Hawaii passes 120,000 rooftop solar systems
Solar capacity reaches 1.6 GW in 2025 as rooftop installations continue to grow across Hawaiian Electric’s island grids
Image for illustrative purposes
USA, Hawaii: Rooftop solar adoption across Hawaiian Electric’s grids continued to climb in 2025, with the total number of grid-connected systems surpassing 120,000. By the end of the year, customers across the five islands served by the utility had installed 120,570 rooftop solar systems, an increase of 6,571 systems, or around 6 %, compared with 2024. The majority of new installations were residential.
When residential, commercial and grid-scale projects are combined, total solar generating capacity connected to Hawaiian Electric’s grids reached 1.6 GW in 2025. This represents an increase of approximately 11 % year on year, underlining the ongoing expansion of solar generation in the state.
Oahu remains the largest contributor, with 82,475 installed systems, 97 % of which are residential. The island accounts for 1,117 MW of solar capacity, although less than half of that comes from residential systems. Hawaii Island recorded 19,027 systems with a total capacity of 217 MW, while Maui County had 19,068 systems providing 232 MW. Across these islands, residential installations still dominate system numbers, but capacity is more evenly shared with larger projects.
Hawaii continues to rank among the leading US states for rooftop solar uptake. Around 27 % of Hawaiian Electric’s residential customers now have rooftop solar, rising to 45 % among single-family homes. On Oahu, roughly half of single-family households are equipped with solar systems.
Interest in rooftop solar and battery storage accelerated in the second half of 2025 following changes to the federal Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit. Hawaiian Electric received 6,552 applications between July and December, up from 4,770 during the same period in 2024. The company’s Smart Renewable Energy programme remains central to integrating growing levels of customer-sited generation into the grid.
Source: T&D World
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