Rebates and incentives, Rhode Island
A cash grant up to $14,500, a choice between net metering and a guaranteed performance tariff, and automatic sales and property tax exemptions. See your numbers.
How it works
Step 1
These paths cannot be combined on the same system. Weigh a guaranteed 15-year REG income stream against a net metering setup paired with the REF cash grant, using the performance-based incentive calculator to compare the two.
Step 2
REF operates in limited grant rounds and can run out of funds, while REG enrollment opens April 1 each year and has historically filled within weeks. Timing your application matters more in Rhode Island than in states with year-round, uncapped programs.
Step 3
Since self-consumption is credited at full retail while excess generation beyond 100% of your usage is credited at the lower avoided cost rate, a system sized close to your actual consumption tends to perform better than one built for large surplus export. The rebate plus ITC combined calculator can help you sanity-check your total incentive stack once your production numbers are firm.
Per the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, net metering credits electricity used on-site at the full retail rate, while generation exceeding 100% of your on-site consumption, up to a 125% annual cap on system sizing, is credited at the electric distribution company's avoided cost rate rather than full retail. Several installer guides describe the combined practical effect of this structure as roughly 80% of retail for systems installed after April 15, 2023, since a portion of production ends up credited at the lower rate, while systems installed before that date remain grandfathered on more favorable 1:1 terms. Whichever way you describe the blended effect, the underlying mechanic is the same: self-consumption is the more valuable portion, and it argues for sizing your system to your own usage rather than significantly overproducing. Per the Office of Energy Resources, the 20 percent reduction applies to projects initiated after April 15, 2023 and is subject to a capacity limit of 275 MW.
Per the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, the Renewable Energy Fund pays residential solar customers a competitive grant of $1.65 per watt, up to $14,500 per project, and adds a flat $5,000 when a battery is installed with the solar. Many guides still show the older $0.65 per watt, $5,000 cap and $2,000 battery adder, which were the 2025 figures, so check the date on anything you read. The grant is available to net-metered systems only, so you cannot combine it with the REG program described below. Your installer applies on your behalf, the grant is paid to the installer after the project is complete and passes a quality check, and Commerce Rhode Island awards it in competitive rounds with fixed application dates: the 2026 small-scale schedule listed three rounds, with the third and last dated October 16, 2026, so confirm when the 2027 rounds open. Because funding can be fully subscribed, the Office of Energy Resources advises making sure your installation contract lets you cancel if the grant doesn't come through.
The Renewable Energy Growth program is the alternative to net metering: you sign a long-term contract and are paid a fixed rate for every kilowatt-hour your system produces. For Program Year 2026-2027, effective April 1, 2026, RI Energy's residential REG tariff sets that rate at 31.55 cents per kWh for systems from 1 to 15 kW over a 15-year term, and 28.65 cents per kWh for systems from 15 to 25 kW over 20 years. Those rates have stepped down from earlier program years, so a guide quoting a different figure is usually describing another year. The contract is binding: per the tariff you cannot terminate it to switch to net metering, a project cannot receive both REG payments and net metering credits, and a battery can be added but cannot export through the REG production meter. Because REG pays out monthly over 15 years, the combined loan and rebate timing tool can show how that income compares with a loan payment if you finance the system.
Rhode Island exempts solar equipment from its 7% sales and use tax at the point of sale, and exempts residential renewable energy equipment from local property taxation, so your assessment should not rise because you installed solar. The residential property tax exemption sits in RIGL Section 44-3-3, subsections (48) and (49), which is the provision Rhode Island towns cite in their own ordinances, and that provision states no end date. Some guides instead cite Section 44-3-21 and describe a 20-year term, while others call the exemption permanent, so if the duration matters to your plans, ask your assessor which provision they apply. Both exemptions are generally described as automatic, but confirm the sales tax treatment with your installer on the contract and the property tax treatment with your assessor after installation. To see how a loan changes this result, run the combined loan and rebate timing tool with the same system cost.
Questions
Per the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, net metering credits electricity used on-site at the full retail rate, while any generation beyond 100% of your on-site consumption, up to a 125% annual cap, is credited at the electric distribution company's avoided cost rate rather than full retail. Several installer guides describe this combined effect as roughly 80% of retail for new systems installed after April 15, 2023, while systems installed before that date remain grandfathered on more favorable terms. Since self-consumption is credited at full retail either way, sizing your system closer to your own usage captures more value than building for large surplus export.
Per the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, the Renewable Energy Fund pays $1.65 per watt up to $14,500 per project, plus a flat $5,000 when a battery is installed with the solar, and it is available only to net-metered systems, so it cannot be combined with the REG program. Older figures of $0.65 per watt up to $5,000 with a $2,000 battery adder were the 2025 numbers and still appear in many guides. Your installer applies on your behalf, the grant is paid to the installer after the project is complete and passes a quality check, and Commerce Rhode Island awards it in competitive rounds with fixed dates. The 2026 small-scale schedule listed three rounds, the last dated October 16, 2026, so confirm when the 2027 rounds open.
For Program Year 2026-2027, effective April 1, 2026, RI Energy's residential REG tariff pays 31.55 cents per kWh for systems from 1 to 15 kW over a 15-year term, and 28.65 cents per kWh for systems from 15 to 25 kW over 20 years. The contract is binding and cannot be terminated to switch to net metering, and a project cannot receive both REG payments and net metering credits. Rates have stepped down from earlier program years, so guides quoting a different figure are describing another year.
Yes, both apply automatically with no separate application. Rhode Island's sales tax exemption waives the state's 7% sales tax on solar equipment and installation labor, applied at the point of sale. The property tax exemption excludes the value your solar system adds to your home from your property tax assessment. Sources describe the duration differently, some citing a 20-year term and others describing it as effectively permanent under current law, so if the exact duration matters to your planning, confirm with your local tax assessor.
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