Solar in Providence County, Rhode Island

The numbers

What Providence County pays for power

Figures as published August 2026. Rates change on published schedules — check your own bill for the rate that applies to your account.

Where we work in Providence County

Towns and ZIP codes we serve in Providence County

Providence, Pawtucket, Cranston, Albion, Chepachet, Clayville, Fiskeville, Forestdale, Foster, Glendale, Greenville, Harmony.

ZIP codes: 02802, 02814, 02815, 02823, 02824, 02825, 02826, 02828, 02829, 02830, 02831, 02838, 02839, 02857, 02858, 02859, 02860, 02861, 02862, 02863, 02864, 02865, 02876, 02895, 02896, 02901, 02902, 02903, 02904, 02905, 02906, 02907, 02908, 02909, 02910, 02911, 02912, 02914, 02915, 02916, 02917, 02918, 02919, 02920, 02921, 02940.

If your ZIP is not listed it does not mean we cannot serve you — Providence County has more municipalities than we can list here. Enter your ZIP above and it will tell you.

What your roof actually produces here

Providence County averages about 4.1 peak sun hours a day. A well-oriented kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1,197 kilowatt-hours a year in this part of Rhode Island. A typical 9 kW residential system therefore produces around 10,773 kilowatt-hours annually. At a rate near 29.5¢, that production is worth roughly $3,178 a year before any incentive.

Those are pre-shading numbers. Trees, roof pitch and orientation move them, sometimes a lot, which is why we look at your specific roof rather than quoting from a county average.

Permitting and interconnection in Providence County

Permits for solar in Providence County are issued locally rather than at the state level, so requirements vary between municipalities. Interconnection is handled by your utility and runs on its own timeline after the permit clears. We manage both, and we tell you what the local process looks like before anything is scheduled.

Every Rhode Island utility rate, for context

What has moved recently

What Rhode Island offers a homeowner

Rhode Island makes you pick one path permanently: the Renewable Energy Growth tariff at 31.55¢/kWh fixed for 15 years, or net metering plus a Renewable Energy Fund grant of $0.65/W capped at $5,000 with a $2,000 battery adder. Independent modeling puts the two within about $2,000 of each other over 20 years.

How export credit works here

Net metering, or the REG tariff — one or the other, permanently.

Outages and storage in Providence County

Solar alone does not run your house during a blackout — a grid-tied inverter has to disconnect when the grid goes down, for line-worker safety. Adding storage and the right switching changes that. Whether storage also makes financial sense in Rhode Island depends on the export credit above: where exports are credited at the full retail rate there is no arbitrage to capture and storage is a resilience purchase.

Two ways to pay for solar, and they are very different

Who you would be working with

SolarAmerica

We design your system and manage the project; installation is performed by vetted licensed partners in your area.

Providence County questions

The things people actually ask

Does solar make financial sense in Providence County?

It depends on your roof and your rate, not on the county. Providence County averages about 4.1 peak sun hours a day, so a well-oriented kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1,197 kilowatt-hours a year here. Against a rate near 29.5¢ that production has real value — but shading, roof pitch and your actual usage move the number, which is why we look at your address instead of quoting a county average.

Which utility serves Providence County?

Rhode Island is served by several utilities, including Rhode Island Energy. Your bill names yours at the top. Enter your ZIP and we will match your address to the right one.

Where does the 29.5¢ figure come from?

It is the Rhode Island statewide average residential price published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as of August 2026. It is a state average rather than a verified figure for one utility's tariff, so treat it as a starting point — your own bill is the accurate number.

Does SolarAmerica install the system?

We design the system and manage the project. Installation is performed by licensed partners in your area, and you will know who is coming to your roof before anything is scheduled.

What does $0 upfront actually mean?

Under a power purchase agreement we install and own the system and you buy the power it produces at a rate set in your agreement. There is no purchase and no loan. The residential federal credit (25D) ended for systems purchased after December 31, 2025; what remains applies to the owner of the system, which under a PPA is us.