District of Columbia 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 | District of Columbia | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Households with a metered rooftop system17,780 systems across 318,780 residential accounts | 5.58% | 10th of 51 |
| Average system sizeNational average 6.74 kW | 6.35 kW | 41st of 51 |
| Residential priceDerived average across the state, not a tariff | 17.71¢/kWh | 15th of 51 |
| Consumption per accountWhat a system here is typically sized against | 7,672 kWh/yr | 41st of 51 |
| Systems with a batteryPV-paired storage | — | 48th of 51 |
| Third-party ownedLeased or under a power purchase agreement | 3.2% | 24th of 51 |
| Five-year growth3,017 systems added in 2024 | 23.5%/yr | 28th of 51 |
| Installed capacityResidential net-metered capacity | 112.9 MW | — |
What the adoption figure means
A mature market by national standards, which usually means several credible installers to compare and a permitting process that is not learning on your job.
Residential electricity in District of Columbia averaged 17.71¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, 15th 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 District of Columbia system was 6.35 kW in 2024, ranking 41st of 51. Households consumed an average of 7,672 kilowatt-hours a year (41st 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
3.2% of District of Columbia systems were third-party owned in 2024 — leased or under a power purchase agreement rather than owned by the householder. That is 24th of 51.
Third-party ownership is common, so leases and PPAs will be presented alongside purchase. Who claims the federal credit · ownership across all 51.
Battery attachment
No PV-paired storage figure was recorded against District of Columbia's 17,780 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
District of Columbia added 3,017 systems in 2024 and has grown at 23.5% a year over five years, 28th of 51. Where growth has turned.
Solar companies and licensing in District of Columbia
We found no dedicated state licence register for solar work in District of Columbia, 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 17,780 systems in the state and adoption 10th of 51, you are working in a market where a search for "District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia have solar?
17,780 residential net-metered systems were recorded in District of Columbia in 2024, against 318,780 residential electricity accounts — 5.58% of households, 10th of 51 jurisdictions. That is a HyreSolar calculation from Form EIA-861.
What size solar system is typical in District of Columbia?
The average net-metered residential system in District of Columbia was 6.35 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 District of Columbia add batteries to solar?
Form EIA-861 recorded no PV-paired storage figure for District of Columbia in 2024, so we cannot state an attachment rate.
Is District of Columbia a good state for solar?
On the measures we can compute: residential electricity averages 17.71¢/kWh (15th of 51), households use 7,672 kWh a year (41st of 51), and 5.58% have installed a system (10th 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.