Delaware 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 | Delaware | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Households with a metered rooftop system14,087 systems across 473,508 residential accounts | 2.98% | 16th of 51 |
| Average system sizeNational average 6.74 kW | 7.67 kW | 21st of 51 |
| Residential priceDerived average across the state, not a tariff | 16.57¢/kWh | 17th of 51 |
| Consumption per accountWhat a system here is typically sized against | 10,928 kWh/yr | 24th of 51 |
| Systems with a battery3 paired systems | 0.02% | 43rd of 51 |
| Third-party ownedLeased or under a power purchase agreement | 26.7% | 13th of 51 |
| Five-year growth1,126 systems added in 2024 | 12.5%/yr | 46th of 51 |
| Installed capacityResidential net-metered capacity | 108.1 MW | — |
What the adoption figure means
Adoption sits comfortably above the national middle, so there is generally a working installer market to choose between.
Residential electricity in Delaware averaged 16.57¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, 17th of 51 and above 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 Delaware system was 7.67 kW in 2024, ranking 21st of 51. Households consumed an average of 10,928 kilowatt-hours a year (24th 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
26.7% of Delaware systems were third-party owned in 2024 — leased or under a power purchase agreement rather than owned by the householder. That is 13th of 51.
Third-party ownership is the dominant model, so expect a lease or PPA to be the first thing you are offered. Who claims the federal credit · ownership across all 51.
Battery attachment
0.02% of Delaware solar systems were paired with a battery in 2024, 43rd of 51 — 3 paired systems.
Attachment is below average, which usually means exports still pay well enough that storing surplus is not the better trade. Attachment across all 51 · does a battery belong in your project.
Where the market is going
Delaware added 1,126 systems in 2024 and has grown at 12.5% a year over five years, 46th of 51. Where growth has turned.
Solar companies and licensing in Delaware
We found no dedicated state licence register for solar work in Delaware, 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 14,087 systems in the state and adoption 16th of 51, you are working in a market where a search for "Delaware 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 Delaware have solar?
14,087 residential net-metered systems were recorded in Delaware in 2024, against 473,508 residential electricity accounts — 2.98% of households, 16th of 51 jurisdictions. That is a HyreSolar calculation from Form EIA-861.
What size solar system is typical in Delaware?
The average net-metered residential system in Delaware was 7.67 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 Delaware add batteries to solar?
0.02% of Delaware systems were paired with storage in 2024, 43rd of 51. Battery attachment tracks outage frequency and export rules more than it tracks sunshine.
Is Delaware a good state for solar?
On the measures we can compute: residential electricity averages 16.57¢/kWh (17th of 51), households use 10,928 kWh a year (24th of 51), and 2.98% have installed a system (16th 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.