Independent Solar Advisor • Updated July 2026

Solar Panels in
New Hampshire

Not in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire runs solar the way it runs everything: no subsidies, no sales tax, no drama. What it offers instead is durable: export credits worth 80 to 85% of retail at the three investor-owned utilities, locked in through 2040. When the federal credit died in December, New Hampshire's math barely moved. EcoGen America shows you what a Granite State system really costs and which installers earn a bid.

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New Hampshire Solar Report

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Include Battery?
For backup or TOU shifting
Get My Solar Report
Advisor Verdict Steady, Subsidy-Free
Export Credit (IOUs) 80 – 85% of Retail
Guarantee Runs To 2040
Incentive Strength
Fair Price Range $3.03/W Typical
About EcoGen America

New Hampshire Never Had Incentives to Lose.

When the federal 30% credit expired at the end of 2025, states built on subsidy stacks felt it hard. New Hampshire did not, because it never had a state tax credit, a state rebate, or a sales tax to waive in the first place.

What it has is quieter and arguably better: a net-metering tariff, set by the state’s Public Utilities Commission, that pays exports at 100% of the energy and transmission portions plus a quarter of distribution, roughly 80 to 85% of retail at Eversource, Liberty and Unitil, and it is guaranteed through 2040.

The gross price is the net price here: $3.03 per watt on a competitively shopped system, untaxed, with no rebate paperwork because there is no rebate. The variables that actually move your outcome are your utility, your roof’s snow behavior, and how many bids you collect.

EcoGen America models your utility’s exact export credit, checks quotes against real New Hampshire pricing, and connects you with installers who engineer for Granite State winters.

Our vetting process

Bid-Tested Network

Competition in the Manchester-Nashua corridor is what holds New Hampshire prices down. We make sure you see more than one credible bid.

Quote Analysis

Built-in checks for panel-upgrade and tree-work line items a per-watt quote hides, and for savings models that assume full retail credit New Hampshire does not pay.

Tariff-Accurate Numbers

IOU customers earn 80 to 85% of retail on exports; co-op members earn 62% and pay the state's highest fixed charge. We model your actual utility.

Privacy First

Your information goes only to the installers you choose to hear from. Nothing is resold.

What Each New Hampshire Utility Pays for Exports

New Hampshire is small enough that people assume one set of rules. There are two, and the gap between them is the biggest variable in the state.

Utility
Export Credit
Monthly Fixed Charge
What It Means
Eversource
80 to 85% of retail
Standard
The mainstream case; solid returns
Liberty Utilities
80 to 85% of retail
$14.74
Payback from roughly 9.5 years, the state’s fastest
Unitil
80 to 85% of retail
Standard
Same tariff family as the other IOUs
NH Electric Co-op
13.76¢/kWh, about 62% of retail
$29.00, the state’s highest
The weakest economics in New Hampshire
The IOU tariff pays 100% of energy and transmission plus 25% of distribution on exports, per the PUC net-metering tariff, guaranteed through 2040. Figures per our New Hampshire cost guide, July 2026.

One nuance for rate shoppers: New Hampshire is a retail-choice state, and joining a Community Power program or a competitive supplier does not change your net-metering credit; the utility still sets it. Shop your supply rate freely. The solar math stays put.

Bid, Size, Bank: Buying Solar the Granite State Way

1

Bid

With no rebates distorting prices, installer competition is the discount. Collect at least three bids; the Manchester-Nashua corridor rewards it.

2

Size

Exports earn 80 to 85% of retail, not 100, so self-consumption is worth slightly more than exporting. Size to your usage and your roof's unshaded, snow-shedding area.

3

Bank

The tariff is locked through 2040. Every utility rate increase between now and then raises what your panels save, with no program deadline to chase.

Want a second opinion before you pick a bid?

Free 15-minute call. We compare your bids against real New Hampshire pricing.

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Locked Until 2040: The Quiet Guarantee

Other states have spent the decade trimming what solar owners earn: California cut exports to a fraction of retail, and utilities elsewhere file to do the same most years. New Hampshire went the other way and wrote its export credit into a tariff guaranteed through 2040.

  • Fifteen years of known rules. A system installed this year runs most of its warranty life under a compensation structure that cannot be quietly re-filed away. Few states can say that.
  • No deadline pressure, by design. There is no expiring rebate or stepping-down block here, so any salesperson manufacturing urgency is selling you something other than the tariff.
  • Group net metering catches the roofs that can’t. Households without a usable roof can share the output of a local system and receive bill credits under the same tariff family.
  • The bill never quite reaches zero. Fixed charges, $14.74 a month at Liberty up to $29 at the co-op, survive any system size. Honest projections show them.

The whole incentive story, including what vanished in 2026 and what never existed here, is in our New Hampshire incentives guide.

New Hampshire Contract Checks

What a New Hampshire Contract Should Prove

No subsidies means nothing hides the installer's own numbers. Make every bid show these four.

Clause to verify: Ask which export credit rate the projection uses, for which utility. It should match the tariff, not round up.
Clause to verify: Confirm the racking spec and load analysis in writing, and ask how seasonal snow cover is reflected in the production estimate.
Clause to verify: Ask which of these the quote assumes, and get the all-in number, not the per-watt teaser.
Clause to verify: Request the cash price next to the financed total, and check the loan payment actually beats your current bill.
Verify your paperwork

Four checks, any bid. A New Hampshire installer with real numbers will not flinch at them.

Check New Hampshire Price Fairness Review My Export Assumptions

New Hampshire Installers Worth a Bid

Vetted for licensing, winter engineering, warranties and complaint history.

Venture Solar

Verified Multi-State Installer
Why Recommended
  • Operating since 2014 with more than 15,000 systems installed across the Northeast
  • Backs its installations with a 25 year warranty
  • Serves nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states from Maine to Maryland
Warranty
25 Year
Experience
12 Years
Service Area
9 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States

ReVision Energy

Why Recommended
  • 100% employee-owned since 2003, with nearly 20,000 projects across northern New England
  • New Hampshire offices in Brentwood and Enfield with in-house crews
  • Installs solar, batteries and heat pumps under one roof
Experience
23 Years
Service Area
NH, ME & MA

Granite State Solar

Why Recommended
  • Serving the Granite State from Bow since 2008
  • 12-year workmanship guarantee alongside 25-year panel and inverter warranties
  • 4.9-star rating across nearly 200 Google reviews
Warranty
12 Yr Workmanship / 25 Yr Equipment
Experience
18 Years
Service Area
Statewide New Hampshire

The Homes Where New Hampshire Solar Falls Flat

No incentives also means no cushion. These are the situations where the Granite State math honestly does not close.

  • A low-usage co-op account. The NH Electric Co-op pays 13.76¢ on exports and charges $29 a month regardless. Small usage plus weak credit plus the state’s highest fixed charge is the worst combination New Hampshire offers.
  • Deep tree shade you will not cut. New Hampshire’s canopy is beautiful and brutal. A shaded roof underperforms its model here just like everywhere else, but with no subsidies to absorb the miss.
  • A roof nearing replacement. Panel removal and reinstall costs thousands and none of it is warrantied. At $3.03 a watt untaxed, the system deserves a roof that will outlast it.
  • Moving before the high-9s. Payback starts around 9.5 years at the best-positioned utility and runs longer elsewhere. Shorter tenure rarely gets its money back.
  • Chasing backup power on savings math. A battery adds roughly $13,500 and earns little on arbitrage under this tariff. Buy storage for outages if you want it; do not let anyone sell it as an investment here.

What does not disqualify you: your supplier. Community Power and competitive-supply customers keep the same utility-set net-metering credit as everyone else. Weigh your own numbers in our worth-it breakdown.

The New Hampshire Homework

New Hampshire Solar Panels Cost Guide (2026 Pricing)
Cost

New Hampshire Solar Panels Cost Guide (2026 Pricing)
New Hampshire Solar Incentives 2026: Net Metering, Battery Rebates & Tax Exemptions
Incentives

New Hampshire Solar Incentives 2026: Net Metering, Battery Rebates & Tax Exemptions
Are Solar Panels Worth It in New Hampshire? 2026 Payback by Utility
Investment

Are Solar Panels Worth It in New Hampshire? 2026 Payback by Utility
New Hampshire Free Solar Panels: Is There Really No Cost?
Programs

New Hampshire Free Solar Panels: Is There Really No Cost?
Top 5 Best Solar Companies in New Hampshire (2026 Guide)
Companies

Top 5 Best Solar Companies in New Hampshire (2026 Guide)

1. Weighing a New Hampshire quote?

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New Hampshire Solar FAQs

Does New Hampshire really have no solar incentives?

Essentially, yes: no state tax credit, no state rebate, and no sales tax on anything, so nothing to exempt. Some towns offer a local property tax exemption; check yours.

What the state provides instead is the net-metering tariff itself, worth 80 to 85% of retail on exports at the investor-owned utilities and guaranteed through 2040.

What happens to my export credit when rates change?

It moves with them. The tariff pays a percentage-based credit, so every approved rate increase raises what your exports earn, automatically.

The structure itself is locked through 2040, which is a longer guarantee than nearly any other state currently offers.

I’m an NH Electric Co-op member. Is solar still worth it?

It can be, with eyes open. The co-op credits exports at 13.76¢, about 62% of its retail rate, and charges the highest fixed monthly fee in the state at $29.

A well-sized, unshaded system still recovers its cost within the panels’ life, but low-usage co-op households see the weakest returns in New Hampshire.

Do panels make sense with this much snow?

Yes, engineered properly. Cold weather improves panel efficiency; the loss comes from snow sitting on the array, which the right pitch and snow-shedding racking clears within days.

Make sure the production estimate accounts for seasonal cover and the racking spec is in the contract.

My roof can’t host panels. Any option in New Hampshire?

Group net metering. The state lets multiple accounts share the output of one system and receive bill credits under the same tariff family.

It is a smaller market than rooftop ownership, but it is the honest fallback for shaded roofs and renters.