Alabama solar in numbers, 2024
Every figure below is computed by us from the Form EIA-861 annual files. Ranks are out of 51 jurisdictions, highest first.
| Measure | Alabama | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Households with a metered rooftop system76 systems across 2,398,172 residential accounts | 0.00% | 50th of 51 |
| Average system sizeNational average 6.74 kW | 11.45 kW | 2nd of 51 |
| Residential priceDerived average across the state, not a tariff | 15.18¢/kWh | 21st of 51 |
| Consumption per accountWhat a system here is typically sized against | 13,718 kWh/yr | 4th of 51 |
| Systems with a batteryPV-paired storage | — | 51st of 51 |
| Third-party ownedLeased or under a power purchase agreement | — | 51st of 51 |
| Five-year growth8 systems added in 2024 | 20.4%/yr | 36th of 51 |
| Installed capacityResidential net-metered capacity | 0.9 MW | — |
What the adoption figure means
One of the least developed rooftop markets in the country. Expect few installers, long lead times, and permitting offices with little solar experience.
Residential electricity in Alabama averaged 15.18¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, 21st of 51 and below the national average of 16.48¢. Retail prices sit above the national middle, which tilts the arithmetic toward using production on site rather than exporting it. Prices and adoption across all 51.
System size and consumption
The average Alabama system was 11.45 kW in 2024, ranking 2nd of 51. Households consumed an average of 13,718 kilowatt-hours a year (4th of 51) — the figure a system here is sized against.
Size your own system from your own kilowatt-hours, not from this average — how to do that.
Who owns the systems
Form EIA-861 records no third-party-ownership split for the 76 systems counted in Alabama in 2024. With a market this size the schedule frequently suppresses the split, so we publish nothing rather than infer it. Ask any company directly whether it is selling you ownership or a lease or PPA — the distinction decides who claims the incentives.
Battery attachment
No PV-paired storage figure was recorded against Alabama's 76 systems in 2024. That is common where installation counts are low, and it means the honest answer is that we do not know. Whether storage earns its place on your roof turns on your own outage history and export rate, not on a state rate — what a battery actually does.
Where the market is going
Alabama added 8 systems in 2024 and has grown at 20.4% a year over five years, 36th of 51. Where growth has turned.
Solar companies and licensing in Alabama
We found no dedicated state licence register for solar work in Alabama, so we publish no company counts rather than guessing. That is not evidence of light regulation — electrical work is frequently licensed at state or local level even where solar is never named separately.
It does have a practical consequence here. With 76 systems in the state and adoption 50th of 51, you are working in a market where a search for "Alabama solar licence" will often return nothing useful, and where the company quoting you may be travelling in from out of state. Ask which licence they hold, in which state, and confirm it with that issuing authority rather than accepting a licence number on a proposal. What to do when the search comes back empty.
Method
Figures are computed by HyreSolar from the Form EIA-861 2024 annual files — net-metered residential systems only, penetration counted against residential accounts, sizes as means. EIA publishes the inputs, not these ratios. Full methodology and the underlying CSV.
None of these figures is an estimate for your property. What to work through before you talk to anyone.
Common questions
How many homes in Alabama have solar?
76 residential net-metered systems were recorded in Alabama in 2024, against 2,398,172 residential electricity accounts — 0.00% of households, 50th of 51 jurisdictions. That is a HyreSolar calculation from Form EIA-861.
What size solar system is typical in Alabama?
The average net-metered residential system in Alabama was 11.45 kW in 2024, against a national average of 6.74 kW. Your own system should be sized from twelve months of your kilowatt-hours and your usable roof, not from a state average.
Do people in Alabama add batteries to solar?
Form EIA-861 recorded no PV-paired storage figure for Alabama in 2024, so we cannot state an attachment rate.
Is Alabama a good state for solar?
On the measures we can compute: residential electricity averages 15.18¢/kWh (21st of 51), households use 13,718 kWh a year (4th of 51), and 0.00% have installed a system (50th of 51). Retail price and export rules move the answer far more than sunshine does, and both are set by your specific utility rather than by the state.
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861, 2024 final release, retrieved 2 September 2026. Figures marked as a HyreSolar calculation are derived by us and are not official EIA statistics.