Solar incentives and rebates in Arkansas: what is left after the 2024 net metering change

Solar incentives in Arkansas are limited in 2026. The state offers no solar rebate or state tax credit for homeowners, the federal 25D credit no longer covers new systems, and systems that missed a September 30, 2024 deadline earn only avoided-cost credits for the power they export. What remains are the utility rules that decide how your solar is valued, plus protections for older systems that kept full retail credits.

• No state money: we found no Arkansas rebate, grant or income tax credit for home solar, and the state has no renewable portfolio standard.
• Federal credit ended: the IRS says 25D is not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and a solar expenditure counts as made when installation is complete.
• New systems get lower export credits: Entergy Arkansas credits exports from non-legacy customers at 3.34 cents per kWh from March 2026 through February 2027.
• Legacy systems are protected until 2040: qualifying systems set up before September 30, 2024 keep the older rate structure until June 1, 2040.

What solar incentives does Arkansas offer in 2026?

Very little in the way of direct incentives. The DSIRE database notes that Arkansas does not have a renewable portfolio standard. That matters because, in many states, a portfolio standard is what funds rebates and renewable credit markets. DSIRE also notes a 2010 Public Service Commission guide that requires investor-owned utilities to cut electric and gas sales through efficiency, but that is aimed at reducing energy use, not at paying for solar panels.

For a typical Arkansas homeowner in 2026, the money in solar comes from three places:

1. The electricity you no longer buy because your panels supply it directly.
2. Credits for any surplus you export, at your utility's avoided-cost rate.
3. The installed price you negotiate, which no rebate will reduce.

The 2023 law that changed solar in Arkansas

In 2023 the legislature passed Act 278, which the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service says overhauled net metering in the state. It split solar customers into two groups:

• Legacy customers who completed key interconnection steps before September 30, 2024. Under the statute, they keep the rate structure, terms and conditions in effect before the change until June 1, 2040, though they remain subject to later changes in rates, terms and conditions.
• Non-legacy customers who missed that deadline. They are billed under new rate structures; at Entergy Arkansas and First Electric Cooperative, exported power is credited at avoided cost rather than at the full retail rate.

The Extension Service describes avoided cost as "much lower" than retail prices. Under the old system, a kWh you exported offset a kWh you bought at the full price. Under the new one, exported energy earns only the utility's avoided cost. Our Arkansas net metering guide explains the billing step by step.

Federal tax credit status for Arkansas homeowners

Arkansas buyers used to rely on the federal residential clean energy credit to cut costs. The IRS now says the credit "will not be allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025." A solar expenditure is treated as made when installation is complete, so a system finished in 2026 does not qualify. Budget for a purchase with no federal credit, and read solar savings without the federal tax credit for the math.

Arkansas utility rules that act as incentives

With no rebates on offer, your utility's tariff is where the value of solar is set. Entergy Arkansas is a major investor-owned utility in the state, and many rural homes are served by electric cooperatives instead.

Entergy Arkansas

Entergy Arkansas' Non-Legacy Net-Metering Service (Rate Schedule 71) took effect March 1, 2024. It credits exported kWh at the company's avoided cost, reset each March using the prior year's average wholesale market price in its MISO load zone. The rates in the tariff's Attachment A (latest update effective March 2, 2026) are:

Billing period	Entergy Arkansas non-legacy export credit
March 2024 – February 2025	2.59¢ per kWh
March 2025 – February 2026	2.47¢ per kWh
March 2026 – February 2027	3.34¢ per kWh

The credit cannot reduce the customer charge, demand charge or minimum bill. Entergy charges a one-time interconnection fee of $196.75 per generation meter under 300 kW, plus any study costs. Ask Entergy for the current size limit for your home before you settle on a design.

Electric cooperatives

Co-ops follow similar rules but set their own fees. First Electric Cooperative, for example, credits non-legacy exports at the prior year's avoided cost filed by Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, applies credits only to the energy charge and charges a one-time $320 fee for systems up to 25 kW. Ask your own co-op for its current net metering rider.

Arkansas solar incentives at a glance

Item	Who it applies to	Status (Nov 2026)
State solar rebate or tax credit	Arkansas homeowners	None found
Federal 25D credit	All U.S. homeowners	Not allowed for expenditures after Dec 31, 2025
Legacy net metering	Systems that met the September 30, 2024 deadline	Older rate structure kept until June 1, 2040
Non-legacy export credits	Systems that missed the September 30, 2024 deadline	Avoided cost; Entergy Arkansas 3.34¢/kWh for Mar 2026 – Feb 2027
Meter aggregation	Customers with several accounts	Surplus can be applied to other meters in your name, generally within 100 miles, with 30 days' notice

How to connect a new solar system in Arkansas

There is no rebate application to file in Arkansas, but the utility paperwork decides when your system can start saving money. Entergy Arkansas lists these main steps:

1. Submit a Preliminary Interconnection Site Review Request with a one-line diagram of the system.
2. Pay for any technical or engineering study the utility says is needed.
3. Send a signed Standard Interconnection Agreement for Net-Metering Facilities at least 30 days before you plan to connect, with a lease or service agreement affidavit if a third party owns or finances the system.
4. Install a clearly labeled manual disconnect switch approved by the utility and shown on your diagram.
5. If you want surplus credit applied to other accounts, file the meter aggregation form at least 30 days ahead.

Cooperatives have their own forms. At First Electric Cooperative, for example, part of the agreement must be certified by an electrical inspector licensed by the Arkansas Department of Labor, and the system must stay off until the co-op commissions it.

Buying a home with solar in Arkansas

If you are buying a house that already has panels, ask the seller whether the system is legacy or non-legacy. A legacy system that met the 2024 deadline keeps the older crediting until June 1, 2040, which can make it noticeably more valuable than a new install. Ask for the signed interconnection agreement and recent bills that show how credits are applied. If the original installer has closed, our solar orphans guide explains where to get help with warranties and service.

How to judge solar payback in Arkansas

Because exports earn only a few cents, self-use drives savings. Steps that help:

• Pull 12 months of bills and size the system to your daytime use.
• Put the current avoided-cost credit, not your retail rate, in any savings estimate.
• Ask whether a battery would let you use more of your own solar at night, and price it separately.
• Compare quotes on cost per watt, not just the monthly payment.

The Arkansas solar panel page shows typical output in the state, and the Arkansas electricity rates page compares local prices with the national average of 18.16¢ per kWh.

Next steps

Call your utility to confirm its current avoided-cost credit and fees, then compare at least two written quotes with the solar quote checker. Without a rebate or federal credit, a fair price is the incentive you control.