Hawaii · Loan program
Hawaii Green Infrastructure Loan (GEMS)
Below-market financing for residential solar installs in Hawaii -- see the terms, who qualifies, and the payback impact below.
- Low-interest on-bill…
- stated benefit
- Residential
- eligible customers
- 5.2 yr
- Hawaii baseline payback
- 3
- other Hawaii programs
What it means
In Hawaii, a 6 kW system already pays back in about 5.2 years on ~$3,928/year of modeled savings, and the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Loan (GEMS) stacks on top of that, on top of any federal credit.
- Low-interest o…
- stated benefit
- 5.2 yr
- baseline payback (pre-incentive)
- 4
- Hawaii programs that stack
- partial
- net-metering policy
Payback and savings are modeled from public NREL/EIA data; the program benefit is summarized from DSIRE and may change.
Program description
GEMS (Green Energy Money Saver) provides on-bill financing for solar and energy efficiency.
Program at a glance
- Program type
- Loan program
- Eligible customers
- Residential
- Stated benefit
- Low-interest on-bill financing
- State electricity rate
- 38¢/kWh
- Hawaii solar score
- 67/100
How Hawaii compares to the U.S. average
Why this incentive matters more (or less) here - Hawaii's solar fundamentals against the national average.
Source: NREL irradiance and U.S. EIA rates; payback modeled by PlainSolarData. Bars are scaled to the larger of the two values per metric.
Solar's trajectory in Hawaii
The market this incentive operates in: total installed solar capacity in Hawaii reported to the EIA.
Hawaii's solar incentive stack
How this loan program sits among Hawaii's 3 tracked programs, by type
- Tax exemption
Tax exemption
1 programs
- Loan
Loan
1 programs
- Net metering
Net metering
1 programs
What this shows Among Hawaii's 3 tracked incentive types, 1 are loan programs like this one -- financing rather than a direct credit or rebate, stacking with whatever else the state offers.
How this incentive fits Hawaii's solar picture
The Hawaii Green Infrastructure Loan (GEMS) provides below-market financing for solar installation, one of Hawaii's solar incentive programs tracked in DSIRE. Eligibility is scoped to residential customers, with a stated benefit of Low-interest on-bill financing. DSIRE lists no scheduled sunset, though enabling legislation and appropriations can still be revised year to year.
That baseline is already fast by national standards. Hawaii averages 5.9 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 38¢/kWh, producing an estimated 10,337 kWh/year and $3,928 of annual utility offset on a typical 6 kW system costing $20,400. That baseline already implies a 5.2-year simple payback and a 25-year modeled net of roughly $77,800 before this incentive - every dollar this loan program delivers compresses that payback further.
A handful of other levers are worth checking alongside this one. Hawaii has 4 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE, including adjacent options like HI Solar Property Tax Exemption, Hawaii Smart Export Tariff (SET). The state's net-metering policy is classified as partial, which governs how excess generation is credited and often decides whether a given program is worth claiming for a specific household.
Your next step
- See Hawaii's full solar profile, score, irradiance, rates, payback, and every program you can claim. Hawaii solar data
- Run the savings calculator with your real bill to see how this incentive changes your own payback. ROI calculator
- Read how state and federal solar credits work together. Tax-credit guide
Estimates here are modeled from public data and are not financial advice; confirm program terms and your own eligibility before relying on a dollar figure.
Other Hawaii incentives
Frequently asked questions
What is the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Loan (GEMS)?
How does the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Loan (GEMS) work?
Who is eligible for the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Loan (GEMS)?
How does this incentive affect solar ROI in Hawaii?
Are there other solar incentives in Hawaii?
Incentive data from the DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency); state solar economics from NREL and the U.S. EIA. See our methodology.