Is solar worth it in Hawaii in 2026?
For a home with a $150 monthly bill, a 2.3 kW system in Hawaii costs about $8,389 at the state's median price and pays for itself in roughly 8.0 years, with no federal tax credit. That ranks 1 of 25 states we cover.
46.3¢per kWh
Source: EIA, 2026 year to date
1,669kWh per kW a year
Source: PVGIS, NSRDB data
$3.60per watt
Source: Berkeley Lab
Calculator · 2026 data, no federal tax credit
How long would solar take to pay for itself?
Simple payback
8.0 years
- System size
- 2.3 kW
- Installed cost
- $8,389
- Savings, year one
- $1,044
- Net over 25 years
- $16,203
Sized to cover your yearly use at today's price. Panels lose 0.5% a year; prices held flat. Method
How Hawaii pays for your solar power
Net billing (exports credited below retail). New Hawaii solar customers on Hawaiian Electric's Smart DER tariff get time-varying export credits set by the PUC (Oahu daytime $0.135/kWh), well below retail; the old net metering is closed to new customers.
In the calculator, 40% of your solar output is used at home at the retail price and the rest is exported at about 30% of retail, so each solar kWh is worth 58% of the retail price on average. Change it if your utility pays more or less. Method
| State or utility incentive | What it is worth |
|---|---|
| Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit (RETITC) | 35% of cost, up to $5,000 for a single-family home (Form N-342); 2026 installs exempt from the new $40M annual cap; credit sunsets in 2030 |
How exports are credited
Hawaii has no single statewide net metering rule for new customers. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) set the terms in Decision and Order No. 40418, and the new programs opened for enrollment on April 1, 2024. The PUC’s summary says the Smart DER Tariff “will be the only available underlying DER tariff for new customers” of Hawaiian Electric, which serves Oahu, Maui County and, through Hawaii Electric Light, Hawaii Island.
The tariff has two options. The Non-Export Rider gives a streamlined interconnection for customers who use all they produce, with no payment for exports. The Export Rider pays time-varying rates for what goes to the grid. Hawaiian Electric’s page confirms both, and says customers already on net energy metering are not required to move to the new programs.
The export rates in the PUC order, in dollars per kWh:
- Oahu: $0.135 daytime (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), $0.329 evening peak (5 p.m. to 9 p.m.), $0.189 overnight
- Hawaii Island: $0.106 daytime, $0.231 evening, $0.148 overnight
- Maui: $0.066 daytime, $0.182 evening, $0.131 overnight
- Lanai: $0.267 daytime, $0.408 evening, $0.259 overnight
- Molokai: $0.179 daytime, $0.272 evening, $0.174 overnight
Rooftop panels export mostly in daytime, the lowest-paid window. For comparison, Hawaiian Electric’s Schedule R retail energy charge effective July 1, 2026 is about $0.44 to $0.48 per kWh depending on usage tier, plus a monthly customer charge. The PUC says the programs are updated every three years, so the export rates are reviewed on that cycle. No newer rates were found as of October 7, 2026.
State incentives in 2026
Hawaii’s Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit is 35% of the system cost, capped at $5,000 for a solar electric system on a single-family home, claimed on Form N-342.
The rules are changing. Act 24, signed May 21, 2026, puts a $40 million annual cap on total credits starting in 2027 and ends the credit in 2030. On June 12, 2026, Governor Green issued Executive Order 26-02: systems placed into service in 2026 are exempt from the cap if the owner can show they relied on the credit before May 21, 2026, by spending to finance, plan, design, permit or install. A system placed in service after 2026 may be limited by the cap, and the legislature may revisit the credit in 2027. Check the Department of Taxation before signing.
A 2026 bill (HB 2241) proposed removing the $5,000 cap and adding income limits. Its final outcome could not be confirmed from the sources opened here, so this page does not rely on it.
The federal 30% residential credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025.
What it means for payback
With exports paid far below the retail price, each kilowatt-hour used at home is worth much more than one sent out. Payback favors a system sized to the home’s own use, and a battery that moves daytime production into the evening peak, where Oahu pays $0.329 per kWh. Households with high daytime use gain most. The state tax credit lowers the upfront price, but the $5,000 cap means it covers the full 35% only on systems costing about $14,300 or less.
Other rules worth knowing
Hawaiian Electric’s Bring Your Own Device tariff pays extra for batteries that the customer commits to discharge on a schedule. Level 1 launched April 1, 2024; the PUC page lists Levels 2 and 3 as temporarily suspended pending a technical conference.
Berkeley Lab does not publish a Hawaii median from enough systems, so the calculator starts from the U.S. median of $3.60/W. Put your own quote in.
Sources
- EIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.B, residential average price, July 2026 YTD
- PVGIS 5.2 (European Commission Joint Research Centre) with NSRDB solar radiation data (1 kW peak, fixed, south-facing, 20° tilt, 14% system losses, 2005–2015 average at the city shown)
- Berkeley Lab, Distributed Solar & Storage: 2026 Data Update (median installed price, host-owned residential PV installed in 2025)
- Hawaii PUC, DPS Phase 3 Decision and Order Summary (Smart DER tariff, export rates)
- Hawaii PUC, DER programs
- Hawaiian Electric, Smart Renewable Energy programs
- Hawaiian Electric, effective rate summary July 1, 2026
- Hawaii Department of Taxation, Form N-342 instructions
- Hawaii State Energy Office, Executive Order 26-02 on the 2026 renewable energy tax credit