I put solar on my garage 9 years ago. It cost about $16,000, less a $2,000 state rebate and an $8,500 federal tax credit, which I was able to use. This is a rough number because my electric use has fluctuated over the years and rates have gone up, but I've saved about $20,000 in electric bills. And I've received about $1,500-1,800 in carbon credit payments annually for the past nine years. So overall I've saved or been paid somewhere around $35,000 for having solar, and my net cost for the array was a little over $6K. The array just about covers all my home's needs. I do occasionally get small bills in the winter if my summer A/C use has been heavy. The array has required no maintenance in the time it's been operating, and has been 100% reliable.
I do have net metering. I question what value it provides my power company: I think of it more as a subsidy to me than providing power to them. Either way, I certainly don't mind.
Eventually I hope to build a home that has a net zero energy use footprint. Solar is certainly going to be part of that. Even here in New England I'd be hard pressed to see why someone would not have some form of solar generation, except where siting issues prevent it. I wish we could put panels on the roof at the IDParts warehouse. It would probably cover most of our power needs, as we use the space in the daytime. But we are renting the building and it has both a fragile roof and an unreceptive owner.