Hawaii pays the highest electricity rates in the country, and it retired one-for-one net metering years before the mainland started. That combination made Hawaii the first true battery-first solar market: the value of a system now depends on storing your own power and playing the export windows well. We ranked the three companies below on the thing that matters here, their storage and grid-program track records, verified on their own sites.
RevoluSun, Haleakala Solar and Alternate Energy Hawaii are the three vetted installers in our Hawaii network, and all three are storage-credentialed. A Hawaii installer is selling you three things at once: hardware, program enrollment, and per-island permitting experience. Judge all three, not the panel price.
Our Top 3 Solar Companies in Hawaii
New Hawaiian Electric customers do not get retail credit for daytime exports; compensation flows through successor programs with structured export rules, and the richest incentives attach to batteries, including grid-services enrollments that pay monthly for shared battery capacity. Every company below was ranked on its verifiable storage record.
RevoluSun
The volume-and-programs anchor: in-house crews, a 4.8-star average over 816 reviews, and, most tellingly for the battery era, active enrollment of customers in Home Battery Rewards grid services, worth up to $145 per month through 2031 for paired Powerwall systems by its own account.
Haleakala Solar
Hawaii’s longest-running solar name, with NABCEP and Tesla Powerwall certifications and something valuable on older island homes: roof repair and treatment handled alongside the install, so one contractor owns the whole penetration.
Alternate Energy Hawaii
Three decades of Oahu-specific permitting from its Kapolei base, and a planning breadth that treats solar, storage, EV charging and roof readiness as one system. It participated in Hawaiian Electric’s Battery Bonus program during its run.
Hawaii Solar Companies Compared
Company | Islands | Storage Credential | Distinct Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
RevoluSun | Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island | Tesla Powerwall Premier | Grid-services enrollment income |
Haleakala Solar | Oahu, Maui, Kauai | Tesla certified, NABCEP | 49 years and roof work in-house |
Alternate Energy Hawaii | Oahu | Battery Bonus participant | Whole-home energy planning |
Panels Alone Stopped Making Sense Here First
Hawaii retired retail-rate export credit years ago, which is why every ranking factor above leans toward storage. The battery is not an upsell in this state; it is the mechanism that captures your own high-value power, earns the grid-services payments, and keeps the lights on when the island grid does not. A panel-only quote deserves scrutiny before it deserves a signature, and a battery sized to a program minimum rather than your evening load deserves the same.
Program rules and installer coverage differ island by island. Enter your ZIP code to see which of these companies serve your address and what a paired solar-plus-storage system earns there now.
Check solar-plus-storage offers on your island
Questions to Ask a Hawaii Solar Installer
Which export program will my system enroll in, and what does it pay?
Does this battery qualify for grid-services payments, and who receives them?
How was the battery sized?
Who pulls the permit on my island, and how long is the current queue?
Is the roof under the array ready to outlast the panels?
Red Flags in a Hawaii Solar Pitch
How We Rank Solar Companies
Rankings are built from what we can verify, never from who pays us. Five weighted factors:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a battery with solar in Hawaii?
For most new Hawaiian Electric customers, yes, a battery is what makes the system pay, because daytime exports no longer earn retail credit and the strongest incentives attach to storage. Panel-only systems can still work for heavy daytime users, but every quote should be priced both ways.
Who is the oldest solar company in Hawaii?
Haleakala Solar is the oldest of Hawaii’s major installers, operating since 1977 with 14,000+ systems installed. That half-century matters practically: it predates every compensation regime Hawaii has run, so the company has re-designed around every rule change the state has produced.
How much do Hawaii solar installers charge?
Hawaii pricing runs above mainland averages because of shipping, island labor and the battery most systems now include, and it varies more by island and roof than by installer. Compare quotes as full solar-plus-storage packages with program enrollment included, not by panel price alone.
Before you commit, review what still pays in Hawaii solar incentives, benchmark quotes with Hawaii solar costs, and get the island-by-island picture in our Hawaii solar guide.
Island, utility program and roof type decide everything here. Enter your ZIP code to see the installers that fit yours.
See your Hawaii installer options in one step
Sources
References & Research Sources
EcoGen America reviewed Hawaiian Electric customer renewable program materials, state contractor licensing records, and the installers’ own published claims for this article. Sources were accessed August 8, 2026, unless another publication, release, effective, or update date is listed below.
- Hawaiian Electric. Customer renewable programs: export compensation and battery grid services. Accessed August 8, 2026.
- RevoluSun. Company site: installs, license, certifications and Home Battery Rewards. Accessed August 8, 2026.
- Haleakala Solar. Company site: history, islands served and certifications. Accessed August 8, 2026.
- Alternate Energy Hawaii. Company site: history, services and Battery Bonus participation. Accessed August 8, 2026.
