Solar panel installation in Myrtle Beach, SC

We confirm your exact Myrtle Beach-area utility and rate plan during your free assessment, because it sets how your solar exports are credited. Your provider can vary by address along the Grand Strand.

The one whose licence checks out with SC LLR (the Residential Builders Commission and contractor licensing), whose quote names Santee Cooper and states about 13,710 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 $2.53 per watt benchmark, a 6 kW system is about $15,180 installed and a 9.5 kW system about $24,035. South Carolina’s 25% state credit brings those to about $11,385 and $18,026, claimed at up to $3,500 a year. In Myrtle Beach that 9.5 kW system makes about 13,710 kWh a year unshaded; your quote depends on roof, shade and usage.

Santee Cooper does not credit exports one-for-one: exported power earns about 4.16¢ per kWh in summer and 3.84¢ outside summer. Santee Cooper households paid about 11.4¢ 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 Horry County assessor.

61% of Myrtle Beach 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.

Many Grand Strand communities have active HOAs or associations. Where one applies, we prepare the architectural-review packet and coordinate approval for you.

A building permit and a separate electrical permit for a rooftop system; Standard plan review for systems of roughly 10 kW and above; A zoning review as well for any ground-mounted array; An additional electrical permit where battery storage is included. We pull every one through Horry County and book the inspections.

The retail rate here is the lowest we work with, so a modest bill offsets slowly. Under roughly $110 a month in Santee Cooper territory, the numbers rarely justify a system. Your usage is almost entirely after dark and you will not shift load or add storage. Export credits are under 4.2¢ against an 11.4¢ retail rate. Your roof needs replacing within about five years, which is common on older Grand Strand properties.