By SolarFY Editor, the MySolarFY editorial team · Reviewed August 13, 2026 · How we source our data
St. Petersburg homes buy electricity from Duke Energy Florida, not TECO, at a Florida average near 15.4 cents per kWh (EIA, April 2026). Duke credits rooftop solar exports at the retail rate under Florida net-metering rules. A 6 kW St. Pete roof is modeled near 9,568 kWh a year on a live NREL PVWatts run for ZIP 33701. Verify Duke’s current tariff before you sign.
- Serving electric utility: Duke Energy Florida, investor-owned, which serves St. Petersburg and most of Pinellas County (verify your own address with Duke).
- Not TECO: Tampa Electric is the natural-gas provider in St. Pete and the electric utility across the bay in Tampa, a different territory.
- Florida residential rate: about 15.4 cents per kWh (EIA, as of April 2026); Duke’s own rate can differ, so check your bill.
- Modeled production, 6 kW system at ZIP 33701: about 9,568 kWh per year (NREL PVWatts v8, live run).
- Net metering: retail-rate monthly credit, roughly one-for-one, kWh credits roll forward, annual true-up at avoided cost, under Florida PSC Rule 25-6.065; verify Duke’s current tariff.
- Coastal, not HVHZ: Pinellas sits in a roughly 140 mph wind zone, so solar needs engineered wind-load attachment, but not the Miami-Dade High-Velocity Hurricane Zone regime.
St. Petersburg has the Gulf-coast sun, the year-round cooling bills, and a Florida net-metering deal that still makes rooftop solar pay, so for most St. Pete homeowners the real question is what solar costs and what is different about doing it here rather than whether it works. Two local facts set St. Petersburg apart. Your electricity comes from Duke Energy Florida, not from Tampa Electric across the bay, so your rate and your net-metering true-up follow Duke’s rules. And your roof sits on the Pinellas peninsula, a coastal high-wind and storm-surge area that shapes how the system is anchored and where a battery should sit, even though it is not the Miami-Dade hurricane zone. This page covers what solar costs in St. Petersburg, how Duke credits your power, which Florida incentives still apply in 2026, and the local permitting and coastal details that make a St. Pete install its own thing.
Who is your electric utility in St. Petersburg: Duke Energy Florida, not TECO
The first thing to get right in St. Petersburg is that your electric utility is Duke Energy Florida, not Tampa Electric. Duke Energy Florida, an investor-owned utility, serves St. Petersburg and most of Pinellas County; it reports roughly 161,000 customers within the city alone. Tampa Electric, known as TECO, is the name most people associate with the bay area, but in St. Pete TECO is the natural-gas provider, and it is the electric utility on the Hillsborough County side in Tampa, a separate territory across the bay. That distinction matters because your electric utility, not the state alone, sets your rate, your net-metering true-up, and your interconnection paperwork, so a Tampa solar guide built around TECO does not describe your bill. The exact Duke boundary within Pinellas is not published as a public map, so confirm your own address is on Duke before you plan a system.
Because Duke is an investor-owned utility, Florida’s statewide net-metering rules apply to your solar. St. Petersburg has even studied leaving Duke for a city-run utility, but as of 2026 Duke remains the provider, so your solar math runs on Duke’s rate schedule and tariff. For how the statewide incentive and net-metering picture fits together, see our Florida solar guide, and for the export-credit rules in detail, our Florida net metering guide for 2026. For a look at the neighboring market on a different utility, compare our Tampa solar guide, which runs on TECO, not Duke.
See what solar programs are available in your St. Petersburg ZIP code
Duke net-metering terms, electric rates, and installer availability vary by address. Enter your ZIP and we will match you with licensed installers who serve the St. Petersburg area.
Free to check. About a minute. No credit pull to check.
Submitted securely and used to match you with licensed installers in your area. Some homeowners may qualify for $0-up-front lease or PPA options where available.
What solar costs in St. Petersburg, and what your roof makes
Solar pays in St. Petersburg because of the Gulf-coast sun and the size of the cooling bill it offsets. Florida’s average residential electricity price is about 15.4 cents per kWh (EIA retail sales, residential Florida, as of April 2026), close to the national average, but St. Pete homes run air conditioning for most of the year, so the yearly bill is large in absolute dollars. Every kilowatt-hour your roof makes offsets one you would otherwise buy from Duke. Duke’s own residential rate can sit above or below the state average, so check the price per kWh on your own Duke bill when you run the numbers.
St. Petersburg’s sun turns that rate into strong production. According to MySolarFY’s analysis (as of August 2026), a typical 6 kW rooftop system in St. Petersburg is modeled to produce about 9,568 kWh a year on a live NREL PVWatts run for ZIP 33701 (NREL PVWatts v8, using NSRDB typical-year data), a solar resource near 5.81 kWh per square meter per day. That is a strong number, though it is a model, not a measurement of your specific roof, so pitch, orientation, and shading will move it up or down. Run your own address on NREL’s free PVWatts calculator before you size a system.
Here is our own estimate for a representative St. Petersburg home on Duke net metering. The table below is an original MySolarFY calculation, not a figure lifted from another site. It uses a 6 kW system producing about 9,568 kWh a year (the live PVWatts figure above), Florida’s roughly 15.4-cent average rate for the power your solar offsets, and Duke’s retail-rate monthly net-metering credit for what you export, so on-site use and same-month exports are worth close to the same. It assumes typical 2026 cash pricing near $3.00 per watt installed, about $18,000 before the Florida sales-tax exemption, and it assumes no federal tax credit, because the homeowner credit ended after December 31, 2025. Your real numbers depend on your roof, your usage, and Duke’s rate, so treat this as an estimate and get a written quote. For how these figures line up with what solar costs across Florida, see our statewide cost breakdown.
| Scenario (6 kW, St. Petersburg, Duke net metering) | Estimated cash cost, before incentives | How your solar is valued | Estimated first-year bill savings | Estimated simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar only, no battery | About $18,000 before the Florida sales-tax exemption | Production offsets your bill at Florida’s roughly 15.4-cent rate, on-site or exported under Duke retail monthly net metering | About $1,300 to $1,450 | About 12 to 14 years |
| Solar plus a battery (about 13 kWh) | About $31,000 before the sales-tax exemption | Same retail bill offset, plus backup power during a hurricane or surge outage | About $1,350 | Longer payback, plus storm resilience and larger lifetime value |
How we derived first-year savings: we value the power your solar offsets at Florida’s residential rate near 15.4 cents per kWh (EIA, as of April 2026). The math is roughly 9,568 kWh a year times about 15.4 cents, or about $1,470 of gross energy value, minus the fixed customer charge and taxes that net metering does not offset, which lands near $1,300 to $1,450. Because Duke credits same-month exports at the retail rate, the split between power you use on site and power you export barely changes the monthly bill math; only credit left over at the annual true-up settles at Duke’s lower avoided-cost rate. The battery row’s annual savings barely move, because Duke already credits exports at retail, so a battery in St. Petersburg is mostly about keeping power on through a storm outage rather than bill arbitrage. Figures assume no federal 25D credit, because it ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and are before the Florida sales-tax exemption. Your numbers depend on your roof, usage, and Duke’s rate.
How Duke Energy Florida net metering credits your St. Petersburg solar
Florida keeps retail-rate net metering, and that is the single biggest reason rooftop solar works in St. Petersburg. Under the rules the Florida Public Service Commission sets, an investor-owned utility like Duke credits the power you export to the grid against the power you pull back, at the retail rate, roughly one-for-one within the month (Florida PSC Rule 25-6.065, as of August 2026). When your panels make more than your home is using during the day, the surplus banks as a kWh credit that rolls forward to offset later months. The one Duke-specific wrinkle is the annual settlement: any credit still unused at your yearly true-up is paid out in cash at Duke’s avoided-cost rate, which is lower than retail, not at the full retail rate. So the goal is to size a system that offsets your own use across the year rather than banking a large surplus you sell back cheaply.
The retail monthly credit is the heart of the math; the annual true-up is the detail to plan around. This framework held into 2026 after a 2022 attempt to phase down Florida net metering did not take effect, but the exact true-up, the avoided-cost rate, and any minimum bill are Duke tariff details that can change, so confirm Duke’s current net-metering terms before you sign (Duke Energy renewable energy programs, verify current terms). For how export credits work in general, see our explainer on how net metering credits your solar, and for a large Florida utility handled on its own page, compare our FPL solar and net-metering guide. Net metering does not zero out every line on the bill: it offsets your energy charges, not the fixed customer charge or taxes, so even a system that covers all your energy use leaves a small monthly bill.
St. Petersburg and Pinellas County permitting, wind, and storm surge
A St. Petersburg solar permit runs through the City of St. Petersburg or Pinellas County, and it is a coastal high-wind job, but not a Miami-Dade one. If your address is inside the city, the City of St. Petersburg building and permitting office issues the building and electrical permit; if you are in an unincorporated part of the county, Pinellas County handles it. Pinellas County is not in the Florida Building Code’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which covers only Miami-Dade and Broward, so you do not face the Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance regime. What you do face is a coastal wind zone, generally around a 140 mph ultimate design wind speed and higher on exposed waterfront, so the racking and roof attachments still have to be engineered to Florida Building Code wind loads and use Florida Product Approved components. A licensed installer files the permit, builds to code, and books the inspection.
Storm surge and salt air are the two coastal details worth raising with your installer. Much of St. Petersburg sits low on the Pinellas peninsula, and evacuation and surge zones cover a lot of the waterfront, so if you add a battery, plan where the battery and inverter sit, above expected flood levels, not in a spot a surge could reach. Homes close to Tampa Bay or the Gulf also see more salt in the air, which can corrode racking and fasteners over a 25-year system life, so it is worth asking for marine-grade aluminum racking and stainless hardware near the water. Separately, Duke must approve interconnection and grant Permission to Operate before your system can export to the grid, so the local permit and the Duke interconnection run as two tracks that both have to clear. For how the wider timeline works, see our overview of solar permits and interconnection.
Which solar incentives still apply in St. Petersburg in 2026
Florida has no state solar tax credit, but that is because it has no state income tax at all, and the incentives it does offer are worth real money. The value in St. Petersburg comes from Duke’s retail net metering plus two statewide tax exemptions, and it does not depend on the federal credit that ended after 2025. The table shows what is active for a St. Pete homeowner in 2026 and what has ended.
| Program | What it does | Status in 2026 for a St. Petersburg homeowner |
|---|---|---|
| Florida sales-tax exemption | Waives Florida sales tax on qualifying solar equipment | Active; the 6% state sales tax does not apply to the hardware (F.S. 212.08(7)(hh), as of 2026) |
| Florida property-tax exemption | Excludes the added home value of solar from your property-tax assessment | Active; the value solar adds to your home is excluded from your assessment (DSIRE Florida, as of 2026) |
| Duke retail net metering | Credits exported power against imported power at the retail rate | Active; roughly one-for-one monthly under Florida PSC Rule 25-6.065, annual true-up at avoided cost, terms set by Duke (Florida PSC, verify current terms) |
| State solar income-tax credit | A state credit against income tax | None; Florida has no state income tax, so there is no state solar income-tax credit (DSIRE Florida, as of 2026) |
| Federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) | The 30 percent federal homeowner tax credit | Ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025 (IRS, as of 2026) |
Note: The two Florida tax exemptions are the quiet workhorses here. You do not pay the state’s 6% sales tax on the equipment, and the value the system adds to your home is left out of your property-tax assessment, so going solar does not raise your tax bill. Both apply statewide, whether you are in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, or Largo. Confirm each figure against the linked source and ask a tax professional about your own situation; MySolarFY does not provide tax advice.
What the federal tax-credit change means for St. Petersburg homeowners
The federal homeowner credit is gone, and you should ignore any page or ad that still says otherwise. The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so a St. Petersburg homeowner who buys solar with cash or a loan in 2026 cannot claim it (IRS, as of 2026). Being under contract or having paid a deposit before the deadline does not bring it back. You will still see search results and even AI answers claiming the 30 percent credit runs through 2032; that is out of date for the homeowner credit, which already ended. What carries the value in St. Petersburg now is Duke’s retail net metering, the Florida sales-tax and property-tax exemptions, and the bill savings from using your own power. For the full timeline, see what the federal solar tax credit change means in 2026.
One federal credit remains, but it is not the homeowner’s to claim. A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, can apply to the business that owns a leased or power-purchase-agreement system, not to the resident (IRS, as of 2026). On a lease or PPA you do not file for a federal credit yourself; the company that owns the panels does. The 25D homeowner credit, by contrast, ended after December 31, 2025.
Paying for solar in St. Petersburg: cash, loan, lease, or PPA
There is no single right way to pay for solar; the best fit depends on whether you want to own the system and capture the incentives yourself, or avoid an up-front cost. A lease or PPA can mean no up-front cost for eligible homeowners, but it is a long-term agreement with monthly payments, not free solar, and the system owner, not you, would claim any incentive that goes to the owner. The table compares the common paths at a high level. To think it through in more depth, see our guide on how a solar lease compares with a PPA.
| Path | Up-front cost | Who owns the system and any owner incentives | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash purchase | Full system cost | You, the owner | You want the fastest payback and the most lifetime savings |
| Solar loan | Little to none, financed | You, the owner | You want ownership without paying cash up front |
| Lease or PPA | $0-up-front where eligible | The third-party owner | You prefer no up-front cost and a simpler, fixed monthly bill |
How to choose a solar installer in St. Petersburg
The Tampa Bay area has a deep solar market, which is good for you because it means real competition on price and service, and it also means more sales pressure to sort through. Rather than chasing a “top installer” list, screen any company against objective criteria:
- A valid Florida license, a certified solar contractor (CVC) or an electrical contractor licensed to do solar work in Florida.
- Real Pinellas County experience, including the City of St. Petersburg or Pinellas County permit and inspection process and Duke interconnection.
- NABCEP certification, the industry’s professional standard for PV installers.
- A written confirmation that the racking is engineered to your roof’s Florida Building Code wind load with Florida Product Approved components, and marine-grade hardware if you are near the water.
- A clear workmanship and equipment warranty in writing, and a plan to keep any battery and inverter above expected flood levels in a surge zone.
MySolarFY matches you with licensed installers that serve your area so you can compare real local quotes side by side, with no obligation. To see how we research and where our figures come from, read our data and methodology, and learn more about the MySolarFY editorial team.
Check which solar programs are available at your St. Petersburg address →
Frequently asked questions
Who is my electric utility in St. Petersburg? Your electric utility in St. Petersburg is Duke Energy Florida, an investor-owned utility that serves the city and most of Pinellas County, with roughly 161,000 customers within St. Petersburg. TECO, Tampa Electric, is the natural-gas provider in St. Pete and the electric utility across the bay in Tampa, not your electric provider here. Duke sets your rate, your net-metering credit, and your interconnection paperwork, so its tariff decides much of what your solar is worth. The exact Duke boundary within Pinellas is not published as a public map, so confirm your address with Duke before you plan a system.
How does Duke Energy Florida credit the solar I export in St. Petersburg? Duke credits exported solar against the power you import at the retail rate, roughly one-for-one within the month, under the rules the Florida Public Service Commission sets (Florida PSC Rule 25-6.065). Unused kWh credits roll forward to later months. The Duke-specific detail is the annual true-up: any credit still unused at your yearly settlement is paid out in cash at Duke’s lower avoided-cost rate, not at retail. So size a system to offset your own yearly use rather than to bank a big surplus. Duke’s exact true-up terms and any minimum bill can change, so verify Duke’s current net-metering tariff before you sign.
Is solar worth it in St. Petersburg in 2026? For most owner-occupied St. Petersburg homes with decent sun, yes. Florida’s retail net metering keeps the value of every kilowatt-hour high, a 6 kW system is modeled at about 9,568 kWh a year here on a live PVWatts run (NREL PVWatts, as of August 2026), and Florida’s rate runs about 15.4 cents per kWh (EIA, April 2026). We estimate a cash solar-only system pays back in roughly 12 to 14 years before the sales-tax exemption. Savings are not guaranteed and depend on your roof, usage, and Duke’s rate, so get a written quote.
Does St. Petersburg have Miami-style hurricane-zone roofing rules for solar? No. Pinellas County and St. Petersburg are not in the Florida Building Code’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which covers only Miami-Dade and Broward, so you do not face the Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance product-approval regime. St. Pete is still a coastal high-wind area, generally around a 140 mph ultimate design wind speed, so rooftop solar must be engineered to Florida Building Code wind loads with Florida Product Approved components. Your installer files the permit with the City of St. Petersburg or Pinellas County and books the inspection.
Do I need a battery for hurricane season in St. Petersburg? Not to make solar pay, because Duke already credits your same-month exports at the retail rate, so a battery here is mostly about resilience rather than bill savings. A battery keeps your lights, refrigerator, and some cooling running during a hurricane or surge outage, which is a real benefit on the Pinellas coast, but it adds cost and lengthens your payback. A standard grid-tied solar system without a battery shuts off during an outage for safety. If your home is in a surge or flood zone, plan to mount the battery and inverter above expected flood levels.
Is there still a 30 percent solar tax credit in 2026? No. The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so a St. Petersburg homeowner who installs in 2026 with cash or a loan cannot claim it (IRS, as of 2026). Some search results and AI answers still say the 30 percent credit runs through 2032; that is out of date for the homeowner credit, which already ended. A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, is a business credit that only the company owning a leased or PPA system can claim, not the homeowner, and it does not revive the 25D homeowner credit, which ended after December 31, 2025.
Can I get solar with no up-front cost in St. Petersburg? Some homeowners can, through a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) where eligible, which can mean no out-of-pocket cost at installation in exchange for monthly payments. This is not free solar; it is a long-term agreement, typically 20 to 25 years, it may include an annual price escalator, and total payments may exceed the cost of a cash purchase. On a lease or PPA the third-party owner, not you, owns the system and any incentive that goes to the owner, while your benefit is a lower or fixed power price. If you want to own the system and keep the Florida tax exemptions yourself, a cash purchase or solar loan is the path that keeps them. Check what you qualify for before deciding.
Reviewed by the MySolarFY editorial team on August 13, 2026. Figures were verified against the linked Duke Energy, Florida PSC, DSIRE, Florida Statutes, IRS, EIA, and NREL PVWatts sources as of August 2026; Duke’s net-metering terms and rates, the Florida sales-tax and property-tax exemptions, and the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County permitting requirements can change, so confirm current terms with Duke Energy Florida and your local building department before you decide. MySolarFY does not provide tax or financial advice; consult a licensed professional about your own situation. Learn more about the MySolarFY editorial team and how we work.
MySolarFY is a free service that matches homeowners with licensed solar installers. We are not an installer, financing company, tax advisor, or government program, and we do not provide tax advice. The federal residential solar tax credit (Section 25D) ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and most homeowners who install in 2026 cannot claim it, so confirm your tax situation with a professional. “No up-front cost” refers to qualifying lease or PPA financing where eligible; these agreements typically run 20 to 25 years, may include an annual price escalator, and total payments may exceed the cost of a cash purchase; on a lease or PPA the system owner, not the homeowner, owns any incentive that goes to the owner. Solar panels are not free and monthly payments apply. Production, incentives, savings, and rates vary, change over time, and are not guaranteed. See our full disclaimer.
