Florida Solar and Energy Report: September 2026

This report covers Florida statewide, with a closer look at South Florida and the Miami metro where the data allows. It spans rooftop solar, household and business energy prices, utility-scale solar with battery storage, and public EV charging, along with the electrical workforce behind these sectors. Figures come from public federal and county data. Where the data comes from Pixedi's own modeling of a typical Miami rooftop system, the text says so. Most electricity figures run through July 2026, price indexes through August 2026, and charging counts through late September 2026.

Key findings

• Florida had 279,044 net-metered solar customers in July 2026, up 9.0% from a year earlier and 7.1 times the 39,439 of July 2019.
• Miami-Dade County issued 504 solar permits in January to August 2026, down 30.7% from 727 in the same months of 2025, which runs against the statewide growth in solar customers.
• The average Florida residential electricity bill came to about $222 in July 2026, up from $214 a year earlier (up 3.6%), even though the price per kWh slipped 0.5%.
• Over the twelve months to July 2026, Florida households paid an average 15.39 cents per kWh, against 14.60 cents in the prior twelve months.
• A typical 7 kW rooftop system in Miami produces about 10,862 kWh a year, worth roughly $1,672 at Florida's average residential price.
• Utility-scale battery storage in Florida reached 1,202 MW in July 2026, up from 661 MW a year earlier.
• South Florida ZIP codes hold 5,424 public charging ports, 35.9% of the statewide total.
• The Miami metro employs about 510 solar photovoltaic installers and about 12,990 electricians (May 2025 data).

Rooftop solar demand keeps growing statewide

Florida's rooftop solar base is large and still expanding. The state had 279,044 net-metered solar customers in July 2026, up 9.0% from a year earlier and 7.1 times the 39,439 it had in July 2019. It added 23,152 of these customers in the twelve months to July 2026, and 12,260 of them in January to July 2026 alone. Its total customer count puts Florida at No. 3 among states for net-metered solar customers, holding 5.0% of the national total. For an installer or a roofing company, that means the customer pool keeps getting bigger each month, and a growing share of homeowners already have a neighbor with panels on the roof.

• July 201939,439 customers
• July 2026279,044 customers

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Capacity is growing faster than the customer count. Residential net-metered solar capacity reached 3,058.6 MW in July 2026, up 11.3% year over year, from 318 MW in July 2019. Total net-metered capacity stands at 3,346 MW, which is 733% above its level in the same month of 2019. The average net-metered home system is 11.1 kW, a preliminary estimate. Because capacity is rising faster than customers, new systems appear to be larger on average.

Federal estimates of small-scale solar tell the same story from another angle. EIA puts Florida's small-scale (rooftop and behind-the-meter) solar capacity at 3,364 MW in July 2026, up 11.5% year over year, and ranks the state No. 4 for this measure. Small-scale solar generated an estimated 3,566 GWh in January to July 2026, up 12.6% from the same months a year earlier. Even so, rooftop solar on Florida homes produced the equivalent of only 3.9% of all residential electricity bought from utilities over those seven months (a preliminary figure). The installed base has grown fast, and most household demand is still served by the grid, which leaves plenty of room for the market to keep expanding.

The local picture in Miami-Dade is weaker. The county issued 504 solar permits in January to August 2026, down 30.7% from 727 in the same months of 2025, and this permit count is preliminary. Statewide customer counts are still climbing, but in Miami-Dade, new permit activity has slowed noticeably. A South Florida installer should not assume that statewide growth figures describe their own flow of leads, and it would make sense to watch county permit data alongside the state totals.

Electricity prices and household bills

Florida electricity is cheaper than the national average, and it has still become noticeably more expensive over time. Households paid an average 15.03 cents per kWh in July 2026, down 0.5% from 15.11 cents a year earlier, against a U.S. average of 18.31 cents. Measured over a longer stretch, the July 2026 price is 28.5% higher than in July 2019, when it was 11.70 cents. The twelve-month view smooths out the monthly dip: over the twelve months to July 2026, residential customers paid an average 15.39 cents per kWh, against 14.60 cents in the prior twelve months.

• Florida, July 201911.7 cents per kWh
• Florida, July 202515.1 cents per kWh
• Florida, July 202615.0 cents per kWh
• U.S. average, July 202618.3 cents per kWh

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Bills tell a different story from the single-month price. The average Florida residential electricity bill came to about $222 in July 2026, versus $214 a year earlier, up 3.6%. With the July price per kWh slightly lower, the higher bill points to households using more electricity. Florida homes consumed 82,447 GWh of utility electricity in January to July 2026, up 1.8% from the same months a year earlier, and utilities served 10,798,346 residential accounts in July 2026, 183,982 more than a year earlier. For a solar or efficiency seller, the bill is the figure customers feel, and it is the one that went up.

The latest American Community Survey data, covering 2020 to 2024, shows 90.4% of Florida households heat with electricity, rising to 91.0% in Miami-Dade, while 43,750 homes statewide list solar as their heating fuel. Gas is a small part of the picture, but it is getting more expensive too: Florida households paid $23.62 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas in December 2025, up 7.6% year over year, and that December figure is the latest state gas price available.

Businesses pay less per unit. Florida businesses paid an average 11.37 cents per kWh in July 2026, up 0.6% year over year. National price indexes, which run a month later, show electricity climbing faster than prices overall. U.S. consumer electricity prices rose 3.8% in the year to August 2026, against 3.4% for all items, and since August 2019 the electricity index has climbed 42.4% versus 30.6% for overall consumer prices. Household piped utility gas nationally showed a +4.4% change over that same year, while in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area the overall price level stood 3.7% above where it was twelve months earlier, so South Florida households are absorbing energy costs on top of broad price pressure.

What a Miami rooftop system is worth

Pixedi modeled a typical 7 kW rooftop system in Miami using the PVWatts solar model and a standard weather year. The system produces about 10,862 kWh a year, worth roughly $1,672 at Florida's average residential price over the twelve months to July 2026. Both figures are preliminary estimates, and actual output depends on roof angle, shading and the specific rate plan.

The same system runs at a 17.7% capacity factor, peaking near 991 kWh in May and dipping to about 767 kWh in December. The seasonal swing is modest, so a Miami system keeps producing through the winter months. The model uses a 7 kW system, while the statewide average net-metered home system is 11.1 kW, so the value for an average new Florida installation is likely larger than this example, though that larger figure is not calculated here.

For an owner deciding how to talk about solar, the modeled value of the system is the clearest number to put in front of a customer, because it ties the roof directly to the bill they already pay.

Utility-scale solar and storage

Utilities are building solar at a much larger scale than homeowners. Florida had 13,342 MW of operating utility-scale solar in July 2026, 1,422 MW more than a year earlier and 6.7 times the 1,978 MW of July 2019. Solar made up 15.4% of Florida's utility-scale generating capacity at the end of 2025, up from 3.2% in 2019, and that 2025 share is the latest annual figure.

• July 2025661 MW
• July 20261,202 MW

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Battery storage is the fastest-moving piece of the grid. Utility-scale battery storage reached 1,202 MW in July 2026, up from 661 MW a year earlier. For local businesses, the practical point is that the grid is changing underneath the rooftop market, with more solar and more storage on the utility side. Contractors who can explain how home systems fit into that grid will have a clearer story than those who only talk about panels.

EV charging

Florida's public charging network is large and concentrated in the south. As of late September 2026, the state had 4,387 open public EV charging stations with 15,110 charging ports. Of those ports, 5,176 are DC fast chargers, 34.3% of the total. South Florida ZIP codes beginning 330 to 334 hold 5,424 public charging ports, 35.9% of the statewide total. Among Florida's public DC fast-charging stations, 43.4% offer the NACS (SAE J3400) connector.

5,424 portsSouth Florida, late September 2026

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC)

The pace of new openings looks slower this year, based on preliminary data. 454 public charging stations now open in Florida list an opening date in January to August 2026, adding 750 DC fast ports, versus 515 stations from the same months of 2025. Also preliminary, 92 public stations are listed as temporarily unavailable and 8 as planned. The latest registration data, for 2023, shows Florida had 254,878 registered battery-electric vehicles, No. 2 among states and 7.2% of the U.S. total. That registration count is several years old, so it describes the fleet as it stood then.

Labor and contractors

The workforce that installs solar in South Florida is small next to the broader electrical trade. The Miami metro employs about 510 solar photovoltaic installers, with a median annual wage of $48,290, and about 12,990 electricians, with a median annual wage of $58,630. Both figures come from federal wage data for May 2025.

On the business side, South Florida had 2,130 electrical contractor establishments (NAICS 238210) in 2023, the latest year available. For a solar company, these firms are both competitors and potential partners, and the marketing question is how to stand out among thousands of electrical businesses when county solar permits are down from a year earlier.

What changed since the last edition

This is the first edition of the Florida Solar and Energy Report, and future editions will track month-to-month movement against the figures published here. The newest data vintages are July 2026 for state electricity, solar and storage figures, August 2026 for consumer price indexes and Miami-Dade permits, and late September 2026 for public charging counts.

Methodology and sources

Electricity prices, bills, residential accounts, sales, net-metered solar customers and capacity, small-scale solar capacity and generation, utility-scale solar and battery capacity, and generating capacity shares come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), with most monthly data through July 2026 and the capacity share for 2025. The Florida residential natural gas price is also from EIA, for December 2025. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the consumer price indexes used here, the CPI-U series without seasonal adjustment, covering national electricity, national piped utility gas and national all items, plus the index for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area, all through August 2026. Employment and wage figures for solar installers and electricians come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025.

Public charging station data comes from the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC), as of late September 2026. The battery-electric vehicle registration count is for 2023. Household heating fuel shares come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates. The count of electrical contractor establishments is for 2023. Solar permit counts come from Miami-Dade County records for January to August of 2025 and 2026. The Miami rooftop system estimate is Pixedi's own modeling with the NLR PVWatts model (version 8, typical meteorological year), valued at Florida's average residential price over the twelve months to July 2026.

The following figures are preliminary: the 11.1 kW average home system size, the 3.9% rooftop share of residential electricity, the Miami rooftop output of 10,862 kWh and value of $1,672, the 17.7% capacity factor with its monthly peak and low, the Miami-Dade permit count of 504, the 454 stations opened in 2026, and the 92 temporarily unavailable and 8 planned charging stations.

Sources

1. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
3. U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC)
4. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey
5. PVWatts Calculator

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