Solar Panels in New England: Prices, Sun and Payback
Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and more: how high New England electricity prices and lower winter sun shape solar payback for an example home.
Published 5 min readRoofPayback editorialChecked by automated fact and quality checks
Official data: EIA · DOE · IRS · how we check
In this article · 9 sections
Short answer
Solar panels in New England face a trade-off. The region has some of the highest electricity prices in the country, which speeds up payback. It also has less yearly sun than the Southwest, and winter output is low. In our example home, the high prices win. Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire show some of the shorter paybacks outside Hawaii and California.
Your real result depends on your utility, your roof and your quote. Treat the numbers below as a starting point, not a promise.
The example home
All payback figures here use the same example home:
- A 7 kW system.
- 10500 kWh of electricity use per year. A kWh (kilowatt-hour) is the unit your utility bills you for.
- 40% of use happens while the sun is up.
- Installed cost of $3500 per kW, or $24500 total, with no incentives.
- $100 per year in maintenance.
- Electricity prices rise 2.5% per year.
- Panel output falls 0.5% per year.
- A 25-year horizon.
- Export credits are capped at a year of grid purchases (an annual true-up).
Production comes from PVWatts v8 for a south-facing roof at a 20° pitch with 14% losses, using one reference city per state. PVWatts is a free solar production estimator from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Laboratory of the Rockies. Prices are EIA August 2026 residential averages. See our methodology for the full math.
Prices: New England is expensive
EIA reports New England residential electricity at 28.31¢/kWh in August 2026. A year earlier it was 29.01¢/kWh, a change of -2.4%. The U.S. average was 18.16¢/kWh. For more on why prices differ, see why electricity prices differ by state and our electricity prices hub.
| State | Reference city | Price (Aug 2026) | Year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | Portland | 32.11¢/kWh | 28.14¢/kWh |
| Massachusetts | Boston | 30.48¢/kWh | 30.55¢/kWh |
| New Hampshire | Manchester | 27.64¢/kWh | 24.44¢/kWh |
| Rhode Island | Providence | 28.18¢/kWh | 26.53¢/kWh |
| Connecticut | Hartford | 24.51¢/kWh | 30.17¢/kWh |
| Vermont | Burlington | 23.84¢/kWh | 22.1¢/kWh |
Maine's price rose 14.1% over the year, and New Hampshire's rose 13.1%. Connecticut's fell 18.8%. Prices move, so a single month is a snapshot. Check Maine and Massachusetts for state detail.
Sun: less output per panel
Each kW of panels in these cities makes less power than in sunnier states. These are PVWatts yearly estimates for the example setup:
| State | Yearly output per kW |
|---|---|
| Maine (Portland) | 1319 kWh/kW |
| Massachusetts (Boston) | 1302 kWh/kW |
| New Hampshire (Manchester) | 1259 kWh/kW |
| Rhode Island (Providence) | 1294 kWh/kW |
| Connecticut (Hartford) | 1252 kWh/kW |
| Vermont (Burlington) | 1222 kWh/kW |
For comparison, Phoenix reaches 1755 kWh/kW and Los Angeles 1677 kWh/kW. New England panels make noticeably less, but the gap is smaller than many people expect.
Winter output is the weak spot
Winter is where New England loses the most. For December through February, PVWatts shows these totals per kW, against June through August:
| State | Winter | Summer | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | 236 kWh | 412 kWh | 1.7 |
| Massachusetts | 230 kWh | 402 kWh | 1.7 |
| New Hampshire | 234 kWh | 383 kWh | 1.6 |
| Rhode Island | 237 kWh | 395 kWh | 1.7 |
| Connecticut | 225 kWh | 388 kWh | 1.7 |
| Vermont | 199 kWh | 396 kWh | 2 |
Vermont's summer is about twice its winter. January in Vermont is just 65 kWh per kW, against 137 kWh in July. Snow on panels and short days are part of the reason. These monthly figures come from the same model, so real snow cover could lower winter output further.
Because many utilities settle credits on an annual basis, a strong summer can offset a weak winter on paper. How that works depends on your utility. Read net metering vs. net billing and solar panels in winter by state for more.
Resulting paybacks
Payback is how many years the savings take to cover the cost. We show three cases. "Full credit" means exported power is credited at the retail rate. "Half" and "quarter" credit mean exports are credited at half or a quarter of that rate.
| State | Full credit | Half credit | Quarter credit | Year-1 savings (full) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | 8 years | 10.7 years | 12.8 years | $2964 |
| Massachusetts | 8.5 years | 11.3 years | 13.5 years | $2778 |
| New Hampshire | 9.6 years | 12.6 years | 14.9 years | $2435 |
| Rhode Island | 9.2 years | 12.2 years | 14.5 years | $2552 |
| Connecticut | 10.8 years | 14.1 years | 16.6 years | $2149 |
| Vermont | 11.3 years | 14.7 years | 17.2 years | $2039 |
Even at a quarter credit, all six states pay back within 25 years in this model. Compare that with Texas, where our Texas guide shows longer paybacks at lower prices. Maine's 8 years is also close to California's 7.4 years at full credit.
The order follows price more than sun. Maine has the highest price of the six, so it pays back fastest despite its modest output. Vermont has both the lowest output and a lower price, so it is slowest.
What can change your result
- Incentives. Our example uses none. The 30% federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, per the IRS. State and utility programs vary, and DSIRE keeps a database of current programs. See is solar worth it without the tax credit.
- Installed price. Berkeley Lab reports a median installed price of $4.0 per watt for host-owned systems installed in 2024, with a range of $3.0 to $5.2 per watt before incentives. Our example uses $3500 per kW. A higher quote lengthens payback. Learn more in solar cost per watt and payback.
- Your usage. The example home uses 10500 kWh per year. A smaller home saves less.
- Roof shape and shade. Tilt, direction and trees all matter. See roof pitch and east-west panels.
- Future prices. We assume 2.5% yearly increases. If prices fall, as in Connecticut over the past year, savings shrink. See payback if electricity prices rise.
Steps to take next
- Pull 12 months of bills and find your yearly kWh use.
- Find your utility's export credit rules.
- Run your numbers in the solar calculator.
- Get several written quotes and compare the price per watt.
- Look at your state page, such as New Hampshire solar panels or Maine solar panels.
Bottom line
New England has less sun and a weak winter, but its high electricity prices carry the math. In our example home, paybacks at full credit run from 8 years in Maine to 11.3 years in Vermont. Credit rules, your quote and your roof can move that either way. Use the solar calculator with your own bill before you decide.
Sources
Get new articles by email
New articles and the monthly electricity price update. Unsubscribe anytime.
See our privacy policy.