Summary of Hawaii solar incentives 2021
Electricity prices here in Hawaii remain the second highest in the nation, making it one of the most practical places to install solar. Innovative new on-bill repayment plans have been great at assisting low income residents to install their own solar energy systems.
How much money you can save with solar depends on which island you live on and how much electricity you use. Everyone in Hawaii can grab the US federal solar tax credit equal to 26% of the costs to go solar. It's important to note that Hawaii's state government also has your back if you’re considering going solar, with its own state solar tax credit.
Even without huge incentives or a perfect net metering program, the state is committed to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045, and they're gonna need a lot of help from folks like you to do it. On the islands of Oahu, Maui, or Hawaii, HECO has a Quick Connect program to help you get solar panels installed quickly and boost the local economy.
Read on to learn about solar panel policy, incentives, and savings in Hawaii, and get ready to go solar!
On this page, you can:
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Learn what solar incentives are available to Hawaii homeowners
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See what Hawaii solar incentives you qualify for based on your utility company and city
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Find out how much these incentives and/or Hawaii solar tax credits will reduce your cost to go solar and add batteries
Federal solar investment tax credit
The federal solar investment tax credit will have the biggest impact on the cost you will face to go solar in Hawaii
This perk is commonly known as the ITC, short for “Investment Tax Credit”. If you install your photovoltaic system in 2020, the federal tax credit is 26% of the cost of your solar panel system. This is 26% off the entire cost of the system including equipment, labor and permitting.
Example: If your solar energy system costs $20,000, your federal solar tax credit would be $20,000 x 26% = $5,200.
The federal tax credit falls to 22% at the end of 2022.
Net energy metering in Hawaii
With net metering in some states, you get full retail rate credit for the amount of electricity you send back into the grid with your solar panels.
Net Metering requires your utility to monitor how much energy your solar power system produces and how much energy you actually consume, and make sure you get credit for the surplus.
Hawaii no longer has net metering for solar owners. Instead, HECO has switched to giving homeowners a choice. In Hawaii, you can set up your solar panels under a system called "Customer Self Supply," which means you have to use all the solar energy to power your home (hello, batteries!) or "Customer Grid Supply," which means you send all your solar energy to HECO, and they pay you less than retail prices for it.
Finding out which system works best for you can be complicated, so make sure to connect with a solar expert near you to get help with this complicated decision.
Hawaii solar rebates
Hawaii no longer has any cash rebate programs, but there are may other kinds of incentives available to help you save money when you go solar. Most importantly, Hawaii offers a sweet tax credit to its citizens that combines with the federal solar tax credit to wipe out a huge portion of the cost to buy solar panels.
Hawaii's 35% solar tax credit
Here's where Hawaii wins when it comes to solar. If you buy a solar system in the Aloha state, you'll see 35% of the cost (up to $2,250) come back as a credit at tax time, in addition to the federal tax credit of 26% (with no limit)!
When April 15th rolls around, an average 6kW system that costs just over $18,000 will net you an estimated $6,500 back from both credits, provided you have some tax appetite. Wow.
Hawaii solar property tax exemption
When you install a solar power system, your home appreciates by twenty times your annual electricity savings. When you add a solar power system, you add value to your home. How much value you add depends on how much money you save on your energy bill.
In a state like Hawaii, solar panels can save you a lot – more than anywhere else in the country, in fact. Normally, as you are all too aware, an increase in your home’s value means a corresponding increase in property taxes. Many, if not most states exempt you from those property taxes. Hawaii sadly lacks such a statewide law.
Don’t panic just yet though. The City and County of Honolulu has passed their own property tax exemption! No, that’s not the entire state, but it is about 70% of the people here in Hawaii.
If you’re one of those 70%, you’re already golden – you’re 100% exempted from property taxes associated with your new solar power system for 25 years. If you’re one of the unlucky 3 in 10, it sounds like we all need to get on the phone to the state capitol to tell them we want solar power tax exemptions!
Low-income solar programs
GEMS Loam Program
If you’re a HECO customer making 140% or less of area median income, you can qualify for a special program called a Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) laon. The program grants you the ability to install solar for $0 down with a special loan you repay on your HECO electric bill automatically. Your system must provide enough power that even after your loan you have 10% savings over what you were paying previous to your solar installation.
There are no credit requirements, and the loan is not attached to your name, it’s attached to your electric meter instead!
Low-interest solar loans in Honolulu
In Honolulu city and county, you can get a 0% interest loan for a new roof and solar installation over a term of 10 or 20 years! The amount can be up to $60,000, here is the application information. Work with your installer to claim this amazing deal.
Cost of solar panels in your part of Hawaii after all applicable solar incentives
Showing data for:
Prices based on a 8.4kW system, after 26% federal tax credit
Solar prices near you
Payback period
6.1-7.4 years
Net profit (savings less system cost)
$49,879-$60,963
Average size system installed in HI in 2021
8.4kW
Solar panel cost calculator
Best 10 solar companies in Hawaii
24 solar companies in Hawaii provide pricing on SolarReviews. Here are the best rated companies near you.
4.71 46 Reviews
Latest review
Chris L., over 1 month
Highly recommend Ryan and his crew at ProSolar Hawaii for any solar panel system size. I first spoke with Danny from ProSolar at a home show in the Sheraton in March, and I was pleasantly surprised by the cost of the system and the Helco electricity savings the system can provide. From start to finish, they are all absolutely great to work with -they handled all the permits, all of the government and Helco processes and procedures, they made the whole process so easy for me. The system is fully installed now, and it is working great. I would recommend anyone who is thinking about going solar contact Danny or Ryan at Prosolar, you will not regret it. They have the best service and the best pricing for an investment as important as solar power is for a home. They really are the best at what they do. Mahalo to Ryan, Danny and the install crew for my new PV system!
Read more
Latest review
Chris L., over 1 month
Highly recommend Ryan and his crew at ProSolar Hawaii for any solar panel system size. I first spoke with Danny from ProSolar at a home show in the Sheraton in March, and I was pleasantly surprised by the cost of the system and the Helco electricity savings the system can provide. From start to finish, they are all absolutely great to work with -they handled all the permits, all of the government and Helco processes and procedures, they made the whole process so easy for me. The system is fully installed now, and it is working great. I would recommend anyone who is thinking about going solar contact Danny or Ryan at Prosolar, you will not regret it. They have the best service and the best pricing for an investment as important as solar power is for a home. They really are the best at what they do. Mahalo to Ryan, Danny and the install crew for my new PV system!
4.69 54 Reviews
Latest review
Joe, over 1 month
My electric bill was out of control, got to the point I would not run the A/C, and was chasing around the house turning off switches. I projected a first month bill of $800+. Pacific Energy provided me a system that was on time, at the specified cost, and with tax benefits, at both the Federal and State levels. System installed in 2 weeks. First MECO bill was $26. That is the minimum charge by the electric company.
Read more
Latest review
Joe, over 1 month
My electric bill was out of control, got to the point I would not run the A/C, and was chasing around the house turning off switches. I projected a first month bill of $800+. Pacific Energy provided me a system that was on time, at the specified cost, and with tax benefits, at both the Federal and State levels. System installed in 2 weeks. First MECO bill was $26. That is the minimum charge by the electric company.
Latest review
Lionel S, over 1 month
<br />
4.42 9 Reviews
Latest review
Elisa, over 1 month
We are so excited with our new solar roof and the service was great too ;) The Rising Sun Solar installation crew was really easy to work with and someone was always around to answer one of my many questions. Now we are having fun playing with the app and testing how different things impact the flow of power :)
Read more
Latest review
Elisa, over 1 month
We are so excited with our new solar roof and the service was great too ;) The Rising Sun Solar installation crew was really easy to work with and someone was always around to answer one of my many questions. Now we are having fun playing with the app and testing how different things impact the flow of power :)
4.27 8 Reviews
Latest review
Linda and Bruce Soll, over 1 month
Everything American Electric did was very well organized. Miriam was wonderful at keeping us informed about each step. Each person on the job was very professional, responsive, helpful and friendly. Great company!<br />
Read more
Latest review
Linda and Bruce Soll, over 1 month
Everything American Electric did was very well organized. Miriam was wonderful at keeping us informed about each step. Each person on the job was very professional, responsive, helpful and friendly. Great company!<br />
4.25 5 Reviews
Latest review
RW, 3 weeks ago
We are very pleased with our experience with Independent Energy. They were very informative when we were in the research phase, and when we went to check out one of their job sites, we saw that they were very professional and safety conscious. The installation went smoothly and quickly and I was happy to see that they always were tethered with safety harnesses whenever they were on the roof. They made sure we understood how the system works and they answered any questions that we had.
Read more
Latest review
RW, 3 weeks ago
We are very pleased with our experience with Independent Energy. They were very informative when we were in the research phase, and when we went to check out one of their job sites, we saw that they were very professional and safety conscious. The installation went smoothly and quickly and I was happy to see that they always were tethered with safety harnesses whenever they were on the roof. They made sure we understood how the system works and they answered any questions that we had.
Latest review
Lew Abrams, over 1 month
<br />
4.10 5 Reviews
Latest review
Ray Broggini, over 1 month
We`ve been priveleged to use RES, Inc before and find them extremely good. We`ve had solar for decades, first in CA, and service there was also good with the right company. We`re glad to recommend RES anytime to anyone.<br />We`re off the grid to tie-in questions are N/A. The gov`ts should give larger and easier to obtain incentives if solar is ever going to be as big as it should be. But look at the government we have now---they act clueless!
Read more
Latest review
Ray Broggini, over 1 month
We`ve been priveleged to use RES, Inc before and find them extremely good. We`ve had solar for decades, first in CA, and service there was also good with the right company. We`re glad to recommend RES anytime to anyone.<br />We`re off the grid to tie-in questions are N/A. The gov`ts should give larger and easier to obtain incentives if solar is ever going to be as big as it should be. But look at the government we have now---they act clueless!
4.09 37 Reviews
Latest review
Retired RN, WARNING, over 1 month
Rising Sun has installed inferior failing switch which failed in a few months, then failed to show for replacement after previous problems. I wrote , in error an unfavorable earlier review. I now retract it & advise all to seek another choice. I am a retired RN who helped Hawaii's babies & children by saving their lives & healing them, so am responsible, so you know I am not a flake. BEWARE & I WOULD NEVER CHOSE RS AGAIN! MARK RN, retired
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Average cost (5kW system)
$30,000 ($6.00 per watt)
Latest review
Retired RN, WARNING, over 1 month
Rising Sun has installed inferior failing switch which failed in a few months, then failed to show for replacement after previous problems. I wrote , in error an unfavorable earlier review. I now retract it & advise all to seek another choice. I am a retired RN who helped Hawaii's babies & children by saving their lives & healing them, so am responsible, so you know I am not a flake. BEWARE & I WOULD NEVER CHOSE RS AGAIN! MARK RN, retired
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