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Our complete guide to solar power in New Hampshire
Solar power in New Hampshire
Last fact checked on January 24, 2020 by Catherine Lane
New Hampshire is a great place to go solar, thanks to the federal tax credit, a statewide net metering policy, and the Public Utilities Commission's rebate program. Combined, all of these incentives create the potential for great savings on installing a solar system.
New Hampshire’s renewable portfolio standard provides yet another incentive for installing solar. When you register your system to generate solar renewable energy credits (SRECs), you have the ability to earn up to around $57 per megawatt hour your solar system produces.
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New Hampshire solar power facts
$2.73
watt
Average cost: 5kw solar power system
?6 Years 8 Months
Average payback time
$60,175
Average lifetime savings
?6¢
kWh
Levelized cost of solar energy
36¢
kWh
If you don't get solar
?8,823
kWh
Annual power production
Cash flow graph based on cash purchase of a 7.7kW system
This 7.7kW system would offset 100% of your energy usage if your typical monthly bill in New Hampshire is $150, however your situation may vary so try our solar calculator to get a result tailored to you.
Solar companies in New Hampshire that provide pricing through the Solar-Estimate marketplace:
5
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How much do solar panels cost in New Hampshire?
$2.73
per watt
Cash purchased solar system
Before 26% solar tax credit
$2.93
per watt
Financed solar system
Before 26% solar tax credit
$17.5¢
cents/kWh
Lease/PPA
Before 26% solar tax credit
What are the pros and cons of installing solar panels in New Hampshire?
The advantage of installing solar panels in New Hampshire is that there is both state-based incentives and the federal tax credit. In addition, New Hampshire has expensive power. This means that the overall return on investment for an installation of residential solar panels here is one of the best in the nation.
SolarPowerRocks provides a great breakdown of solar incentives and policy for each state within the US.
The disadvantage of installing solar panels for your home in New Hampshire is that there is less overall sunshine per year, so a solar system here will produce less electricity than a system in sunnier states, like Arizona, would. However, the available incentives more than make up for what the state lacks in sunshine, making installing solar panels in New Hampshire a great investment for homeowners.
Enter your details to calculate the potential costs and savings you can expect when you install solar panels for your home.
Best solar companies in New Hampshire
Best brands of solar panels
To find the best brands of solar panels you can use America's most trusted solar panel comparison and reviews website, SolarReviews.
However, reviews of solar panels can be a bit meaningless because most consumer owners have not had any issues and so while solar company reviews are very important when choosing solar installers they are of less use when choosing solar panels.
For more information to help you make an informed decision about this topic, I would recommend this article about buying solar panels.
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How much electricity will solar panels produce in New Hampshire
Solar panels produce different amounts of energy in different locations.
Around the Manchester area solar panels installed on a south facing 33 degree pitch roof will typically produce:
1,150kWh
per year per 1kw of peak DC (direct current) capacity
For more information about how your location, roof direction and roof tilt affects solar power production use the solar panels calculator and enter your address below.
See how much electricity your solar could produce
I want to buy a solar panel kit and install it myself
What rebates, solar tax credits and other solar incentives are available in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission Residential Small Renewable Energy Rebate Program
The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission offers a rebate for each watt of solar a homeowner installs on their property. For each watt installed, you receive $0.20. A typical residential solar system is around 5 kilowatts (kW) in size. For a system of that size, you can recieve $1,000!
Net metering in New Hampshire
Solar, by its nature, generates the majority of its power during the middle of the day when most people are at work or school and little power is being used in the home. The net metering policy in New Hampshire mandates that utilities must provide a credit for every surplus kilowatt hour (kWh) generated by solar (like the excess energy your system creates during the day). These credits can be carried over from month to month.
Customers can also choose to be paid out at the avoided cost rate. The avoided cost rate is lower than the retail rate of electricity. So although you will receive a check, if you take the on-bill kWh credits, you will end up saving more money because kWh credits are equal to the full retail value of electricity.
Renewable portfolio standard and SRECs
New Hampshire’s renewable portfolio standard requires investor-owned utilities, cooperatives, and competitive load-serving entities to be obligated to derive a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources. In 2019, it was mandated that a total of 19.7% of their energy must come from renewable sources, with 0.60% coming from solar resources.
Utilities can meet these requirements by obtaining SRECs. If you install a solar system in your home, you can register your system to produce SRECs. Once your system generates 1 megawatt hour of solar electricity, you receive 1 SREC. From there, you can sell your SREC either directly to a utility or to an SREC aggregator.
New Hampshire’s renewable portfolio standard established alternative compliance payments, known as dollar per megawatt hour payments, that utilities would have to pay if they didn’t meet their goal. The price of an SREC in the market will never go above the alternative compliance payment, which is currently at $57.15.
Property tax exemptions
Unfortunately, the state of New Hampshire does not have a statewide property tax exemption for renewable energy systems. However, there is a law that allows towns and cities within the state to provide property tax exemptions if they so choose. Around 80 cities have adopted a solar property tax exemption, meaning that the assessed value of a solar system on your property will not be added to your property taxes, provided you are a resident of one of these participating cities.
New Hampshire Solar Calculator
Regardless of what you want to know about the economics of installing solar panels for your home or business in New Hampshire we have a solar calculator that can show you exactly the information your require.
What you can find out about installing solar panels in New Hampshire using our full monthly solar calculator
This solar calculator requires you to input your address, utility company, your average monthly power spend - It tells you:
- What size solar system do you need?
Answers the question of How many solar panels do I need? - How many square feet of roof space you need for solar panels
- Solar electricity production in annual kWh (kilowatt hours) you can expect from your solar system in New Hampshire
- The value of solar tax credits and other incentives you are entitled to based on the estimated size of system you need, your location and your utility provider.
- Likely cost based on an average of prices charged for solar systems of that size in the last year in New Hampshire or Manchester ;
- The likely payback period on your solar panels and your investment return.
- Your total lifetime solar savings based on each of the major solar finance options, a cash purchase, a cash purchase funded with a HELOC sol (home equity line of credit) and a zero down PPA or third party lease product.
If you want to see all of the above but also see live pricing, the three best solar deals available in your city and get binding quotes from each of these solar companies then use this New Hampshire solar panels calculator. This calculator requires you to also input your name and contact details because most of our 200+ installer partners will only authorize the sharing of their live solar pricing where we have validated that you are a real homeowner with a home in their service area. We respect the privacy of your data and only share your contact details with the solar companies you ask us to get binding quotes from.
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Going solar in New Hampshire
Check out all of the ways energy providers of New Hampshire can help you be more energy efficient and save money.
The following programs are available:
| Incentive Name | Eligibility | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit | Federal | Personal Tax Credit |
| Residential Small Renewable Energy Rebate Program | State | Rebate Program |
| Net Metering | State | Net Metering |
| Local Option - Property Tax Exemption for Renewable Energy | State | Property Tax Incentive |
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Your city may have further incentives to offer. Please keep in mind that the best source of up-to-date information on incentives are the solar installers who specialize in your area.
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