What started as a solar "gold rush" soon turned into a ghost town...
In 2015, Nevada was the fastest-growing residential solar market in the nation. A new customer signed up for rooftop solar panels every 40 minutes.
This adoption was driven by a seemingly simple promise...
Homeowners who generated more solar power than they consumed could sell it back to NV Energy – the state's dominant utility – at the same exact rate. It was a 1-for-1 exchange known as "net metering."
One customer, 69-year-old Richard Stewart, installed 36 solar panels behind his home in Las Vegas. They cost him around $40,000... most of his life savings.
Like many retirees, Stewart and his wife lived on a fixed income. His goal was to use the net-metering program to cut down on rising energy costs and take control of his power bills.
As Stewart tracked his savings, it looked like his investment would pay off...
Stewart and his neighbor, Dale Matz, often compared the output between their solar-energy systems...
Matz proudly displayed a $14 power bill as proof that the investment was working. By Stewart's estimates, he and his wife had saved more than $2,800 in credits.
But this gold rush was about to be cut short. NV Energy publicly promoted the net-metering program... but was privately lobbying to dismantle it.
That same year, the company petitioned state regulators to lower the payout rate for solar producers and increase fixed monthly fees. The changes were approved that December.
And the results were dramatic... Net-metering rates were cut by as much 75%. Service fees spiked and increased even more over time.
Instead of selling excess power at around 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, homeowners like Stewart were getting as little as 2.6 cents. He would recover only half of his investment in 20 years.
The economics and payback timeline no longer looked so appealing...
Within weeks, major solar-panel installers were forced to lay off employees. Some had to shutter operations in the state altogether.
New rooftop applications in northern Nevada plunged from nearly 1,000 in 2015... to just 41 the following year.
Eventually, the backlash forced a reversal. Nevada passed a new "Solar Bill of Rights" in 2017, restoring many of the net-metering incentives. Solar growth resumed.
But the scars from that sudden policy whiplash never fully healed.
Today, fear is creeping back into the solar sector...
And it's not just happening in Nevada. Several major federal solar subsidies have ended across the U.S.
Federal tax credits for electric-vehicle purchases ended last September. The 30% tax credit for installing home solar units ended a few months after that.
And yet, solar power isn't doomed. While household solar has taken a back seat, commercial solar projects are still in demand.
Data-center developers are buying any energy they can get their hands on. And in many cases, that means moving behind the meter and building their own power supplies.
Solar energy can be deployed quickly. And right now, it's the cheapest source of new electricity.
That's why solar is holding up well this year. The Invesco Solar Fund (TAN), which tracks the broad industry, is up 22% year to date. That's roughly double the S&P 500 Index's gains.
As long as new data centers keep popping up, the solar market is poised to thrive.
Regards,
Rob Spivey
June 17, 2026
