Is solar worth it in Rhode Island in 2026?

How Rhode Island pays for your solar power

Net metering at the retail rate. Rhode Island law credits on-site solar at the retail rate (supply, distribution, transmission and transition charges) up to 100% of use, with 100% to 125% paid at the avoided-cost supply rate; the REG program is the alternative.

In the calculator, 40% of your solar output is used at home at the retail price and the rest is exported at about 100% of retail (our default for this kind of rule), so each solar kWh is worth 100% 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 Growth (REG) program, Rhode Island Energy residential tariff	Fixed production payment of up to 31.55 cents/kWh for 15 years (1 to 15 kW) or 28.65 cents/kWh for 20 years (15 to 25 kW), program year April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027; instead of net metering, not in addition (capacity is limited, confirm with Rhode Island Energy)

How exports are credited

Rhode Island’s rule is set by statute, R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 39-26.4, and applied by Rhode Island Energy (the former National Grid territory) under a PUC-approved tariff. Net metering gives bill credits for power generated up to 125% of on-site consumption in a billing period, per the state Office of Energy Resources (OER).

There are two layers:

• Renewable net-metering credit (up to 100% of your use). Generation up to what you consume is credited at the sum of the last resort service charge, the distribution charge, the transmission charge and the transition charge per kWh. That is essentially the whole volumetric retail rate.
• Excess renewable net-metering credit (100% to 125% of use). Production beyond your use in the period earns the utility’s avoided cost rate, which the statute defines as the last resort service kWh charge for your rate class. Customers can cash out a remaining credit balance after the annual reconciliation.

Surplus in a month is not necessarily lost at the lower rate. For residential systems of 25 kW or smaller, the statute lets the utility choose to carry unused credits forward month to month, and it lets the utility set a 12-month billing plan that is reconciled at the end of the year. Ask Rhode Island Energy which it uses for your account.

Net metering is net metering in the full sense here: imports and exports net at retail within the billing period, and only the surplus beyond that earns a lower rate.

Statute also says a net-metered account pays the same rates and customer charges as it would without solar, and the utility may not impose other charges to offset the credits. It exempts these accounts from back-up and standby rates.

State incentives in 2026

• REG program. Rhode Island Energy’s residential REG tariff, effective April 1, 2026, pays a fixed production-based incentive per kWh generated: ceiling prices of 31.55 cents/kWh for 15 years (1 to 15 kW) and 28.65 cents/kWh for 20 years (15 to 25 kW) for the April 2026 to March 2027 program year. Participants receive bill credits and any excess as a direct deposit. REG and net metering are exclusive: OER says you choose one, and the choice binds for the contract term. A project already receiving net metering compensation cannot join REG. The tariff does not say how much 2026 capacity remains.

The OER page also describes a Renewable Energy Fund small-scale grant ($0.65/watt, up to $5,000, plus a $2,000 storage adder) for net-metered systems, but its latest round listed is from 2024. Its 2026 status could not be confirmed, so it is not listed as an incentive. Ask your installer.

The federal residential credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025. See the federal solar tax credit has ended.

What it means for payback

Rhode Island’s retail price is among the highest in the country, and on-site and netted generation up to your use earns that full rate. That makes sizing to your annual consumption the main lever. The statute defines an eligible system as one designed to produce no more than your three-year average annual use at the site, so oversizing is not allowed in any case.

The choice between net metering and REG is the biggest financial decision. Net metering values each kWh at the retail volumetric rate and moves with future rates. REG pays a fixed amount per kWh produced, locked for 15 or 20 years, with the ceiling price assumed to include federal incentives that no longer apply to new residential owners. Get both quotes from your installer on the same system and compare the long-run totals. See how we calculate solar payback.

Because the full-retail credit already covers midday exports, a battery adds mostly backup value. OER notes that net-metered and REG customers can both enroll a battery in Rhode Island Energy’s ConnectedSolutions demand response program.

Other rules worth knowing

• The cap on eligible systems is 10 MW nameplate. Most residential systems are far below it.
• A 20% reduction of the credit applies to projects after April 15, 2023 that count toward the 275 MWac cap on ground-mounted remote net metering. The statute exempts systems interconnected behind the same meter as the customer’s load from that cap. A rooftop on your own meter is that case, but confirm the credit rate on your quote.
• Net metering costs are recovered from all distribution customers through a per-kWh surcharge.
• Residential solar retailers must register annually with the Department of Business Regulation (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-93-4, per OER).
• Customers of other utilities, such as Pascoag or Block Island Power, have their own net metering caps and should ask their utility.

Berkeley Lab does not publish a Rhode Island median from enough systems, so the calculator starts from the U.S. median of $3.60/W. Put your own quote in.