Tennessee solar leads
Tennessee’s small-scale solar estimate slipped from 54.3 MW to 53.6 MW between July 2025 and July 2026 in EIA data, and the state contractor board lists a specialty solar panel installation classification. Summit Leads supplies solar leads in Tennessee by real-time ping/post, with filters and routing agreed during onboarding.
Summit Leads sells solar leads by real-time ping/post. Filters and routing are agreed during onboarding.
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Tennessee facts for solar lead buyers
| Fact | Value Source |
|---|---|
| Small-scale solar PV capacity, July 2026 | 53.6 MW (EIA estimate, July 2026), 43rd of the 49 states with an EIA estimateElectric Power Monthly, Table 6.2.B: Net Summer Capacity Using Primarily Renewable Energy Sources and by State U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| Small-scale solar PV capacity, July 2025 | 54.3 MW (EIA estimate, July 2025); the July 2026 estimate was 0.7 MW, or 1.3%, lowerElectric Power Monthly, Table 6.2.B: Net Summer Capacity Using Primarily Renewable Energy Sources and by State U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| Solar resource in Nashville, the largest city | 4.79 kWh per square meter per day for a fixed, south-facing array at a 20-degree tilt (PVWatts version 8, typical-year weather, checked October 9, 2026)PVWatts Calculator (version 8): Nashville, Tennessee National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) |
| Average residential electricity price, 2024 | 12.42 cents per kWh (2023: 12.19 cents; EIA Form EIA-861 data, 2024), the ninth lowest of the 50 statesElectric Power Annual, Table 2.10: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| Single-family detached share of housing units | 68.3% (2,145,674 of 3,143,670 housing units; ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25024), 16th highest of the 50 statesTable B25024, Units in Structure: Tennessee (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Owner-occupied single-family detached homes | 1,643,866, or 87.0% of 1,890,569 owner-occupied homes (ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25032)Table B25032, Tenure by Units in Structure: Tennessee (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Renter-occupied homes | 933,708, or 33.1% of 2,824,277 occupied homes (ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25003)Table B25003, Tenure: Tennessee (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Solar contractor classification | S-Solar Panel Installation, a specialty classification with no trade exam (Board for Licensing Contractors, checked October 9, 2026)Tennessee Contractor Classification Outline Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Board for Licensing Contractors |
| Classification and monetary limit on each license | Every contractor license carries a classification (the work allowed) and a monetary limit (the largest project allowed) (checked October 9, 2026)Tennessee Contractor Classification Outline Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Board for Licensing Contractors |
| Business and Law exam for new contractors | Required of all new license applicants, in addition to any trade exam (Board for Licensing Contractors, checked October 9, 2026)Tennessee Contractor Classification Outline Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Board for Licensing Contractors |
| Solar decommissioning law size threshold | 5 MW or larger at the point of interconnection since July 1, 2024 (10 MW before); Tenn. Code Ann. 66-9-207 (TDEC, checked October 9, 2026)Tennessee Statutory Requirements for Wind and Solar Facilities Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Office of Energy Programs |
| Filing of solar power facility agreements | Filed with the TDEC Office of Energy Programs, with notice to the county mayor and any municipal mayor (2024 legislation, checked October 9, 2026)Tennessee Statutory Requirements for Wind and Solar Facilities Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Office of Energy Programs |
Last reviewed: October 9, 2026. A summary for education, not legal advice.
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Tennessee’s small installed base of rooftop solar
Tennessee went the other way from most states in the latest year of the EIA series. Electric Power Monthly Table 6.2.B estimated the state’s small-scale solar, meaning customer-sited systems under 1 MW, at 54.3 MW in July 2025 and 53.6 MW in July 2026: 0.7 MW, or 1.3%, lower. Tennessee was one of three states whose estimate fell over those twelve months, and it ranked 43rd of the 49 states with an EIA estimate in July 2026.
| Month | Capacity (MW) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 54.3 | EIA EPM Table 6.2.B, July 2025 |
| July 2026 | 53.6 | EIA EPM Table 6.2.B, July 2026 |
The EIA figures are modeled estimates, and a small move in a small base can come from revisions as much as from removals; the table does not explain the change. What it does show a buyer is scale: Tennessee has far fewer kilowatts of rooftop and small commercial solar than its neighbors to the east, so most Tennessee homes an installer visits will not have a system yet. It is not a measure of how many homeowners want solar or how many leads exist.
Solar resource in Nashville
For the sunlight figure this page uses the PVWatts calculator, which NREL developed and the National Laboratory of the Rockies now runs. The place is Nashville, the largest city in Tennessee in the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 estimates (the Census place is the Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government balance). PVWatts reports 4.79 kWh per square meter per day there (checked October 9, 2026).
The number comes from a single run: the PVWatts version 8 default array (fixed, open rack, 20-degree tilt, due south) placed at Nashville’s point in the Census gazetteer, with the National Solar Radiation Database typical-year weather. It is the same method for every state on this site, which makes it useful for comparing states and useless as a production estimate for a particular roof in Memphis or Knoxville.
Average residential electricity price in Tennessee
From the EIA’s annual price table, built from utility reports on Form EIA-861. Tennessee’s 2024 average was the ninth lowest of the 50 states; the figures appear here only as sourced data.
| Year | Cents per kWh | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 12.19 | EIA Electric Power Annual, Table 2.10 |
| 2024 | 12.42 | EIA Electric Power Annual, Table 2.10 |
Tennessee’s solar panel installation license class
This section is general information, not legal advice. It summarizes official sources as of October 9, 2026; check the current text of each rule before relying on it.
Tennessee’s Board for Licensing Contractors names solar directly. Its contractor classification outline lists S-Solar Panel Installation among the specialty (S) classifications, in the group for equipment and specialty systems. Specialty classifications do not require a trade exam; the outline describes them as intended for work outside the standard building, utility, mechanical, electrical and heavy construction categories (checked October 9, 2026).
Two rules in the same outline apply to every classification. Each license is issued with a classification, which sets the type of work the holder may bid and perform, and a monetary limit, which sets the largest project the license allows. And every new applicant must pass the Tennessee Business and Law exam, whether or not the classification has a trade exam. Electrical contracting (CE) is a separate family in the outline.
A solar buyer that places Tennessee requests with installers can therefore check two things on the board’s records: that the installer holds a classification covering solar work, and that its monetary limit fits the size of the systems it sells. The project amount at which a Tennessee license is needed is covered on Tennessee window replacement leads.
Tennessee’s decommissioning law and where home solar falls
This section is general information, not legal advice. It summarizes official sources as of October 9, 2026; check the current text of each rule before relying on it.
The state’s Office of Energy Programs summarizes the 2022 “Decommissioning Law”, Tenn. Code Ann. 66-9-207, which sets decommissioning and removal requirements for agreements between landowners and the owners of solar power facilities, for agreements made on or after June 1, 2022. It first covered facilities of at least 10 MW; since July 1, 2024 it covers facilities of at least 5 MW, measured at the point of interconnection, and parties to a smaller project may choose to apply it (as described by TDEC, checked October 9, 2026).
The 2024 changes also require these agreements to be filed with TDEC’s Office of Energy Programs, with notice to the county mayor and any municipal mayor. A residential rooftop system is a small fraction of 5 MW, so the law is context for buyers who also work on land-lease or large commercial projects, not a rule for home installs.
Tennessee homes: detached, owned and rented
Tennessee leans toward detached houses. In the 2020-2024 ACS, table B25024 counts 2,145,674 single-family detached homes among 3,143,670 housing units, a 68.3% share and the 16th highest of the 50 states. Of the state’s 1,890,569 owner-occupied homes, 1,643,866 are detached houses, or 87.0%, in table B25032.
Renters live in 933,708 of Tennessee’s 2,824,277 occupied homes, or 33.1%, according to the 2020-2024 table B25003. That is the share of households a homeowner filterFilterA rule that decides which leads a buyer is offered, based on fields such as vertical, sub-type, state, ZIP code, homeownership or accident details. Glossary removes before any other field is applied.
Housing age and values are on Tennessee window replacement leads; heating fuel and the state’s heating and cooling loads are on Tennessee HVAC leads.
Tennessee counties with the most owner-occupied detached homes
The table lists the ten counties with the most owner-occupied single-family detached homes, with total owner-occupied homes and the detached share, from the Census Bureau’s ACS 5-year 2020-2024 table B25032 for counties. It is a picture of housing and is not a measure of leads.
| County | Owner-occupied detached homes | Owner-occupied homes | Detached share of owner homes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby | 184,290 | 196,379 | 93.8% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Davidson | 137,091 | 171,526 | 79.9% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Knox | 115,935 | 131,117 | 88.4% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Hamilton | 89,374 | 98,531 | 90.7% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Rutherford | 75,184 | 83,895 | 89.6% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Williamson | 66,814 | 72,671 | 91.9% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Montgomery | 51,425 | 54,302 | 94.7% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Sumner | 51,293 | 56,545 | 90.7% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Sullivan | 42,556 | 49,708 | 85.6% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Wilson | 40,645 | 45,547 | 89.2% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
Shelby County, which holds Memphis, has more owner-occupied detached homes than Davidson County, 184,290 against 137,091, and a far higher detached share (93.8% against 79.9%) in the 2020-2024 county data. Montgomery, the Clarksville county, has the highest share in the ten at 94.7%.
Reading the Tennessee data for solar coverage
Three points come out of the Tennessee facts for a buyer deciding how to cover the state:
- A small base means first-time buyers. At 53.6 MW in July 2026 in the EIA estimates, few Tennessee homes already have a system, so service, add-on and battery sales have less to work from than in high-capacity states.
- Licensing is checkable. The classification outline names a solar panel installation class and ties every license to a monetary limit (checked October 9, 2026), so installer vetting can start from the board’s records.
- Memphis is mostly houses. Shelby County’s 93.8% detached share of owner homes in the 2020-2024 ACS is higher than Davidson’s 79.9%, which matters to installers who only do single-family roofs.
None of this is a statement about lead counts, prices or where requests come from; it describes Tennessee’s housing, licensing and installed solar.
What Tennessee solar buyers filter on
A handful of lead fields do most of the work when a solar buyer narrows Tennessee. Each one links to something above:
- Homeowner status: one Tennessee household in three rents, so owner-only is the usual setting.
- Project type: what kind of solar project the homeowner asked about, in general terms; the choices are set when the solar form is finalized.
- Timeframe: whether the homeowner plans to go ahead soon or is gathering information.
- ZIP code: the areas an installer can serve within its license and crew range; the county table shows where owner-occupied houses are.
The filters for Tennessee solar leads are agreed with each buyer during onboarding. Exclusive or shared routing for solar leads is agreed with each buyer during onboarding. The fields are shown on the sample solar lead.
Where buyers filter in Tennessee
Tennessee is long and narrow, and solar installers there tend to work one end of it from a single metro base. The six largest metro areas with Tennessee counties, from the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 estimates, are below; Memphis, Chattanooga, Clarksville and Kingsport-Bristol reach into neighboring states, and their figures cover the whole metro area. Each buyer’s coverage area is agreed during onboarding, inside these metro areas or outside them.
- Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin: 2,197,416 (July 1, 2025 estimate)
- Memphis, TN-MS-AR: 1,341,412 (July 1, 2025 estimate, whole metro area)
- Knoxville: 968,137 (July 1, 2025 estimate)
- Chattanooga, TN-GA: 594,530 (July 1, 2025 estimate, whole metro area)
- Clarksville, TN-KY: 349,001 (July 1, 2025 estimate, whole metro area)
- Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA: 314,834 (July 1, 2025 estimate, whole metro area)
Source: Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area population estimates, Vintage 2025 (cbsa-est2025-alldata), U.S. Census Bureau.
Consent records for Tennessee solar leads
Each Tennessee solar lead carries the TCPATCPAThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal law that governs telemarketing calls and texts, autodialers, prerecorded voice messages and the Do Not Call Registry. Glossary consent record captured on the form. Tennessee’s own calling rules are summarized in its entry in the state telemarketing laws table, and every other Summit verticalVerticalThe industry or product category a lead belongs to, such as roofing or car accident. Glossary in the state is listed on leads in Tennessee.
Tennessee solar lead questions
Does Tennessee have a contractor license class for solar panels?
Yes. The Board for Licensing Contractors lists S-Solar Panel Installation as a specialty classification with no trade exam in its classification outline; new applicants still pass the Business and Law exam (checked October 9, 2026). This is general information, not legal advice.
Did small-scale solar in Tennessee grow in the year to July 2026?
No. The EIA estimate was 54.3 MW in July 2025 and 53.6 MW in July 2026 (Electric Power Monthly, Table 6.2.B), one of three states with a lower figure.
Does Tennessee’s solar decommissioning law cover rooftop systems?
Its definition of a solar power facility starts at 5 MW, measured at the point of interconnection, since July 1, 2024, as TDEC describes Tenn. Code Ann. 66-9-207; parties to a smaller project may opt in. This is general information, not legal advice.
Which Tennessee county has the highest detached share among the largest ten?
Montgomery County, where 94.7% of the 54,302 owner-occupied homes are single-family detached in the 2020-2024 ACS (table B25032, county level).
Can Tennessee solar leads be limited to a buyer’s own ZIP list?
Coverage and filters are agreed with each buyer during onboarding; email us the ZIP codes you want covered.
Request Tennessee solar leads
Email us the Tennessee ZIP codes you cover, your daily volume or caps and how you take delivery. ReturnReturnA buyer's request for credit on a lead that fails agreed standards, such as a disconnected number, a duplicate or a lead outside the filters. Glossary terms are agreed on the onboarding call, before you go live.
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- No setup fee and no monthly fee. You pay only for leads delivered that match your filters.
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- MVA and home improvement leads are exclusive by default: each lead is sold to one buyer.
- Return terms are agreed on the onboarding call, before you go live.
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