Solar panel installation in Aiken, SC

Aiken is split between Dominion Energy South Carolina and Aiken Electric Cooperative, and it is decided parcel by parcel rather than by postcode. It matters because cooperatives are not covered by South Carolina’s net metering statute and set their own export credit, so the two pay differently for the same exported kilowatt-hour. We read it off your bill before we design anything.

The one whose licence checks out with SC LLR (the Residential Builders Commission and contractor licensing), whose quote names Dominion Energy and states about 13,780 kWh a year for 9.5 kW, and who services what it installs. Ours does all three, with a lifetime full-system warranty.

At the $2.59 per watt benchmark, a 6 kW system is about $15,540 installed and a 9.5 kW system about $24,605. South Carolina’s 25% state credit brings those to about $11,655 and $18,454, claimed at up to $3,500 a year. In Aiken that 9.5 kW system makes about 13,780 kWh a year unshaded; your quote depends on roof, shade and usage.

One-for-one net metering closed to new applicants on 1 June 2021, and new Dominion Energy South Carolina systems are credited under Solar Choice instead, at roughly 2.8–4.1¢ per kWh for exports. Dominion Energy South Carolina households paid about 14.6¢ per kWh on average in 2024, so every kWh you use at home is worth more than one you export, and we size to your usage rather than to fill the roof.

Not for homeowners who buy: it ended December 31, 2025. South Carolina’s 25% state credit still applies to systems you own, capped at $3,500 a year with a 10-year carry-forward.

Qualifying residential systems of 20 kW or less are exempt from South Carolina property tax. Check with the Aiken County assessor.

70% of Aiken homes are owner-occupied, and for owners the choice is real. Buying, with cash or a loan, means you own the system, can claim South Carolina’s 25% credit, and add an asset to the house. With a lease or power purchase agreement the provider owns the panels, so you cannot claim the state credit for them, and a buyer of your home has to take over the agreement.

It depends on your governing documents: South Carolina has no law that stops an HOA restricting solar. The stricter constraint in Aiken is not the HOA but the city’s Design Review Board, which reviews work in the Historic Overlay and Old Aiken Overlay districts. Where your address falls inside one, we design to the guidelines and prepare the Certificate of Appropriateness packet as part of the job.

A building permit and a separate electrical permit for a rooftop system; Permits from the City of Aiken if you are inside city limits, from the City of North Augusta if you are inside its limits, or from Aiken County Planning & Development if you are in the unincorporated county, which are three different processes; A Certificate of Appropriateness from the City of Aiken Design Review Board where the property sits in the Historic Overlay or Old Aiken Overlay district; A zoning review as well for any ground-mounted array. We pull every one through Aiken County and book the inspections.

Your roof needs replacing within about five years. Your power bill is under roughly $90 a month. Mature Winter Colony canopy shades your best roof planes for much of the day, which is common close to Hitchcock Woods.