Rhode Island solar leads
Rhode Island’s small-scale solar barely moved in a year, 220.2 MW in July 2026 against 219.1 MW, per the EIA, and the state licenses renewable energy professionals. Summit Leads supplies solar leads in Rhode Island by real-time ping/post, with filters and routing agreed during onboarding.
Summit Leads sells solar leads by real-time ping/post. Filters and routing are agreed during onboarding.
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Rhode Island facts for solar lead buyers
| Fact | Value Source |
|---|---|
| Small-scale solar PV capacity, July 2026 | 220.2 MW (EIA estimate, July 2026), the 35th highest of the 49 states with an EIA estimateElectric Power Monthly, Table 6.2.B: Net Summer Capacity Using Primarily Renewable Energy Sources and by State U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| Small-scale solar PV capacity, July 2025 | 219.1 MW (EIA estimate, July 2025): 1.1 MW, or 0.5%, was added by July 2026Electric Power Monthly, Table 6.2.B: Net Summer Capacity Using Primarily Renewable Energy Sources and by State U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| Solar resource in Providence, the largest city | 4.66 kWh per square meter per day on a fixed, south-facing array tilted 20 degrees (PVWatts version 8, typical-year data, checked October 9, 2026)PVWatts Calculator (version 8): Providence, Rhode Island National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) |
| Average residential electricity price, 2024 | 28.65 cents per kWh, the fifth highest of the 50 states (2023: 27.02 cents; EIA Form EIA-861 data, 2024)Electric Power Annual, Table 2.10: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| Single-family detached homes as a share of all housing units | 55.7% (270,814 of 485,932 housing units; ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25024), the seventh lowest of the 50 statesTable B25024, Units in Structure: Rhode Island (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Owner-occupied single-family detached homes | 228,264, or 81.2% of 281,002 owner-occupied homes (ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25032)Table B25032, Tenure by Units in Structure: Rhode Island (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Providence County share of owner-occupied detached homes | 112,607 of 228,264, or 49.3% (ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25032 county data)Table B25032, Tenure by Units in Structure: Rhode Island counties (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Renewable energy professional license | Listed as license type REP among the electrical licenses under R.I. Gen. Laws 5-6-7 and 5-6-11 (260-RICR-30-15-7, section 7.6, effective January 4, 2022)Board of Examiners of Electricians (260-RICR-30-15-7), effective January 4, 2022 Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (Rhode Island Code of Regulations) |
| Bidding or advertising electrical work | General contractors that are not licensed electrical contractors may not bid, solicit or advertise for electrical work (260-RICR-30-15-7, section 7.6(C), checked October 9, 2026)Board of Examiners of Electricians (260-RICR-30-15-7), effective January 4, 2022 Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (Rhode Island Code of Regulations) |
| Experience for an electrical contractor license (Certificate A) | At least 12,000 hours (6 years) and a Rhode Island Certificate B held for two years (260-RICR-30-15-7, section 7.7(D), as of October 9, 2026)Board of Examiners of Electricians (260-RICR-30-15-7), effective January 4, 2022 Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (Rhode Island Code of Regulations) |
| Experience for a journeyperson electrician license (Certificate B) | At least 8,000 hours (4 years) as a registered apprentice (260-RICR-30-15-7, section 7.7(C), as of October 9, 2026)Board of Examiners of Electricians (260-RICR-30-15-7), effective January 4, 2022 Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (Rhode Island Code of Regulations) |
| Electrical code for licensed electrical work | The National Electrical Code as adopted by the Rhode Island State Building Code Standards Committee (260-RICR-30-15-7, section 7.4, as of October 9, 2026)Board of Examiners of Electricians (260-RICR-30-15-7), effective January 4, 2022 Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (Rhode Island Code of Regulations) |
Last reviewed: October 9, 2026. A summary for education, not legal advice.
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Small-scale solar on Rhode Island buildings
Rhode Island stands out for how little its small-scale solar changed over the latest year. The EIA, which estimates systems under 1 MW at homes and businesses each month, put the state at 220.2 MW in July 2026 and 219.1 MW in July 2025 in Table 6.2.B of the Electric Power Monthly: a gain of 1.1 MW, or 0.5%. Rhode Island ranks 35th of the 49 states with an estimate.
| Month | Capacity (MW) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 219.1 | EIA EPM Table 6.2.B, July 2025 |
| July 2026 | 220.2 | EIA EPM Table 6.2.B, July 2026 |
The EIA table does not explain the flat year, and this page does not guess at a cause. What the numbers do show is an installed base of about 220 MW whose owners may later want repairs, more panels or storage. The figure is not a measure of how many homeowners are looking for solar now.
Sunlight in Providence
The sunlight value here comes from PVWatts, NREL’s solar model, which the National Laboratory of the Rockies now publishes. For Providence, the largest city in Rhode Island in the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 estimates, PVWatts reports 4.66 kWh per square meter per day (checked October 9, 2026).
Behind the number: the standard PVWatts version 8 array, fixed on an open rack, oriented south with a 20-degree tilt, located at the Census gazetteer coordinates for Providence and run with the National Solar Radiation Database typical year. Coastal Newport or a north-facing roof would give another value, so it is a yardstick between states, not a forecast for a house.
Rhode Island residential electricity price
The EIA publishes the average price residential customers paid in each state across all utilities. Rhode Island’s 2023 and 2024 averages appear below as sourced figures, with no claim drawn from them.
| Year | Cents per kWh | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 27.02 | EIA Electric Power Annual, Table 2.10 |
| 2024 | 28.65 | EIA Electric Power Annual, Table 2.10 |
Rhode Island licensing for solar electrical work
This section is general information, not legal advice. It summarizes official sources as of October 9, 2026; check the current text of each rule before relying on it.
Electrical licensing in Rhode Island is run by the Department of Labor and Training’s Division of Professional Regulation with the Board of Examiners of Electricians. Its rule, 260-RICR-30-15-7 (refiled without change, effective January 4, 2022; checked October 9, 2026), lists the license types and certificate letters set out in R.I. Gen. Laws 5-6-7 and 5-6-11. One of them is written for this trade: the renewable energy professional license, certificate REP. The rule lists the license but does not describe its scope; that is set in the statute.
Other parts of the same rule shape who can sell and wire a home system:
- Advertising: under section 7.6(C) of 260-RICR-30-15-7 (2022), a general contractor that is not a licensed electrical contractor may not bid, solicit or advertise for electrical work, though it may take bids from licensed electrical contractors.
- Contractor license: section 7.7(D) of the 2022 rule requires at least 12,000 hours (6 years) of experience and a Rhode Island journeyperson license held for two years for the electrical contractor’s Certificate A.
- Journeyperson license: section 7.7(C) of the 2022 rule requires at least 8,000 hours (4 years) as a registered apprentice for Certificate B.
- Code: section 7.4 adopts the National Electrical Code as adopted by the State Building Code Standards Committee as the standard for electrical work, and licenses renew every two years on the licensee’s birthday under section 7.13 (260-RICR-30-15-7, 2022).
For a buyer, the advertising rule is the one to note: a Rhode Island solar request is handled by a company that holds, or works with, a licensed electrical contractor, and the license type can be checked by certificate letter.
Rhode Island detached homes and owners
Rhode Island has one of the smaller detached shares in the country. The Census Bureau’s table B25024 (ACS 5-year 2020-2024) counts 270,814 single-family detached homes out of 485,932 housing units, or 55.7%; only six states are lower. Owners are mostly in houses all the same: table B25032 shows 228,264 owner-occupied detached homes, 81.2% of 281,002 owner-occupied homes, which leaves 52,738 owner homes in attached or multi-unit buildings.
Housing age and home values are on Rhode Island window replacement leads, and oil and gas heat are on Rhode Island HVAC leads; they are not repeated here.
Rhode Island counties by owner-occupied detached homes
Rhode Island has five counties, all shown here by owner-occupied single-family detached homes, with owner-occupied homes and the detached share, from the ACS 5-year 2020-2024 county table B25032. The table concerns housing only; it does not indicate where leads come from.
| County | Owner-occupied detached homes | Owner-occupied homes | Detached share of owner homes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | 112,607 | 147,568 | 76.3% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Kent | 46,259 | 53,231 | 86.9% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Washington | 36,130 | 40,742 | 88.7% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Newport | 20,516 | 25,022 | 82.0% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Bristol | 12,752 | 14,439 | 88.3% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
Providence County has 49.3% of the state’s owner-occupied detached homes (112,607 of 228,264 in the 2020-2024 ACS) and the lowest detached share at 76.3%. Washington County, in the south, is the most detached at 88.7%, with Bristol close behind at 88.3%.
What the Rhode Island numbers mean for solar coverage
Rhode Island is compact, its housing mixes detached houses with attached and multi-unit buildings, and its solar trade sits inside the electrical licensing system. Three points for a buyer:
- Housing type sorts the ZIP codes. With 55.7% of all units detached in the 2020-2024 ACS, a buyer whose installers work only on single-family roofs can lean on the county detached shares, from 76.3% in Providence to 88.7% in Washington.
- The installed base is steady. The EIA estimates changed by 1.1 MW between July 2025 and July 2026, so service and add-on work concern a base that held roughly level over the year.
- Licensing is checked by certificate. The electricians rule (2022) lists the REP license and bars unlicensed firms from advertising electrical work, so a buyer can confirm each installer’s certificate.
These points cover housing, installed capacity and licensing. They do not count leads or say where requests come from.
What Rhode Island solar buyers filter on
Solar buyers in Rhode Island tend to filterFilterA rule that decides which leads a buyer is offered, based on fields such as vertical, sub-type, state, ZIP code, homeownership or accident details. Glossary on a small set of lead fields. Each relates to a fact above:
- Homeowner status: the owner signs the contract; owner-occupied detached homes are counted above.
- Project type: the general kind of solar project the homeowner described; the precise options are fixed when the solar form is final.
- Timeframe: whether the homeowner wants to go ahead soon or is collecting information.
- ZIP code: the ZIP codes a buyer’s installers cover, with the county detached shares as a housing guide.
The filters for Rhode Island solar leads are agreed with each buyer during onboarding. Exclusive or shared routing for solar leads is agreed with each buyer during onboarding. The sample solar lead shows each field.
Where buyers filter in Rhode Island
The whole state lies inside one Census Bureau metro area, Providence-Warwick, which crosses into southeastern Massachusetts. The population shown is for the entire area as of July 1, 2025, so a solar order limited to Rhode Island is drawn by ZIP code. Each buyer’s coverage area is agreed during onboarding, inside these metro areas or outside them.
- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA (whole metro area): 1,708,161 (July 1, 2025 estimate)
Source: Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area population estimates, Vintage 2025 (cbsa-est2025-alldata), U.S. Census Bureau.
Consent records for Rhode Island solar leads
Each Rhode Island solar lead carries the TCPATCPAThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal law that governs telemarketing calls and texts, autodialers, prerecorded voice messages and the Do Not Call Registry. Glossary consent record captured on the form. Rhode Island’s additional calling rules can be read in the state’s line of the state telemarketing laws table, while leads in Rhode Island collects the other Summit verticals offered there.
Rhode Island solar lead questions
Does Rhode Island have a license for renewable energy professionals?
Yes. The electricians rule, 260-RICR-30-15-7, lists the renewable energy professional license (certificate REP) among the license types under R.I. Gen. Laws 5-6-7 and 5-6-11 (effective January 4, 2022). This is general information, not legal advice.
Can a general contractor in Rhode Island advertise the electrical part of a solar job?
Section 7.6(C) of 260-RICR-30-15-7 says general contractors that are not licensed electrical contractors may not bid, solicit or advertise for electrical work, though they may solicit bids from licensed electrical contractors. This is general information, not legal advice.
How did Rhode Island’s small-scale solar capacity change over the past year?
It rose by 1.1 MW, from 219.1 MW in July 2025 to 220.2 MW in July 2026, in the EIA’s Electric Power Monthly, Table 6.2.B.
Which Rhode Island county has the highest detached share of owner homes?
Washington County, at 88.7% of owner-occupied homes, followed by Bristol at 88.3%, in the Census Bureau’s ACS 5-year county data for 2020-2024 (table B25032).
Is Rhode Island solar coverage something a buyer can narrow to certain ZIP codes?
Coverage and filters are agreed with each buyer during onboarding; email us the ZIP codes you want covered.
Request Rhode Island solar leads
Email us the Rhode Island ZIP codes you cover, your daily volume or caps and how you take delivery. ReturnReturnA buyer's request for credit on a lead that fails agreed standards, such as a disconnected number, a duplicate or a lead outside the filters. Glossary terms are agreed on the onboarding call, before you go live.
Start small, with no long-term commitment
- No long-term contract. Pause or stop at any time.
- No setup fee and no monthly fee. You pay only for leads delivered that match your filters.
- Start with a small test volume and scale when the numbers work.
- MVA and home improvement leads are exclusive by default: each lead is sold to one buyer.
- Return terms are agreed on the onboarding call, before you go live.
Or write to team@summitleads.ai. We reply by email.
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