Is solar worth it in Vermont?
At Vermont’s average rate of 23.5¢/kWh and about 1200 kWh per kW of panels a year, a typical home pays back its system in roughly 9.7 years on electricity savings alone — no federal credit, which ended for buyers at the end of 2025 — then keeps saving. Run your own numbers below.
Sources: EIA · NREL · IRS. No federal credit — it ended 31 Dec 2025.
Independent estimate for guidance only — not a quote or advice. Retail net metering plus an adder make payback solid for a northern state.
What drives solar payback in Vermont
Vermont homeowners pay about 23.5¢/kWh, which is 5.1¢ above the national average. A rooftop here generates roughly 1200 kWh per kW each year — below the typical US figure. On exports, Vermont offers full retail net metering: Retail net metering plus an adder make payback solid for a northern state.
Vermont electricity price trend
Average residential rate, monthly, May 2023 – Apr 2026. Up 17% over the period.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Electric Power Monthly · range 20.45–25.16¢/kWh
A worked example
For a Vermont home with a $206/month power bill (typical household usage at Vermont’s rate):
That nets out to a payback of about 9.7 years — shorter than simply dividing net cost by year-one savings, because power prices climb ~2.5%/yr so your savings grow each year. Assumes 3.00 $/W installed before incentives and a typical 40% self-consumption; your actual cost, roof and usage will differ — adjust the calculator above.
Who supplies your power in Vermont
Green Mountain Power (GMP) is the giant here, serving roughly three-quarters of Vermont ratepayers. The rest are spread across Burlington Electric Department (the municipal utility for Burlington), Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) in the north, Washington Electric Co-op (WEC), Stowe Electric and a handful of other small town-owned utilities. What matters for solar is that every one of them operates under the same statewide net-metering rule set by the Vermont Public Utility Commission (Rule 5.100), so the mechanics of how your exports are credited are broadly consistent no matter which utility bills you.
What you’re paid for what you export
Send a kilowatt-hour to the grid in Vermont and it comes back to you at close to full value — a big part of why payback holds up this far north. Your system is credited against a blended residential rate, and unused credits roll forward for up to twelve months, so the long days of June quietly pay for the dark ones in December. Vermont then adds a wrinkle of its own: hand your renewable energy credits (RECs) to the utility and you collect a small 'solar adder' of a few cents per kWh; keep them and a modest REC adjustor applies instead. Ask your installer which way the maths favours you, and confirm the current adder rate — it has stepped down over the years. All told, the grid here still works as something close to a full-value battery, which few states can still say.
Vermont incentives & taxes in 2026
There is no Vermont rebate cheque and no tradable SREC market like New Jersey's to sell into, so don't look for a big annual income stream. The real incentive is baked into net metering itself — the retail credit plus the solar adder described above. Vermont does sweeten ownership at the edges, though: residential solar is fully exempt from state sales tax, and systems are excluded from both the education (state) property tax and any local property-tax uplift, so going solar will not raise your assessment. Adder and exemption details shift from year to year, so verify the current figures before committing.
The 30% federal credit ended on 31 December 2025 and can now only reach a homeowner indirectly through a lease or PPA. Check the current state and utility programs on DSIRE’s Vermont list, then type any incentive into the calculator above to see how it shortens your payback.
What solar costs in Vermont
Budget $21,000 to $24,500 for a typical 7 kW Vermont install — that's $3.00 to $3.50 per watt, a shade dearer than most of the country, which is what Northeast labour rates, short winter installation windows and local permitting will do. Smaller, roof-constrained jobs tend to price at the top of that per-watt band.
The honest verdict for Vermont
For somewhere this cloudy, Vermont holds up remarkably well. At 23.4 cents/kWh — among the higher retail rates in the country — every kilowatt-hour you self-consume or export is worth real money, and the retail credit, solar adder and tax exemptions do the rest. An owned system bought in 2026 should pay back in roughly 10-13 years: longer than a year ago, when federal money still covered nearly a third of the bill, but genuinely strong for a northern state.
Sources for this page
Driving electric — or heating electric — in Vermont?
Your home electricity rate also sets what it costs to charge an EV and whether a heat pump beats a gas furnace. See the Vermont EV charging cost and the Vermont heat pump vs gas comparison.