Solar
Solar installation in Spokane, done by a licensed electrical contractor.
Grid-tie, battery backup, and off-grid systems for homes in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and North Idaho. No door-knocking, no commission pitch, no signature-tonight pricing.
Most solar in this market is sold by companies that don't do electrical work. They subcontract the install, quote you a savings number, and move on. We came at it from the other direction. We're a licensed electrical contractor first, and solar is one of the things we install.
That difference shows up in the parts of the job that go wrong. A solar array is a new source landing on your existing electrical service. If your service is 100 amps on an overhead drop, or your panel is full, or your busbar can't take the backfeed, that's a conversation to have before you sign anything, not something to discover on install day. We look at the panel first because we're the people who'd have to fix it.
Scott runs solar for us. He has a finance background and he's a licensed electrician, which is an unusual pairing: the person walking you through the numbers is also the person who can read your panel. He still gets on installs.
Washington and Idaho solar incentives, as of September 2026
This changed significantly in the last year and a lot of what's published online is out of date. Here's where it actually stands.
Washington
| Incentive | Status | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Federal residential clean energy credit (25D) | Ended December 31, 2025 | The 30% federal credit was terminated. Systems installed after that date don't qualify. Any quote or website still showing 30% off is working from old information. |
| Washington sales & use tax exemption | Active through December 31, 2029 | 100% sales tax exemption on equipment for solar systems of 100 kW AC or less, and on qualifying installation labor. In Spokane County that's a real number on a real invoice. |
| Washington production incentive (RESIP) | Closed | The state program that paid per kilowatt-hour produced has been fully subscribed since 2019 and is winding down. Not available on new systems. |
| Avista net metering | Open | Systems 100 kW or under. Details below, including the part most people aren't told. |
North Idaho
| Incentive | Status | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho residential alternative energy deduction | Active | Deduct 40% of the system cost the year it's installed, then 20% a year for the next three years. Capped at $5,000 per year and $20,000 total. |
One thing worth being precise about, because it gets blurred in sales presentations: the Idaho benefit is a deduction, not a credit. A deduction lowers the income you're taxed on. A credit lowers the tax you owe, dollar for dollar. They are not the same size. What either is worth depends entirely on your own return, and we're electricians. Talk to a tax professional before you count on a number.
How the Washington sales tax exemption is claimed: you don't file for a refund afterward. For systems at or under 100 kW you provide a Buyer's Retail Sales Tax Exemption Certificate at the time of sale and the tax isn't collected. We handle that paperwork as part of the job. Systems over 100 kW work differently: those are a refund application to the Department of Revenue.
How Avista net metering actually works, including the March 31 part
When your array makes more than you're using, the surplus goes back to the grid and Avista banks it as a credit. In months where you use more than you make, the bank draws down. That's the whole idea, and it works.
Here's the part that rarely comes up in a sales conversation:
the credit bank resets every year on March 31
Whatever is still sitting in it on that date is zeroed out. You are not paid for it. That's a state regulatory requirement, not an Avista choice.
Think about what that means in Spokane. Your array produces most heavily May through September and least in December and January. You bank credits through the summer, spend them through the winter, and whatever's left disappears at the end of March, right before production climbs again.
This is why sizing matters more here than a savings brochure suggests. A system meaningfully larger than your annual usage doesn't bank the extra value forever; it banks it until March 31 and then loses it. A company paid on system size has no reason to raise that. We'd rather size to your actual consumption and tell you why.
Other terms worth knowing
- Net metering is for systems of 100 kW or less.
- It's first-come, first-served up to a cap set by the state legislature.
- Avista's position on existing customers: systems already approved under the current net metering schedule stay on it unless the state utility commissions require a change.
The four kinds of systems we install
Grid-tie. The standard install, and the right answer for most homes. Your system feeds the house, surplus goes to the grid, net metering credits it back. Lowest cost per watt because there's no battery. The tradeoff people don't expect: a grid-tie system without batteries shuts down in an outage. That's a safety requirement: it keeps your array from energizing a line a utility crew is working on. If you want solar specifically for outages, this isn't the system.
Grid-tie with battery backup. Grid-tie, plus storage and the switching gear to island your house from the grid when the power drops. Costs more and adds equipment, but it's the version that actually keeps things running. Most of the design work is deciding what stays on. That usually means a critical-loads panel: a subpanel carrying the circuits you can't do without, so the battery isn't trying to run the whole house.
Off-grid. No utility connection at all. Battery bank sized to carry you through nights and stretches of weather, and usually a generator for the shortfall. We see these on rural Spokane County and North Idaho property where a utility extension is expensive. Off-grid is a different design problem from grid-tie: you're sizing for the worst week of the year, not the annual average.
Small emergency systems. A scaled-down system to hold up the essentials during an outage (well pump, furnace controls, refrigeration, a few circuits). Cheaper than a full backup build, and a reasonable answer if outages are the actual problem you're solving rather than the power bill.
What the process actually looks like
- Consultation. Call or send the form. We talk about your usage, your roof, and what you're actually trying to accomplish: lower bill, outage resilience, or getting off the utility entirely. Those three lead to different systems.
- Site survey. Roof structure, orientation, shading, and, the part solar-only companies get to late, your existing electrical service. Service size, panel condition, available breaker space, busbar rating. If the service needs work, you find out here, in writing, not on install day.
- Proposal. System design and what it costs. We'll show you our production assumptions rather than just the conclusion.
- Financing, if you want it. We work with a financing partner. We're not a lender and we don't get into what your specific structure should be.
- Interconnection application to Avista. See below: the installer files this.
- Permits. Electrical permit through L&I in most of the area, and the City of Spokane if you're inside city limits; building permit from the local jurisdiction where the project needs one. In North Idaho it depends on the address: some cities and counties have assumed jurisdiction and others go through the state. We handle it either way.
- Installation, inspection, energization. Install, then the electrical inspection, then Avista's sign-off and the meter change, then permission to operate.
Interconnection with Avista: the actual sequence
Nobody publishes this, and it's the part that determines your timeline.
- The installer files the interconnection application (Avista uses a DocuSign form). A homeowner can file it on a self-install, but on our jobs we do it.
- There's a $100 processing fee at submission, typically charged to the installer.
- Avista acknowledges receipt within 5 business days.
- Avista reviews the application for completeness and responds within 10 business days: either it's complete or they identify what's missing.
- Approval or denial comes within 20 business days.
- After approval, permitting and installation proceed.
- When the work is finished, the installer sends Avista the final passed electrical inspection.
- Avista does a site safety check and installs any meter the system requires.
- Avista issues approval to energize and net metering starts.
That's the process for systems up to 100 kW. Larger systems follow a different application path.
Two things fall out of that list. First, the business-day windows are Avista's response commitments, not your total project time. Permitting and scheduling sit on top. Second, the sequence is gated on a passed electrical inspection, which is the same reason a service upgrade, if you need one, belongs early in the schedule rather than bolted on at the end.
The part that's actually electrical work
A solar array is a generation source connected to your service equipment, and your service equipment has to be able to take it.
Things we look at that a roof-first survey can miss:
- Service size. A 100-amp overhead service is common in older Spokane housing and it constrains what you can add. If a service change is coming anyway, doing it before the array is cheaper than doing it after.
- Panel condition. Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels are still common in this market. We would want to replace one before backfeeding an array into it, and you will hear that at the survey rather than after.
- Busbar rating and breaker space. There are limits on how much you can backfeed into a given panel, and a full panel is a real obstacle.
- Panel location. Panels can't be in closets or bathrooms. If yours is, it moves, and moving a panel more than six feet triggers arc-fault requirements on the extended circuits, which is where the cost jumps.
- Grounding and bonding. New equipment, new bonding requirements.
If any of that applies to your house, we'd rather tell you at the survey. Our panel and service pricing is published on our costs page, so you can see the numbers before you talk to anyone.
How we sell solar, and what we won't do
The industry's reputation in this market was earned by door-to-door crews working on commission. We don't do that, and here's what that means concretely:
- We don't knock on doors. You contact us.
- No expiring pricing. No proposal we give you is good today only. If a salesperson tells you the price goes up tomorrow, that's a sales technique, not a supply chain.
- We'll tell you if it doesn't pencil. Heavy shade, a roof with five years left, or usage low enough that the numbers don't work, we'd rather say so. Reroofing under an existing array is expensive and avoidable.
- We don't give tax advice. We'll tell you what the programs are and point you at the source. What they're worth on your return is a question for your accountant.
- We don't publish savings percentages. Your bill depends on your usage, your rate, your roof and your shading. A number we made up isn't useful to you.
More on choosing an installer: 5 things to know before hiring a solar installer.
Talk to Scott about solar
Tell us what you're trying to accomplish and we'll start with your panel.
Service Areas
Local electrician across Spokane County & North Idaho
Frequently Asked Questions
Does solar actually make sense in Spokane?+
For a lot of homes, yes: Eastern Washington gets considerably more sun than the Puget Sound side of the state, and Avista net metering lets summer production carry into the winter. Whether it makes sense on your house depends on your roof, your shading and your usage, which is what the site survey is for. We'll tell you if it doesn't.
Is there still a federal tax credit for home solar?+
No. The 30% federal residential clean energy credit (Section 25D) ended December 31, 2025, and systems installed after that date don't qualify. If you're looking at a proposal that shows a 30% federal credit, it's out of date. Leases and power purchase agreements are a separate situation. There, the company that owns the system claims a business credit and reflects it in what you pay, but you aren't claiming anything yourself. Talk to a tax professional about your own circumstances.
So is there any incentive left in Washington?+
Yes: the sales and use tax exemption. Solar systems of 100 kW AC or less are 100% exempt from Washington sales tax on equipment, and qualifying installation labor is covered too. It runs through December 31, 2029. You don't apply for a refund afterward; the exemption is taken at the time of sale with a Buyer's Retail Sales Tax Exemption Certificate, and we handle the paperwork. The state's separate production incentive program has been fully subscribed since 2019 and isn't available on new systems.
What about Idaho?+
Idaho has a residential alternative energy deduction: 40% of the system cost the year it's installed, then 20% a year for three more years, capped at $5,000 per year and $20,000 total. It's a deduction against income, not a dollar-for-dollar credit, so what it's worth depends on your return. Ask your tax professional.
What happens to my net metering credits at the end of the year?+
The credit bank resets on March 31 and anything left in it is zeroed out: you aren't paid for the balance. That's a state regulatory requirement. It's the main reason we size systems to your actual usage rather than as large as your roof allows.
Will solar keep my power on during an outage?+
Only if you have batteries. A standard grid-tie system shuts down when the grid goes down: that's a safety requirement so your array can't energize a line a utility crew is working on. If outage protection is what you're after, you want grid-tie with battery backup, or a small emergency system, and it's worth saying so at the first conversation because it changes the design.
Do you handle the permits and the Avista interconnection?+
Yes. We file the interconnection application with Avista, pull the electrical permit, and coordinate the inspection and the energization. Avista's own review windows are 5 business days to acknowledge, 10 to confirm the application is complete, and 20 to approve or deny; permitting and scheduling sit on top of that.
Do I need to upgrade my electrical panel first?+
Sometimes. An array has to connect to service equipment that can accept it, and older Spokane-area homes on 100-amp overhead services or with full panels often can't. We check that at the site survey rather than on install day. If a service change is needed, our panel and service pricing is published.
Do you do off-grid systems?+
Yes, and they're a genuinely different design problem: you're sizing the battery bank for the worst stretch of weather in the year rather than the annual average, and there's usually a generator in the plan. We see these mostly on rural county and North Idaho property where running utility service in is expensive.
Will someone come to my door?+
No. We don't door-knock and we don't cold-call. If someone shows up at your house saying they're with us, they aren't.
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