Newport solar cost

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country, and it may be the best small-state solar market in the country too. Panels run $2.80-$2.87 a watt, a typical 7.91 kW system costs about $22,702 before incentives, and the power those panels replace costs about 28-29 cents a kilowatt-hour — the seventh-highest residential rate in the United States. What makes the state unusual is not just the expensive power. Rhode Island is one of the few states that still pays homeowners real money for going solar after the federal credit ended: a state grant of $1.65 a watt, up to $14,500, that comes off the price before installation, or a fixed payment of 31.55 cents for every kilowatt-hour the panels make for 15 years. The catch is that you have to pick one path before you sign, and the grant round for 2026 closed on October 16 with no 2026 round left to join. Every size gets priced here, the coastal cities get compared, the net-metering rules get explained credit by credit, and the guide finishes by naming the households that should take the grant, the ones that should take the fixed payment, and the ones that should wait.