Key takeaways
- Nobody is giving panels away in Rhode Island. “Free solar” here is a $0-down loan, lease or power purchase agreement (PPA).
- ASAP, the state’s no-money-down lease for income-eligible homes, is paused. On October 5, 2026 it was still not taking new applications.
- Every system gets one of two paths, never both: a $1.65 per watt state grant plus net metering, or the RE Growth payment of 31.55 cents per kWh fixed for 15 years.
- The grant is for owners only. On a typical 7.91 kW home system it is worth about $13,052. A leased or PPA system cannot get it.
- Whoever owns the system picks the path. In a lease or PPA, that is the company, not you.
About this review
Grant, RE Growth, net metering and tax figures were checked against the linked state, utility and IRS sources on September 29 and 30, 2026. The ASAP status, the 2026 grant rounds and the Solar for All court rulings were rechecked on October 5, 2026. This guide is not tax, legal or financial advice. See our editorial process and content standards.
Rhode Island gives every “free solar” pitch a long prize to fight over, and most homeowners never learn they were in the fight. Whoever owns the system picks how it is paid: the state grant with net metering, or the Renewable Energy Growth (RE Growth) tariff, a fixed price per kWh for 15 years on systems up to 15 kW and 20 years on larger ones up to 25 kW.
So a $0-down contract here is more than financing. It hands a third party the pen on the biggest long-term decision in Rhode Island solar. The real transaction is who signs up for what, for decades.
Zero-Down Solar in Rhode Island: If You Sign This, Here Is Who Collects
State law allows leases and PPAs for home systems (R.I. Gen. Laws 39-26.4-2), and Rhode Island Energy accepts company-owned systems in net metering and RE Growth. What changes is who gets paid.
| If you sign | State grant ($1.65 per watt) | Who picks grant or RE Growth | What you are left holding |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0-down solar loan | Yours, if your installer applies before work starts | You | The system, the loan, and the upside |
Pros and cons in Rhode Island: $0-down loanPros
Cons
Can fit if: the installer shows both paths in writing and the loan payment sits close to what the chosen path saves you. | |||
| Solar lease | Not allowed: the grant is for direct owners only | The company | A rent payment, maybe a yearly increase, and transfer rules at sale |
Pros and cons in Rhode Island: leasePros
Cons
Can fit if: the company names its path in writing and the rent stays below your bill savings for the whole term. | |||
| Power purchase agreement (PPA) | Not allowed, same as a lease | The company, choosing what suits its model | A price per kWh for your own roof’s output |
Pros and cons in Rhode Island: PPAPros
Cons
Can fit if: the PPA price, with every yearly increase, stays below what Rhode Island Energy charges you per kWh. | |||
The grant comes from the Renewable Energy Fund at Rhode Island Commerce: $1.65 per watt on systems up to 8.8 kW, capped at $14,500, for owned, net-metered homes with a shade score (TSRF) of 80% or more. Older guides show 65 cents per watt and a $5,000 cap. The last 2026 round closes October 16, 2026, or sooner if money runs out. RE Growth prices reset on April 1, 2026, and this year’s small-solar pool of 3 MW (3,000 kW) can fill before March 31, 2027.
Lease or PPA in Rhode Island: which risk is yours
Question | Lease | PPA |
|---|---|---|
You pay for | The equipment, a set monthly rent | The power, a price per kWh |
After a gray February | Same rent, smaller credit | A smaller PPA bill |
Output risk | Yours, unless output is guaranteed | Mostly the company’s |
Who earns what depends on the path the company picks, so ask for it in writing. Compare loan terms and APRs in our solar financing guide.
ASAP and Solar for All: Rhode Island’s Paused No-Cost Routes
Rhode Island did have a route close to free. The Affordable Solar Access Pathways (ASAP) program used one leasing partner, PosiGen, to put solar on income-eligible homes with no money out of pocket and no minimum credit score. Then PosiGen went into restructuring, and ASAP stopped.
Affordable Solar Access Pathways (ASAP)
A state lease program, separate from federal Solar for All. You apply through the state, never through a door-to-door seller or EcoGen.
Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources: ASAP programRun by the Office of Energy Resources with the Renewable Energy Fund. Checked October 5, 2026.
- Run by
- The Office of Energy Resources (OER) with the Renewable Energy Fund
- Who it was for
- Income-eligible homeowners
- Status
- Paused. On October 5, 2026, OER’s page still said ASAP is on pause and not accepting new applications while OER and the Renewable Energy Fund redesign it. No relaunch date is announced.
Current ASAP customers: Commerce RI says service is moving to Renewbrook, SunStrong or GoodLeap, and no action is needed yet.
OER also holds a federal Solar for All award. In September 2026, federal courts in Rhode Island (September 18) and Washington, DC ruled the EPA’s termination of Solar for All unlawful, and the EPA said it was weighing an appeal. As of October 5, 2026, we found no OER announcement of a Solar for All program households can apply to. A court ruling is not an open application. Until OER posts one, nobody can sell you a Solar for All or ASAP slot.
The Pitch, Translated
The pitch leans on real facts: high power prices, strong credits and a state tariff that pays for production. What it skips:
- “The program pays for your panels.” RE Growth pays the system’s owner. The grant pays only owners. In a lease or PPA, that is not you.
- “$0 down, savings from day one.” The first payment is gone; years of payments are scheduled. Ask for the yearly increase in writing, then compare the total with what solar costs in Rhode Island.
- “We handle all the paperwork.” That means the company makes the election. Convenient, and exactly the clause to read twice.
Rhode Island Energy, Block Island or Clear River: The Credit Behind Every Offer
Rhode Island Energy holds both doors: net metering and RE Growth. Its net metering credit covers the per-kWh supply, delivery and transmission charges, not every charge on the bill. Credits beyond what you use are valued at the wholesale power price, and leftovers can be cashed out once a year. Since June 27, 2025, home systems of 25 kW or less no longer have to be sized to past use. Two small utilities set their own.
| Utility | How exports are credited | Largest home system | Ask a lease seller |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island EnergyMost of the state | Net metering, or RE Growth at 31.55 cents per kWh | 25 kW for RE Growth homes | Which path, and the rate it modeled |
| Block Island Utility District | 15.40 cents per kWh, reset each year | 30 kW | Space left: 507.73 kW on September 29, 2026 |
| Clear River Electric and WaterFormerly Pascoag | about 7.15 cents for every kWh made | 10 kW | Is a leased system accepted? |
Block Island credits not used within two years are lost. Clear River credits all output at its power supply rate, not a full bill rate. Sources: Block Island Utility District, Clear River tariff RIPUC No. 902.
Coastal Fine Print: When $0-Down Solar Does Not Fit
Coastal wind, salt air and old housing sit badly with decades of fixed payments. Ask in writing who pays to remove and reinstall the panels if the roof needs work midway. That answer separates serious operators from pitch decks.
- You want owner money without owner capital. The structures that remove upfront cost also remove the grant. That is the trade, not a loophole.
- You may sell within a few years. A long contract on that house is a closing problem chosen in advance.
- Your roof or framing is near the end of its life. In Rhode Island’s older homes, check this first.
- Your bills are small, or your roof is shaded. Rising payments lose quietly, and the grant needs a shade score of 80% or better.
Show Me Both Elections: A Rhode Island Offer Audit
- Loan, lease or PPA, named on the contract?
If it is called ASAP or Solar for All, stop. Both are closed to new homes today.
- Net metering with the grant, or RE Growth?
Ask for both modeled on your own usage, with the rate and term of each. RE Growth locks for 15 years on a home system.
- If you own it, did the installer reserve the grant?
It must be approved before installation, and the project finished within 12 months of signing.
- Did you get the state disclosure form?
Under the state’s solar disclosure and homeowner bill of rights law, Rhode Island Energy requires the installer to file a disclosure form for a lease or PPA. Ask for your copy and read the payment schedule, escalator and buyout. See solar lease exit options.
- Who pays for roof work under the panels?
Get the removal and reinstall cost in writing.
Walk away from a seller who will not say which path your roof enrolls in, or who calls a lease a state program.
See the solar scam warning signs and check bidders in our Rhode Island solar companies guide.
Get Rhode Island Quotes With Both Paths Priced
Ask each installer for the cash price, the price after the grant, the $0-down payment, and the RE Growth figure for the same roof.
Enter your ZIP code to compare installers
This is a commercial quote request, not an application for ASAP, the state grant or RE Growth. For ASAP news, use the official OER page.
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More Rhode Island Solar Guides
Rhode Island Free Solar FAQs
Are solar panels free in Rhode Island?
No. “Free” offers are leases, PPAs or $0-down loans. In the lease and PPA versions, the company keeps the state’s long-term payment value.
Is there a no-cost solar program in Rhode Island?
Not one you can join today. ASAP, the state’s no-money-down lease for income-eligible homes, was paused on OER’s page by April 21, 2026, and still was on October 5. Federal Solar for All money won in court in September 2026, but OER had announced no restart by October 5, 2026.
Can I get zero-down solar in Rhode Island?
Yes. Installers sell $0-down loans, leases and PPAs, and state law allows all three. Only the loan keeps the $1.65 per watt grant open to you, so price it first.
Who chooses between net metering and RE Growth?
The system’s owner, at enrollment. In a purchase, that is you. In a lease or PPA, it is the company. Ask which path it picks and why that serves you.
Can I switch paths later if the deal was wrong?
Plan as if you cannot. RE Growth runs 15 years on a home system, and the grant only goes to net-metered systems. After the RE Growth term ends, a system can move to net metering.
What happens at a home sale with a leased system?
The buyer takes over the contract, or you buy it out. Either can slow a closing. Read the transfer and buyout terms on the disclosure form before you sign.
Is $0-down solar ever the right call in Rhode Island?
Sometimes. For a household with no cash to spare that plans to stay, a fairly priced lease can beat doing nothing. Test it first against the owned price after the grant, about $9,650 on a typical system.
Sources and review
Figures checked September 29 and 30, 2026; ASAP, grant rounds and Solar for All rechecked October 5, 2026. The administrator’s current page always wins.
- Rhode Island Commerce, Renewable Energy Fund (grant rounds)
- Rhode Island Commerce, REF Small-Scale Program flyer, revised April 3, 2026
- Rhode Island Commerce, REF Small-Scale Request for Projects, revised April 6, 2026
- Rhode Island PUC, Docket 25-52-REG, RE Growth filing of March 30, 2026
- Rhode Island Energy, 2026 Small-Scale Solar RE Growth Program sheet
- Rhode Island PUC, Docket 25-50-EL, net metering tariff RIPUC No. 2279
- Rhode Island General Laws 39-26.4-2, net metering
- Rhode Island General Laws 44-18-30(57), sales tax exemption
- Rhode Island General Laws 44-3-3(a)(48), property tax exemption
- Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, ASAP program
- Block Island Utility District, Net Metering Policy
- Clear River Electric and Water District, Net Metering Policy, RIPUC No. 902
- Clear River Electric and Water District, 2026 electric rate change
- IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit
- Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, ASAP 2.0 Request for Information, April 9, 2026
- Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, Solar for All program
- pv magazine USA, Federal court strikes down EPA cancellation of $7 billion Solar for All program, September 21, 2026
- Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, Solar Consumer Protection
- Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, Net Metering third-party ownership disclosure form
