Solar power in Vermont provides almost 11% of the state's in-state electricity production as of 2018.^[1] A 2009 study indicated that distributed solar on rooftops can provide 18% of all electricity used in Vermont.^[2] A 2012 estimate suggests that a typical 5 kW system costing $25,000 before credits and utility savings will pay for itself in 10 years, and generate a profit of $34,956 over the rest of its 25-year life.^[3]

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Net metering is available for up to at least 500 kW generation, but is capped at 15% of utilities peak demand. Excess generation is rolled over each month but is lost once each year. Group net metering is also allowed.^[4] Vermont is given an A for net metering and a C for interconnection.^[5] A feed-in tariff was created in 2009, but is limited to 50 MW and is fully subscribed. The cap increases by 5 to 10 MW/year starting in 2013 until it reaches 127.5 MW in 2022. It is available for solar, wind, methane, and biomass.^[6][7] Seven solar projects are receiving payments, of $0.30/kWh, for 25 years.^[8]

In 2012, Vermont had five solar arrays of at least 1 MW, the 2.2 MW SunGen Sharon 1 in Sharon.^[20] the 2.1 MW concentrating photovoltaics array installed in July 2011 in South Burlington,^[21][22] the 1.5 MW photovoltaic array also in South Burlington installed in October 2011,^[23] the 1 MW photovoltaic array in Ferrisburgh,^[24] and the 2 MW Williamstown Solar Project.^[25]

As of 2019, Green Mountain Power (GMP) has further constructed several solar arrays as large as 5 MW.^[26] In 2015, the 20 MW Coolidge solar farm near Ludlow was opposed by GMP, which claimed that there was no need for such utility-scale solar in the state.^[27] The farm was completed by NextEra Energy at the end of 2018.^[28]

Using data available from the U.S. Energy Information Agency's Electric Power Annual 2017^[29] and "Electric Power Monthly Data Browser",^{[30][31][32][33]} the following table summarizes Vermonts’s solar energy posture.

Capacity factor for each year was computed from the end-of-year summer capacity. 2017 data is from Electric Power Monthly and is subject to change.

A small-scale 15KW installation at a homestead in middle Vermont generated 19,480 kWh of electrical energy at a Capacity Factor of 0.15. The homestead was sending energy to the utility when it was produced and taking energy from the utility when needed. Overall, the homestead consumed 80% of its generation and sold the remaining 20% to the utility. The generation profile is shown in the chart.

Beginning with the 2014 data year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has estimated the distributed solar-photovoltaic generation and distributed solar-photovoltaic capacity.^[34] These non-utility-scale appraisals evaluate that Vermont generated the following amounts of additional solar energy:

• Wind power in Vermont
• Solar power in the United States
• Renewable energy in the United States