Hawaii pays the highest electricity rates in America, around 40¢/kWh and up, and still writes solar owners a 35% state tax credit worth up to $5,000. What it no longer offers is simple net metering: your real decision is which Hawaiian Electric program to join, and almost every good answer now includes a battery. EcoGen America maps the island rules before anyone sizes your roof.
Get your feasibility score, cost estimate & installer matches.
Two facts anchor every honest Hawaii solar conversation. First, the Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit still pays 35% of system cost, up to $5,000, making Hawaii the strongest state credit left in the country now that the federal residential credit is gone. Second, retail net metering closed years ago; what exists instead is a menu of Hawaiian Electric programs that decide what your exports earn.
The current choice runs between export programs that pay premium rates in the evening window when the grid actually needs power, and non-export designs where a battery captures everything for your own use. Either way, storage is no longer an upgrade in Hawaii; it is the system design.
Kauai plays by its own rules under the KIUC cooperative, and island-by-island differences are real. Against 40¢-plus grid power, well-designed systems still produce some of the fastest honest paybacks in America.
EcoGen America matches the program to your usage pattern, checks quotes against island pricing, and connects you with installers who file the paperwork Hawaii actually requires.
Every installer we list designs for the current Hawaiian Electric program menu, not the net-metering era that ended years ago.
Built-in checks for programs mismatched to your usage, undersized batteries, and quotes that ignore the 35% state credit paperwork.
At 40¢-plus grid power, small modeling errors are big money. We model your island's actual rates and your program's actual export terms.
Your information goes only to the installers you choose to hear from. Nothing is resold.
EcoGen is 100% free for homeowners. We earn a small referral fee from installers only when you choose to proceed with a project through our platform.
This fee comes from the installer’s marketing budget and does not increase your system price. In fact, our pre-negotiated rates often save you money compared to going direct.
Since net metering closed, the program you enroll in matters more than the panels you buy. The current menu, simplified:
Path | How It Pays | Who It Fits |
|---|---|---|
Export program (Smart Renewable Energy Export) | Net-billing credits for exports, with premium rates in the evening peak window (roughly 5-9pm); smart meter required | Homes that can shift battery discharge into the evening window |
Non-export design | Nothing leaves the roof; a battery stores the day”s production for your own evening use at 40¢-plus avoided cost | High evening consumption; simplest approval path |
KIUC territory (Kauai) | The cooperative runs its own programs entirely | Kauai homes: get KIUC”s current terms in writing first |
The constant across every path: batteries. Self-used power avoids the highest retail rates in the country, which is why storage pays for itself faster in Hawaii than anywhere on the mainland.
Pick the program before the panels: export with evening-peak credits, or non-export with storage capturing everything. Your usage pattern decides.
Size the battery to your evening load first, the array second. Against 40¢-plus rates, every stored kilowatt-hour works harder here than anywhere in America.
Claim the 35% state credit, up to $5,000, at tax time. It survived the federal credit's death and it belongs in every honest Hawaii payback model.
Free 15-minute call. We match the program to your usage and sanity-check the battery sizing.
When the federal residential credit expired at the end of 2025, most states were left with nothing. Hawaii was left with the strongest state solar credit in the country.
Combined with the fastest honest paybacks in the country, the credit is why Hawaii remains a strong solar market even after the rules stopped being simple.
Hawaii Contract Checks
Island installs are program-driven and paperwork-heavy. Four things in writing, every time.
Export or non-export, which tariff, and who files the interconnection application. A quote silent on the program is a quote from the net-metering era.
The battery is the system here. Its size should map to your evening consumption and the program's peak window, with the math shown.
Eligible costs should be documented at contract time so the state credit claim is clean.
Island pricing runs higher than mainland; dealer fees hide easily inside it.
Four lines, any island quote. The installers who work these programs daily answer without blinking.
Vetted for island licensing, program fluency, warranties and complaint history.
Even at 40¢ power, some situations deserve a pause.
Who should move: owner-occupants with real evening usage and a sound roof. Between the rates, the credit and the evening-peak programs, a right-designed Hawaii system remains one of the best energy investments in the country.
Checked against real Hawaii pricing, program terms and the credit cap.
15 minutes, independent. Program match, battery sizing, credit math.
Talk to a Hawaii AdvisorNo obligation. 100% free service.
Yes. The Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit pays 35% of system cost, capped at $5,000 per system, against Hawaii state income tax, now the strongest state solar credit in the country.
Have your installer document eligible costs at contract time so the claim is clean.
Not anymore; retail net metering closed to new customers years ago. Today you choose among Hawaiian Electric programs: export options that credit surplus with premium evening rates, or non-export designs where a battery keeps everything on-site.
Kauai’s KIUC cooperative runs separate programs.
For a good outcome, effectively yes. The current programs reward storing your production and using or exporting it in the evening; solar-only designs leave most of the value on the table.
Against roughly 40¢-plus grid power, storage pays for itself faster here than anywhere on the mainland.
Shipping, island logistics and battery-inclusive designs push the honest range to roughly $3.20 to $3.90 per watt. The 35% credit and the country’s highest rates absorb the premium for most owner-occupants.
Quotes far outside the band should itemize why.