 cents in the evening, every stored kWh you use yourself is worth the spread — 6 to 10 cents — plus a battery provides backup during hurricane-season outages. Some plans now pay premium buyback rates specifically for battery owners. If your buyback options are weak (TNMP territory, some regulated areas), the battery case gets stronger still.

Texas Solar Buyback Plans Compared (2026)

The short version: Texas has no net metering, so what your exported solar earns depends entirely on which electricity plan you choose — and as of July 2026, the gap between a strong plan and a weak one in the Houston area is roughly 7¢ versus 3¢ per exported kWh, which can mean hundreds of dollars a year on the same roof. Here's how the market actually works, the four plan types, and the fine print that costs people money.

How does solar buyback work in Texas?

Most of Texas runs on the deregulated ERCOT market, which splits your electric service in two. Your TDU (the wires company — CenterPoint for most of greater Houston, TNMP in pockets like parts of Pearland) delivers power and never changes. Your REP (Retail Electric Provider) sells you electricity — and that's who you choose, from dozens of competitors.

When your panels produce more than your home is using, the surplus flows to the grid. On a buyback plan, your REP credits you for those exported kWh at a rate set by the plan. That's the whole game: you buy grid power at your retail rate (commonly 14–16¢/kWh all-in around Houston), and you sell exports at the plan's buyback rate. Unless you're on a retail-match plan, you sell low and buy high — so both your plan choice and your system sizing matter.

One more wrinkle worth knowing before quotes start flying: not every Houston-area address is deregulated. Parts of The Woodlands are served by regulated Entergy Texas, where there's no plan shopping at all — Entergy's own tariff sets export credits. Check your bill before believing anyone's savings projection, ours included.

The four types of buyback plans

Plan type	Typical export credit (July 2026)	Best for	Watch out for
Retail-match ("1:1")	Same energy rate you pay (~14–16¢ equivalent)	Anyone who can get one — closest thing to true net metering in Texas	Availability shifts; TXU's version is Oncor (DFW) territory; terms and caps vary; TDU delivery fees still apply
High fixed-rate	~7–10¢/kWh	Houston/CenterPoint owners wanting predictable export value	Longer contracts (12–60 mo.), early termination fees, credit expiry at contract end
Low fixed-rate	~3–5.5¢/kWh	Systems sized tight to usage that rarely export	Many pair with cheap consumption rates but forfeit unused credits monthly
Wholesale / real-time	ERCOT spot price — averages ~3–5¢, spikes much higher	Battery owners who can time exports into price spikes	High risk without storage; averages less than good fixed plans

Rates above are the ranges we found across plan comparisons and Electricity Facts Labels in mid-July 2026. Named examples at that time: retail-match offers from TXU (Oncor territory) and Green Mountain; fixed-rate offers around 9.5¢ (Rhythm), 10¢ (Almika, 60-month term), and 7¢ (Chariot, the most widely available across TDU territories); low-fixed offers around 3–4.5¢ from several large REPs. Plans reprice constantly — treat every number here as "verify on today's EFL," not gospel.

The battery twist: plans that pay you more for storage

A newer plan category pays premium buyback rates — in one mid-2026 example, up to ~17¢/kWh — but only to homes with a battery, because the REP gets to lean on your stored energy when the grid is stressed. Combined with what storage already does for self-consumption (use your own midday power at night instead of selling at 7¢ and buying at 15¢), this is quietly reshaping the Texas solar math toward solar + battery. Run both configurations before you decide.

Rollover: the fine print that decides more than the rate

Two plans advertising similar rates can pay you very differently, because of what happens to unused credits. Rollover plans carry surplus credits forward month to month — your overproductive May offsets your brutal August. No-rollover plans zero out excess credits every billing cycle. If your system ever produces more than you use in a month (most do, in spring), a rollover plan at 7¢ routinely beats a no-rollover plan at 9¢. And nearly all rollover credits die at contract end — if you've banked a pile, time your plan switch for early fall when the bank is lowest.

The rest of the fine print, quickly

TDU delivery charges aren't offset by exports on most plans — that's $3–7/month plus per-kWh delivery fees that keep arriving regardless. Early termination fees run $150–300 on fixed-term contracts. Auto-renewal typically rolls you onto a worse rate — calendar the contract end date. And there's an interconnection gap: between installation and your utility's permission-to-operate (typically 2–6 weeks), exports may earn nothing. We time plan enrollment around power-on for exactly that reason.

What's the actual incentive picture in Texas in 2026?

Being straight about this, because plenty of ads aren't: the federal 25D residential credit is gone — expired December 31, 2025. If you buy a system with cash or a loan in 2026, there is no federal tax credit. (Third-party lease/PPA providers can still claim the commercial credit on qualifying timelines and pass savings into payments — details in financing & incentives.)

What Texas does have is underrated: a 100% property tax exemption on the value solar adds to your home (Tax Code §11.27). It is not automatic — you file Form 50-123 with your county appraisal district, ideally by April 30 of the year after installation. At Harris County-area rates, that's commonly worth several hundred dollars a year, every year the system operates. We include the form with every install packet.

How to choose your plan: four questions

1. Which TDU are you on? CenterPoint addresses have the most Houston-area choices; TNMP addresses (parts of Pearland and elsewhere) have fewer plans and higher delivery charges; Entergy areas don't shop at all.

2. How much will you actually export? A system sized to your usage exports maybe 20–40% of production; an oversized one exports more at below-retail rates. This is why we size from 12 months of your bills, not your roof's maximum.

3. Do credits roll over? If you'll ever overproduce in a month, weight rollover heavily.

4. Fixed or wholesale? Fixed for certainty. Wholesale only if you have a battery and the stomach for it.

Then read the Electricity Facts Label — the two lines that matter are the export credit rate and the credit expiration terms. Compare current plans on the state's own powertochoose.org, and re-shop at every contract end.

See what plan choice does to your payback

Our cost & savings calculator has a buyback-rate slider for exactly this reason: drag it from 3¢ to 10¢ and watch your payback move. And our new buyback comparison tool ranks what your specific exports would earn under every plan type, side by side. It's the fastest way to feel why plan choice is a real part of system design — and why we treat "which plan should I start on?" as part of every quote, not an afterthought.

Sources & verification: Plan rates and terms compiled July 2026 from provider Electricity Facts Labels and independent comparisons including Texas Power Guide (updated July 2026) and public REP plan listings; confirm current offers at Power to Choose (PUCT). Property tax exemption: Texas Tax Code §11.27; exemption application Form 50-123 (Texas Comptroller). Federal credit status: 25D expired 12/31/2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed 7/4/2025). HOA solar rights: Texas Property Code §202.010. Rates change monthly; we re-verify this page monthly and bump the date above only when content actually changes. General information, not financial advice.

Texas solar buyback plans, compared honestly (July 2026)