Hawaii · Loan program · Deep-stack 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 financing
- stated benefit
- Residential
- eligible customers
- 5.2 yr
- Hawaii baseline payback
- 3
- other Hawaii programs
Deep-stack program · early directory
Hawaii runs a 4-program DSIRE stack; this loan program is one layer on a 5.2-year modeled baseline, not the whole story.
- Stack4 programs
- In-state #1/3
- Type #2/2
- Baseline5.2 yr
In-state directory place #1 of 3 (early alphabet). National loan program directory #2 of 2. Amounts and eligibility change; verify with the official program page before relying on a dollar figure. Informational only - not financial advice. See our disclaimer.
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
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 loan program layers inside Hawaii's deep stack
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.
Hawaii bundles a deep incentive stack, so this program rarely stands alone. 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.
Other Hawaii incentives
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Loan (GEMS) sit in Hawaii's deep program stack?
How does this loan program work beside Hawaii's other programs?
Who qualifies, and why is this an early in-state directory row?
How does this incentive affect solar ROI in Hawaii?
Which other Hawaii programs stack with this one?
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 · Hawaii solar data · ROI calculator · All incentives.