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The McFaddin-Ward House and its grounds in Beaumont, Texas under a partly cloudy sky

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texas / Beaumont

Beaumont solar is Texas solar with the ERCOT chapter torn out

Written by the Solar Learning Lab research deskUpdated September 1, 202612 min read

Read this sentence before any other on the page: Beaumont is served by Entergy Texas, a regulated utility operating inside the MISO grid, not the deregulated ERCOT retail market, so there is no retail provider to choose and no solar buyback plan to shop. A PUCT filing states it flatly: there are no REPs operating within Entergy Texas's service area. Everything else here follows from that. PUCT filing.

Size a Beaumont system for the house, not the grid

Avoided cost exports and hurricane season both push toward the same design: match the load, harden the mount, consider storage.

Open the model

Most Texas solar advice uses the wrong map

Search results for Texas solar are written for the deregulated cities, where households compare retail electricity plans and pick a provider that buys back exports. None of that machinery exists in Beaumont. Entergy Texas serves 27 counties in Southeast Texas from its headquarters at 350 Pine Street downtown, and it finished moving into MISO, a grid spanning 15 states, in December 2013. The company's local roots go back further: Gulf States Utilities was headquartered here until Entergy's 1994 takeover. One utility, one tariff book, no plan shopping. If a pitch mentions free nights plans or switching providers, it was written for a different city. Entergy on MISO and city profile.

How Entergy pays for exports, in the tariff's own terms

Exports run through Schedule SQF for qualifying facilities of 100 kW AC or less. Interconnections made after November 29, 2017 default to Option 2C, which credits exported energy at Entergy Texas's avoided cost. The utility's net metering page prints the 2026 rates in mixed notation, so the safe reading is about 3.6 to 3.9 cents per kWh, winter and summer respectively, with summer defined as May through September. Entergy's own distributed generation FAQ removes any ambiguity: ETI does not have a 1 to 1 buy back rate for new solar customers. Entergy net metering page and DG FAQ.

The mechanics under Option 2C are homeowner friendly at the margins. For renewable facilities of 50 kW or less it waives the $12.35 monthly customer charge that standard Option 2 carries, applies credits to the bill without cutting it below minimum billing, and rolls the remainder forward. Balances under $50 carry to the next bill; larger ones can be paid by check. And one piece of history worth stating precisely: true net metering existed here under SQF Option 4, but it closed to new applications after January 2, 2018. Some existing Beaumont systems still hold it. New ones cannot get it. Schedule SQF.

The bill you are actually offsetting

Entergy Texas averaged 13.664599 cents per residential kWh in 2024 across 457,369 customers, per EIA Table 6. The base tariff behind that average, Schedule RS, charges $14.00 per month plus $0.08975 per kWh, with kWh above 1,000 billed at $0.06677 in the November through April months, before the fixed fuel factor and riders stack on top. There is also an optional time of day rate, RS-TOD, with on peak energy at $0.20762 per kWh from May through October and off peak at $0.03558 year round. Against a roughly 3.6 to 3.9 cent export credit, a kilowatt hour consumed on site is worth three to four times a kilowatt hour sent to the grid. That ratio, not panel count, is the number a Beaumont proposal should be built around. Schedule RS, Schedule RS-TOD, and EIA Table 6.

Storm country engineering is not optional here

Rita in 2005, Ike in 2008, Harvey in 2017, which flooded the city and knocked out its water supply, Imelda in 2019, then Laura and Delta in 2020. Two decades, six named disasters. The city's code response is written into its April 5, 2023 adoptions: the 2021 International code family, the 2020 National Electrical Code, and the 2020 ICC 600 Standard for Residential Construction in High Wind Regions. For rooftop PV that standard reaches into racking selection, attachment schedules, and the engineering letters behind them. It also explains why outage resilience, not export revenue, is the strongest honest argument for pairing storage with solar in this city. Batteries are permitted on Entergy interconnections; no state or utility battery incentive appeared in the record for this page. Adopted building codes, storm history, and DG FAQ.

Beaumont city hall, without a fee number

The Building Codes Division sits at 801 Main Street, Suite 201, phone 409-880-3100, open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Boyd Meier as Building Official. Applications, plan submittals, and inspection scheduling all run through the City Works Portal, and the city is explicit that inspections are scheduled only through the portal, not by phone. What the city does not publish is a dollar figure for a residential PV permit: it posted a fee change notice effective October 1, 2024 and calculates fees per application inside the portal. So this page quotes no permit fee, and neither should a contractor bidding your job without having priced it in the portal. Permit portal and documents.

Getting connected to Entergy

Interconnection applications go through Entergy's dedicated portal at entergy-interconnection.com. Two thresholds matter. Systems of 15 kW AC or larger require utility pre-approval before installation, so on larger homes the paperwork leads the hardware. And under the IPODG schedule, a pre-certified exporting facility of 0 to 10 kW not on a network system pays a $225 interconnection charge, while non-exporting pre-certified facilities up to 500 kW that pass the 15 percent feeder loading and 25 percent short circuit screens pay no study fee. Inverters must have anti-islanding, and the utility asks for 2 business days notice for planned disconnects. DG FAQ and IPODG schedule.

An unusual production curve, and why

The downtown Beaumont run totals 1438.5 kWh per kW annually, and its best month is not July. October models highest at 137.3 kWh per kW, with May close behind at 137.1, while midsummer dips to 124.6 in July. That is Gulf Coast weather in the data: Beaumont takes about 65.07 inches of rain a year, among the wettest cities in Texas, and summer cloud cover taxes exactly the months an inland Texas roof owns. The annual figure still lands within range of much drier markets. Plan around the shape, not just the total.

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

October is the modeled peak, a Gulf Coast signature. This is a location model, not a shade report for your roof.

PVGIS v5.2. PVGIS v5.2 NSRDB, run by Solar Learning Lab on August 31, 2026, 30 degree tilt, 14 percent losses, downtown coordinates. Your roof will differ. Rain figure from the city profile.

Numbers side by side

Energy sourceTypeAverage priceWhat that means
Texas benchmarkResidential electricity16.44¢ calculator inputTable 5.6.A, May 2026
Entergy Texas, 2024 averageResidential electricity13.66¢ per kWhEIA Table 6, 2024 bundled retail sales. The regulated rate Beaumont households actually pay averages below the statewide benchmark.
SQF Option 2C export creditExported solar3.6 to 3.9¢ per kWh, 2026Avoided cost, winter and summer. No 1 to 1 buyback exists for new solar customers.

Retail average from EIA Table 6; export treatment from Entergy's net metering page and Schedule SQF; full tariff book at entergytexas.com.

Taxes and the federal credit, current status only

Texas Tax Code section 11.27 exempts from taxation the appraised value that arises from installing a solar or wind powered energy device primarily for on-site energy production and distribution, and subsection (a-1) extends the exemption to the device owner even when someone else owns the land or building. That one is alive and citable. The federal side is not: P.L. 119-21 terminated the 30 percent residential 25D credit for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, with installation completion setting the expenditure date, so a system finished in 2026 does not qualify. Pre 2026 carryforwards are unchanged. The CRS notice is silent on third party ownership, so this page asserts nothing about lease or PPA federal credits. No Texas state rebate, state tax credit, or Entergy solar or battery rebate appeared anywhere in the record. Section 11.27 and Congressional Research Service.

Two names, small samples

Our Beaumont snapshot returned exactly two listings, at 13 and 6 reviews, and one of them is primarily a solar supply house rather than a residential installer. That is the honest state of this directory: thin. Widen the interview list beyond it, then hold every bidder to the same three questions. Which SQF option does the production model assume, does the racking package carry an ICC 600 engineering letter, and has the interconnection application gone in before the 15 kW pre-approval threshold becomes a problem.

Ratings snapshot: Google Maps, August 2026, via the DataForSEO SERP feed. Zero companies paid us and none are endorsed by us.

Solar Power Systems Beaumont logo

Solar Power Systems Beaumont

Beaumont, TX

4.5(13 Google reviews)

Solar Supply LLC

Beaumont, TX

3.7(6 Google reviews)

Ratings and review counts are Google Maps ratings for Beaumont local results, retrieved August 17, 2026 via the DataForSEO SERP API. We list the highest rated established companies we found. No company paid to appear here, and appearing here is not an endorsement. Check current reviews and licensing before you sign anything.

Model your usage, then discount the exports

The model prices every kilowatt hour at a retail benchmark. In Beaumont that is only true for energy used behind the meter; exported energy earns avoided cost. A household with daytime load, or a battery shifting solar into the evening, gets closest to the modeled result.

$164
1,439

The upper input is the downtown Beaumont PVGIS run at 1438.5 kWh per kW. The lower input is 85 percent of that run, a planning floor for Gulf Coast cloud cover and imperfect roof geometry, not a site survey.

$2.21

Cash quotes in Beaumont cluster near $2.21 per watt, against a $3.50 national 2024 median (LBNL). Use your quote.

Assumptions you can change
2.5%
7%
15
24c

Use the rate on your actual lease or PPA quote. There is no published statewide average we trust enough to hardcode.

2%
Estimated system: 8.3 kWAnnual usage: 11,971 kWhState credit: $0

Cash purchase

$18,343 after state credit

Year 1 benefit
$164/mo
Payback
9 years
20 year net position
$29,290

Beaumont sits in regulated Entergy Texas territory on the MISO grid, so there is no retail buyback plan to shop. New solar exports default to Schedule SQF Option 2C at avoided cost, roughly 3.6 to 3.9 cents per kWh in 2026, which makes self consumption carry the economics.

Solar loan

$254/mo 15 yr payment

Year 1 net
-$91/mo
Upfront
$0
20 year net position
$1,842

Financing assumptions use the Texas state cost inputs, not an Entergy program or a Beaumont specific lender offer. Dealer fees move financed pricing.

Lease / PPA

$0 down you buy the power

Year 1 net
-$75/mo
Upfront
$0
20 year net position
-$18,562

The CRS notice on the 25D sunset does not address third party ownership, so no federal credit claim for lease or PPA providers appears here. Any third party contract in Beaumont still lives under Entergy's SQF export terms.

Estimates, not quotes. Inputs use the stated EIA benchmark rate, the Solar Learning Lab PVGIS run for Beaumont, and state cost benchmarks. Avoided cost export treatment, hurricane hardening requirements, permits, and roof condition are not modeled. We are a solar installer and we also partner with other solar companies. See our disclosures.

Beaumont answers

Can I shop for a solar buyback plan in Beaumont?
No. Entergy Texas is a regulated utility in MISO, and a PUCT filing states there are no REPs operating in its service area. Retail choice and buyback plan shopping belong to ERCOT cities, not this one. Source.
What does Entergy Texas pay for exported solar?
New interconnections default to Schedule SQF Option 2C, which credits exports at avoided cost, about 3.6 to 3.9 cents per kWh in 2026. The utility confirms it has no 1 to 1 buyback for new solar customers. Source.
Did Beaumont ever have real net metering?
Yes, under SQF Option 4, which closed to new applications after January 2, 2018. Existing systems can still hold it; new ones cannot enroll. Source.
Do I need Entergy's approval before installing?
Systems of 15 kW AC or larger require pre-approval, and all interconnections file through entergy-interconnection.com. A pre-certified exporting system of 0 to 10 kW pays a $225 interconnection charge. Source.
What wind standard applies to rooftop panels here?
Beaumont's April 5, 2023 code adoption includes the 2020 ICC 600 Standard for Residential Construction in High Wind Regions plus the 2020 NEC, which govern attachment and electrical work for PV. Source.
How much is the city solar permit?
Not published. The city calculates fees inside the City Works Portal per application, after a fee change effective October 1, 2024. Price it in the portal or call 409-880-3100. Source.

Where each fact lives

Utility mechanics come from Entergy Texas tariff sheets and its DG FAQ, the market structure fact from a PUCT filing, city requirements from beaumonttexas.gov, tax law from the Texas Tax Code, and production from our own PVGIS run. Anything absent from those documents, including a permit fee amount and any battery incentive, is treated as unavailable rather than estimated.

Start a Beaumont review

Bring twelve months of Entergy bills and note whether backup power during outages matters to your household; it changes the design brief. We are a solar installer and we also partner with other solar companies. Read our disclosures.

What does your monthly electric bill look like?

Texas average is $167 per month (EIA, 2024).