Frankfort, KY Solar Panels
Solar Power in Frankfort
If you live in Frankfort, KY, and you’ve watched your electric bill climb year after year, you’re not imagining things. Kentucky electricity prices have increased 19% from 2020 to 2024, pushing many homeowners to look for a smarter, more predictable way to power their homes. Solar installation offers a way to take control of those rising costs while owning a lasting asset.
At Palmetto, we make solar simple to understand. This guide walks you through what solar installation looks like in Frankfort, from how the panels work to what you can expect to save. To learn more about the equipment itself, explore our guide on home solar panels.
How Much Do Solar Panels Cost in Frankfort, KY?
See real solar costs for your Frankfort home—built from actual Palmetto installations across the area, including Farmdale, Bellepoint, Thorn Hill, and Bald Knob. This calculator uses firsthand local data to show what buying your own system could cost, so you can explore ownership with clear, honest numbers.
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Cost
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Key Takeaways
- Kentucky electricity prices rose about 13% from 2021 to 2024, and installing solar lets Frankfort homeowners generate their own power and gain more predictable energy costs.
- A typical Frankfort home can save around $36,000 over 25 years by owning a solar system outright and keeping the full utility-bill savings.
- State and local incentives can lower your cost, including Kentucky net metering that credits you for the extra energy your panels send to the grid.
Frankfort Electricity Prices
Watched your Frankfort electric bill creep up each year? You’re not imagining it—Kentucky’s rates are steadily rising.
Kentucky electricity prices have climbed about 13% from 2021 to 2024, rising from 11.5 cents to 13.0 cents per kWh. While still below the national average, that steady upward trend adds up over time.
Solar installation offers Frankfort homeowners a way to take control. By generating your own power, you rely less on the grid and shield yourself from year-after-year rate increases, gaining more predictable energy costs.
Owning your solar system means owning a lasting asset. As utility rates keep rising, the electricity you produce yourself grows more valuable—delivering long-term savings and greater peace of mind for your home.
Price of Energy: Kentucky vs National Average
Frankfort Area Utility Providers
In Frankfort, KY, most homes are served by Kentucky Utilities (KU). In 2023, KU charged about 12.0¢ per kWh—below both the Kentucky state average of 12.70¢ and the national average of 16.0¢.
Frankfort’s relatively low rates reflect Kentucky’s long reliance on affordable local energy sources. Still, these prices sit close to the state average, and even modest increases add up over time for homeowners weighing solar panel installation.
Solar installation lets you lock in more predictable energy costs. When you own your panels, you keep the full utility-bill savings and gain a lasting home-value asset—no matter how local electricity rates shift in the years ahead.
Frankfort Utilities Electricity Rates
Kentucky Solar Incentives
Homeowners in Frankfort, KY can lower the cost of going solar through several solar incentives in Kentucky offered at the state and local level.
These programs range from Kentucky Net Metering, which credits you for extra energy sent to the grid, to the Duke Energy PowerPair rebate for qualifying solar-plus-battery systems. Financing and bulk-purchase options may also apply.
While the federal 30% residential tax credit was eliminated by the Big Beautiful Bill, these state and local incentives still exist and are worth exploring as you own your system.
| Incentive | Type | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Net Metering | Net Metering | State-mandated net metering allows solar customers to receive bill credits for excess electricity sent to the grid, with credit rates varying by utility. | Learn More |
| Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing | Financing | Commercial PACE financing lets eligible property owners finance 100% of a solar project’s cost, repaid through a voluntary assessment on the property tax bill. | |
| Kentucky Incentives for Energy Independence | Tax Credit | State tax and sales tax incentives of up to 100% for approved commercial and industrial renewable energy facilities. | Learn More |
Net metering is mandated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky for all investor-owned utilities and electric cooperatives, with the exception of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Kentucky first established net metering in 2008 for systems up to 30 kW, and a 2019 law raised the maximum eligible system size to 45 kW while shifting the credit structure to a dollar-value-based system with rates set by the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC).
Compensation rates vary by utility. LG&E and KU Energy currently offer full retail net metering, crediting every excess kWh at the same rate customers pay for electricity. Kentucky Power similarly credits exports at a reduced rate of approximately $0.09/kWh.
Customers who installed their solar systems before January 2025 are grandfathered into the original full-retail (NM I) compensation rate for 25 years. For customers on reduced avoided-cost tariffs, pairing solar with battery storage for self-consumption is generally more valuable than exporting excess energy to the grid.
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing allows eligible property owners to finance the full cost of installing solar energy systems with no upfront out-of-pocket expense. The financing is repaid through a voluntary special assessment added to the property’s tax bill over time, with repayment terms extending up to 25 years to match the useful life of the improvement.
Because PACE financing is secured by the special assessment on the property, no personal or business guarantees are required, and the obligation is tied to the property rather than the owner. In Kentucky, PACE is administered by Energize Kentucky, a Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance program.
PACE financing is currently available only to commercial customers and only in certain jurisdictions within Kentucky. Counties with C-PACE legislation include Jefferson, Bullitt, Nelson, Boone, Pendleton, and Lincoln. It is not available for residential rooftop solar.
The Kentucky Incentives for Energy Independence program is administered by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA). It provides significant tax incentives for approved commercial and industrial facilities that construct, retrofit, or upgrade systems generating power from renewable resources, including solar.
Approved projects can receive a credit of up to 100% of Kentucky income tax and a sales tax incentive of up to 100% of Kentucky sales and use tax paid on eligible materials, machinery, and equipment. This makes it a substantial incentive for qualifying large-scale renewable energy investments.
This is a business-facing incentive and is not available to residential homeowners. Companies considering a qualifying project should contact KEDFA to review approval requirements and application procedures.
Ready to start saving with solar?
Speak with a Palmetto solar expert to find out exactly how much you can save with Kentucky incentives.
Get a Free QuoteFrankfort Solar Irradiance
Solar panel production varies throughout the year based on daylight hours, weather patterns, and sun intensity. Understanding how seasons affect your solar system helps set realistic expectations for your investment.
Frankfort’s four-season climate brings warm summers and cloudy winters, yet its solid sun exposure makes solar production reliable year-round. With the right system, your Kentucky home can generate meaningful clean energy.
Solar Production in Frankfort by Month
What Can Your Solar System Power?
Summer Production (July)
In July, your 10 kW system could power:
- 3.6 average homes (15 kWh/day per home)
- or Run central AC for 18 hours AND power all other appliances
- or Fully charge 5.4 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles
Winter Production (December)
In December, your 10 kW system could power:
- 2 average homes (15 kWh/day per home)
- or Keep your home heating system running for 15 hours
- or Fully charge 3 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles
Annual Production
Over a year, your 10 kW system could:
- Offset 10 tons of carbon dioxide emissions
- or Equal the environmental benefit of planting 175 trees
- or Save approximately $4,234 in electricity costs
Want to know exactly how much solar can power your home?
Get a personalized solar analysis based on your actual home, energy usage, and roof characteristics.
Get My Custom EstimateSolar Panel Systems in Frankfort
We’ve organized solar installation data across the United States, right down to the address level. Explore our interactive map to see how neighborhoods and communities throughout Frankfort, KY are making the switch to solar. Click any hexagon to discover how many of your neighbors have already embraced clean energy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Kentucky requires net metering for most investor-owned utilities and electric cooperatives, so Frankfort homeowners can earn bill credits for the extra electricity their solar panels send to the grid. Frankfort is served mainly by Kentucky Utilities (KU), which currently offers full retail credit for each excess kilowatt-hour.
Systems up to 45 kW qualify, and homeowners who installed before January 2025 keep the original full-retail rate for 25 years. Because rates vary, it’s smart to confirm current terms with your utility.
Yes. When you own your solar system outright, it can raise your Frankfort home’s resale value. A Zillow study found homes with solar panels sell for about 4.1% more than comparable homes without them.
Because you own the panels, that added value belongs to you—along with the full utility-bill savings your system produces year after year.
In Frankfort, most homeowners who buy their system outright pay around $21,500 for a typical 6.80 kW installation, or about $3.16 per watt. Smaller and larger systems range from roughly $16,900 to $27,500.
The federal 30% residential tax credit was eliminated by the 2025 federal law change, so it no longer lowers your cost. For pricing based on your home size, use the solar cost calculator above.
Yes, solar can make sense for many Frankfort homes. The area averages about 4.7 peak sun hours per day, enough to power a home year-round. With Kentucky rates near 13.0¢ per kWh and climbing, generating your own electricity adds up.
A purchased system is typically sized to offset roughly 100% of a home’s electricity usage. When you own your panels, you keep the full utility-bill savings and gain a lasting home asset, with a typical Frankfort home saving around $36,000 over 25 years.
For many Frankfort homeowners, solar can pay off over time. A typical system costs around $21,500, with a payback period near 16-17 years and roughly $36,000 in savings over 25 years when you own your panels outright.
Because you own the system, you keep the full benefit of every kWh it produces. As Kentucky rates rise, that self-generated electricity grows more valuable, and net metering credits excess energy sent to the grid.
In Frankfort, a typical 10 kW home solar system produces roughly 13,000 kWh per year, based on NREL PVWatts data for the area. Smaller systems produce less—about 6,600 kWh for a 5 kW system and 9,300 kWh for 7 kW.
Output changes with the seasons, peaking in summer and dipping during Kentucky’s cloudier winters. Your actual production also depends on roof direction, tilt, and shading, so estimates vary from home to home.