Feed-in Tariff Explained: How It Pays for Solar, How It Differs From Net Metering, and What U.S. Programs Pay

EcoFlow- 2026/10/21

Table of contents

If you've searched "what is feed-in tariff" or "tariff feed in," most answers probably described Germany or the U.K. But most American homeowners with solar are on net metering or net billing. This guide explains a feed-in tariff in plain terms and shows how it differs from those two U.S. setups. It lists real U.S. programs, with prices taken from the utilities' own documents. It also covers when storing solar for your own use is worth more than sending it to the grid, and when it isn't.

What Is a Feed-in Tariff and How Does It Work?

The short answer to "what is a feed in tariff" is a contract. A utility pays a set price for renewable power you deliver to the grid, usually for many years. The price is fixed in advance, not tied to your retail rate. That certainty makes a solar or wind project easier to finance.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration covered this in a 2013 EIA feed-in tariff overview, published May 30, 2013. It says a FIT program "typically guarantees that customers who own a FIT-eligible renewable electricity generation facility" will "receive a set price from their utility for all of the electricity they generate and provide to the grid." Its U.S. program examples date from 2013, so read them as history.

So what are feed in tariffs built on? The utility agrees to buy your power at a set price for many years. U.S. programs also cap how much capacity they'll take.

Feature	What it means	U.S. example (from the program's own document)
A set price per kWh	The price is published before you sign. It isn't tied to the retail rate.	LADWP's FiT price table lists 13.5¢ to 14.5¢ per kWh for in-basin solar PV, based on project size.
A long contract	Payments run for a fixed number of years.	Vermont law sets Standard Offer contracts at 10 to 20 years, or 10 to 25 years for solar (30 V.S.A. § 8005a(e)). LADWP buys "for a term not exceeding 20 years."
A defined program size	Capacity is capped, so programs fill up or close.	Vermont's Standard Offer is capped at 127.5 MW of total plant capacity (30 V.S.A. § 8005a(c)).

Why the price is usually set by technology and size

You might expect a FIT price to change with the market every hour. Instead, each program sets its own price list ahead of time. LADWP's table shows the pattern: smaller projects earn more per kWh than larger ones, and solar PV earns more than non-PV. The full table is in the prices section below.

A FIT only works for a system that's connected to the utility. That's why it helps to know how solar connects to utilities before you compare payment programs.

A fixed price for every exported kWh sounds a lot like net metering. But the two pay on a different basis, and net billing adds a third model many Americans now see.

Feed-in Tariff vs. Net Metering vs. Net Billing

In the U.S., utilities usually pay for rooftop solar under one of three models. They differ on what your exported power earns and whether it offsets the power you buy.

Net metering: EIA's glossary calls it "Utility tariffs or billing programs that allow certain types of customers to reduce the volume of billed electricity supplied by the grid within a defined billing period."
FIT vs. net metering: EIA's 2013 article says FIT output is paid "at the rate set by the FIT rather than the retail electricity rate." It adds, "In a net metering program, a utility customer is effectively paid the retail rate."
Net billing: California's Net Billing Tariff (Decision 22-12-056) covers PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E customers who applied to connect on or after April 15, 2023. The CPUC's net billing overview says export pay "is usually lower than the retail rate." Customers must also take a set time-of-use rate: E-ELEC for PG&E, TOU-D-PRIME for SCE, or EV-TOU-5 for SDG&E.

Model	What exported solar earns	Does it offset what you buy?	Typical U.S. example
Feed-in tariff	A fixed contract price per kWh delivered, for a set term.	No. It's a separate sale at the FIT price.	LADWP FiT; Vermont Standard Offer.
Net metering	Effectively the retail rate (EIA).	Yes. Exported kWh reduce billed kWh within the billing period.	Varies by state and utility.
Net billing	A credit set by a separate value, usually below retail.	Partly. Credits reduce the bill, but at the export value.	California Net Billing Tariff.
Value of solar (hybrid)	A published per-kWh credit for all metered solar output.	The credit applies to electric charges. You still buy all your usage at retail.	Austin Energy Value-of-Solar Rider.

A U.S. hybrid worth knowing: Austin Energy's Value of Solar

Austin Energy, the City of Austin's municipal utility, credits solar customers in its own way. Under Austin Energy's Value-of-Solar Rider, effective October 1, 2026, non-demand accounts get $0.0959 per kWh for avoided cost plus $0.0330 for societal benefit. That adds up to 12.89 cents per kWh, the rate Austin Energy lists for systems under 1 MW-AC.

The credit is "the metered kilowatt-hour output of the customer's photovoltaic system multiplied by the Value-of-Solar rate." So it counts everything your panels make, not just exports. It "cannot exceed the total electric charges" for the month, and unused credits carry forward. Treat this as one city's rider, set by the city rather than a state commission.

States have also moved away from full retail credits. Illinois's Smart Solar Billing shift shows how fast the value of an exported kWh can change.

Once an exported kWh earns less than a purchased kWh costs, the choice changes. You're now weighing selling that solar against keeping it, and that's where a home battery comes in.

Export Income or Self-Use? Where a Home Battery Like EcoFlow TITAN Plus Fits

A feed-in tariff pays you for solar you send to the grid. A home battery does the opposite job: it keeps solar at home so you buy less power later. Which is worth more depends on your region, your export pay, your grid price, and whether your solar works with the battery. Run these four checks first.

Region and utility: Confirm your program (FIT, net metering, net billing, or something like Austin's Value of Solar). Use the utility's tariff, not a blog.
Export compensation rate: Write down what one exported kWh earns, from your contract or tariff.
Retail import price: Write down what one purchased kWh costs at the hours you'd use stored solar. Keep the energy charge separate from fixed charges and riders.
Solar compatibility: Your installer confirms whether your array works with the battery's solar input and no-export operation.

EcoFlow TITAN Plus connects with compatible rooftop solar in no-export mode through Smart Home Panel 10. Its product page lists grid connection as "Supported with Smart Home Panel 10 (No Export)."

A system that doesn't export can't earn feed-in tariff or other export income from stored power. Its value comes from using your own solar later and from backup for selected circuits. If you already have a FIT or export contract, ask your utility before rewiring that array.

So it fits a home where exports earn less than grid power costs and you want stored solar for evenings and backup. It doesn't fit a goal of feed-in income. It also adds little bill value where credits count total solar output, as in Austin's rider, so check with Austin Energy. A licensed electrician must handle the connection, and local utility rules apply.

If that matches your home, these specs matter most. They decide how much midday solar the system can hold and how it works alongside the grid.

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To compare export income with self-use, fill in your own numbers. No single U.S. rate fits everyone, so treat this as a worksheet, not a savings claim.

Export income per day = kWh you'd export × your export rate.
Value of self-use per day = kWh you'd store × 0.85 × your retail price at the hours you'd use it. The 0.85 is a planning assumption for round-trip losses, not a product spec.
Base battery check: 5,000Wh × 0.85 ≈ 4,250Wh, so the base unit can shift roughly 4.25kWh of stored solar per full cycle (an estimate).

Losses, fixed charges, months with little spare solar, and days you don't use stored energy all lower the result. Equipment and installation cost come first, so get an installed quote and run your own numbers.

Before adding storage, think about balancing panel output with storage, so the battery isn't too small to matter or too big to fill. Next, let's look at what U.S. feed-in tariffs actually pay.

Feed-in Tariff Prices in the U.S.: Programs Open, Capped, and Closed

The U.S. never adopted a national feed-in tariff, so prices come from individual utilities and states. Some programs are running, some are capped, and some have shut down. Rates quoted in feed tariff lists online can be years old, so always check the date.

Program	Who runs it	Price	Contract / size	Status (checked Oct. 15, 2026)
LADWP Feed-in Tariff (FiT)	Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (municipal)	In-basin solar PV: 14.5¢/kWh (30 kW to 500 kW), 14.0¢ (over 500 kW to 3 MW), 13.5¢ (over 3 MW). In-basin non-PV: 11.5¢, 11.0¢, 10.5¢. Owens Valley solar PV: 11.5¢ (30 kW to 500 kW only).	Up to 20 years: a 20-year term, or 10 years plus extensions of up to 10 more.	Open on a first-come, first-served basis. 58.2 MW listed as available as of Oct. 7, 2026. Available capacity changes as applications come in, so check LADWP's page for the current figure. Waitlist when full. FiT+ pilot (solar plus storage) launched April 15, 2021.Open on a first-come, first-served basis. 45.7 MW listed as available as of June 1, 2026. Waitlist when full. FiT+ pilot (solar plus storage) launched April 15, 2021.
Vermont Standard Offer Program	Vermont Public Utility Commission, administered by a Standard Offer Facilitator	Set by the PUC through a market-based process, such as a reverse auction. Avoided cost applies in some cases. No current price listed here.	Plants 2.2 MW or less. 10 to 20 years, or 10 to 25 years for solar.	Set in state law (30 V.S.A. § 8005a). Capped at 127.5 MW total. Check with the PUC for current solicitations.
Austin Energy Value of Solar (hybrid, not a classic FIT)	Austin Energy (municipal)	12.89¢/kWh credit on all metered solar output (9.59¢ avoided cost + 3.30¢ societal benefit, non-demand).	Systems under 10,000 kW-ac. Credit can't exceed monthly electric charges.	Current under the rider effective Oct. 1, 2026.
Gainesville Regional Utilities Solar FIT	GRU (municipal, Florida)	Final listed 2013 rates: $0.21/kWh (Class 1, 10 kW or less), $0.18/kWh (Class 2). A $0.15/kWh Class 3 rate was listed, but GRU took no Class 3 projects in 2013.	20-year fixed.	Suspended: "GRU is no longer accepting applications or adding capacity."

LADWP's prices start at 30 kW, and the program is for "property owners and developers," so check your project's size. LADWP's Feed-in Tariff page posts current capacity.

Vermont's Standard Offer law sets the program's size and contract terms, so ask the Vermont PUC about current solicitations. Gainesville's program is history. EIA's 2013 article called GRU the first U.S. municipal utility to start a FIT, and GRU's Solar FIT page still lists its final rates.

Why "feed in tariff prices" often sit below retail rates

Why do feed in tariff prices often look low next to your power bill? A FIT price is set by the program, and nothing requires it to match what you pay for power. A federal avoided-cost rule, covered next, shapes many U.S. purchase prices.

U.S. feed-in prices look modest next to European ones partly because of a 1978 federal law. That law ties many utility purchases to "avoided cost," and it also explains the main trade-offs of feed in tariffs.

Why Feed-in Tariffs Are Rare in the U.S.: PURPA, Avoided Cost, and the Trade-offs

The federal rule behind many U.S. power purchases is the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). It requires utilities to buy from qualifying small producers. But it ties the price to the utility's avoided cost, not to what it takes to finance a project. States then decide how generous to be.

FERC: The FERC page on PURPA facilities (last updated April 10, 2023) defines avoided cost as "the incremental cost to an electric utility of electric energy or capacity." It says "QFs generally have the option of selling to a utility either at the utility's avoided cost or at a negotiated rate." It adds that Order No. 872 gave "additional flexibility to states in setting QF energy and capacity rates."
Federal regulation: 18 CFR 292.304(a)(2) states, "Nothing in this subpart requires any electric utility to pay more than the avoided costs for purchases."

In plain words, avoided cost is what the utility would have spent to make or buy that power itself. Federal rules don't require it to pay more than that. That's why Vermont's law uses avoided cost as a fallback price, and why Austin's rider has an avoided-cost component. Methods still vary from state to state.

Pros and cons of a feed-in tariff

A FIT trades flexibility for certainty. Here's how that looks in U.S. programs.

Pros	Cons
The price is known in advance for the whole contract (for example, up to 20 years at LADWP).	Programs are capped and can fill up (Vermont's 127.5 MW cap; LADWP's waitlist when capacity is full).
Predictable income makes a project easier to finance.	Programs can be suspended (GRU).
You don't need to match solar output to your own usage.	Many U.S. programs target larger projects (LADWP pricing starts at 30 kW).
Payment is a simple per-kWh contract.	The price may be below what you pay for grid power, so you may sell cheap and buy at retail.

Many utilities now credit exports below retail. Learning how net billing pays for exports helps you read your own interconnection agreement.

That leads to a practical question. Which program applies to your home, and what should you check before you add panels or storage?

Before You Sign: How to Check Your Export Rate, Retail Price, and Compatibility

Whether a FIT, net metering, or a battery makes the most sense depends on a few numbers from your bill and your utility's tariff. Gather them before you talk to an installer.

Identify your utility (investor-owned, municipal, or co-op) and your exact program. Municipal utilities like LADWP set their own rules.
Find the export pay in the tariff or contract, with its effective date. For a FIT, note the contract term and size limits.
Find your retail price for the hours you'd use stored solar. Note fixed charges and riders separately.
Ask whether the program allows storage on the same system and whether a no-export setup changes your agreement.
Have your installer confirm solar and battery compatibility, and have a licensed electrician do the panel and circuit work.
Keep every document, since programs change, close, or reopen.

Conclusion

A feed-in tariff pays a set contract price for solar you deliver to the grid. In the U.S., these programs are rare and run by single utilities or states, such as LADWP and Vermont, and most homeowners are on net metering or net billing instead. Before you decide whether to sell solar or store it, pull your export rate, retail price, and program rules from your utility's own documents. If storing solar for self-use and backup fits your home better, EcoFlow TITAN Plus may be worth a look. Have your installer and a licensed electrician confirm it works with your system first.

FAQs

What is a feed-in tariff?

It's a contract where your utility buys the renewable power you send to the grid at a fixed price. That price is set before you sign and usually holds for many years.

Are there feed-in tariffs in the United States?

Yes, but only a few, each run by a single utility or state, such as LADWP and Vermont. Gainesville's solar FIT, the first at a U.S. city-owned utility, is now suspended.