Buy a renewable electricity plan
Choose a retail plan with a disclosed renewable percentage. There is no equipment purchase, roof work, or solar financing contract.
Compare Texas electricity plans →Install rooftop solar
Own generation at your home, but evaluate the roof, total system cost, financing, expected production, export credit, and ownership timeline.
Start with the Texas solar guide →Renewable electricity plan vs. rooftop solar
| Decision | Renewable electricity plan | Rooftop solar |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront commitment | A retail electricity contract. | A major home project plus an installation and possibly financing agreement. |
| What to compare | Estimated bill, contract terms, plan structure, and disclosed renewable percentage. | Cash price, total financed cost, system size, production, roof, warranties, and export value. |
| Grid electricity | The plan covers all household usage. | You still need a retail plan for imports, fixed charges, and export-credit terms in competitive areas. |
| Best starting point | Compare Texas electricity plans | Model whether solar is worth it |
Buying a renewable electricity plan
Several Texas retail providers sell plans backed by renewable sources: wind, solar, or a mix. It can cost more or less than another plan depending on the provider, contract, and plan structure. When you sign up for a renewable plan, you're not literally wiring specific electrons from a specific wind farm into your house: the actual electricity reaching your home is always the same shared grid mix everyone else draws from. What you're really doing is directing your provider to purchase and place that percentage of renewable power onto the grid on your behalf, which increases the real, statewide demand for renewable generation. Every plan in our results shows its actual renewable percentage pulled from the provider's own disclosure, so you can weigh it directly against price instead of guessing from marketing language.
Installing your own solar or wind (distributed generation)
If you install solar panels, a small wind turbine, or another power-generating system at your home, that's called Distributed Renewable Generation (DRG). Most homeowners size a DRG system to offset their own usage, but there will likely be times you generate more than you're using in the moment: and that excess can potentially be sold back.
Selling your excess power: it depends on where you live
If you're in a deregulated area (the part of Texas this tool is built around), you can sell excess DRG power: but only to the retail provider you already buy your electricity from, and that provider is not required to purchase it. Some providers that do buy back excess power require you to also be on one of their specific retail plans; others let you choose your buy and sell arrangements independently. Either way, before you install anything, you'll need to sign an interconnection agreement with your local Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU), the same delivery company already listed on your bill.
If you're in a municipal or cooperative service area (Austin Energy, CPS Energy, or one of Texas's many electric co-ops), there's no retail competition to shop, so you'd contact that utility directly about buying back excess DRG power and get an interconnection agreement from them describing their terms.
If you're served by a regulated utility with no retail competition at all and aren't in a municipal or co-op area, state rules require that utility to purchase your excess DRG power at a rate equal to its "avoided cost": essentially what it would have otherwise paid to generate or buy that same amount of power conventionally.
Shopping for a renewable plan specifically?
Every recommendation we show lists its real renewable percentage: compare it directly against price.
Incentives worth knowing about
- The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under section 25D is not available for expenditures made after December 31, 2025. The IRS generally treats the expenditure as made when the original installation is completed, so a system completed in 2026 should not be sold using the old homeowner-credit assumption.
- Some Texas utilities run solar or energy-efficiency programs, but eligibility, equipment rules, contractor requirements, funding, and program dates vary by service territory.
- Texas offers certain business tax incentives for solar and wind: franchise tax deductions or exemptions for businesses that use, manufacture, or install qualifying systems.
- Texas Tax Code section 11.27 provides a property-tax exemption for the appraised value attributable to a qualifying solar or wind-powered energy device. Homeowners apply through their appraisal district using Form 50-123.
See our 2026 Texas solar incentives guide for the current homeowner rules and primary-source links.
Follow the solar decision in order
Quick checklist before you install anything
- Are you in a deregulated area, a municipal/co-op area, or a regulated area with no competition? That determines who you're even negotiating with.
- Does your own retail provider buy back excess DRG power, and does it require you to be on a specific plan to do so?
- Do you have a signed interconnection agreement with your TDU (or your municipal/co-op utility) before installation: not after?
- Have you checked current federal, state, and utility-level incentives, since these change over time and aren't automatically applied?
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell excess solar power back to the grid in Texas?
It depends on where you live. In deregulated areas, you can sell excess power, but only to the retail provider you already buy from, and they aren't required to purchase it. In municipal or co-op areas, you'd contact that utility directly. In regulated areas with no retail competition, state rules require the utility to buy your excess power at its "avoided cost" rate.
Do renewable electricity plans cost more in Texas?
Typically a bit more than plans backed by conventional generation, though that gap has narrowed as renewable capacity has grown statewide. Every plan discloses its actual renewable percentage so you can weigh it directly against price.
What is an interconnection agreement?
It's an agreement you sign with your local electricity delivery utility, the same company already listed on your bill, before installing solar panels or another generating system at your home. It's required before installation, not after.
Sources: Public Utility Commission of Texas solar guidance, IRS energy-credit FAQs, and Texas Comptroller property-tax exemptions. Last reviewed July 22, 2026.