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Don’t stuff your cash under your mattress – install it on your roof!
With a volatile stock market and rising electricity costs, many Americans are looking for steadier ways to put their money to work. Investing in solar energy delivers a strong return, locks in your largest controllable household expense, and builds long-term resilience into your home and your finances.
Solar is not a magic asset that always beats the stock market. It’s something better in some respects: a real, predictable return that flows back to you every month in the form of avoided utility bills, with benefits that go well beyond dollars on a chart.
How solar stacks up against the S&P 500
Let’s compare three options for a New England homeowner with $24,000 to put to work:
- Cash solar — Buy an 8-kW system outright for $24,000.
- Financed solar — Same system, financed with a 20-year solar loan at 6.99% (~$186/month).
- S&P 500 — Invest the $24,000 in a broad-market index fund.
Over 25 years, the cash solar purchase and the S&P 500 investment finish in roughly the same place — over $100k in net financial benefit. The financed solar option ends up around $87k. It’s lower because of loan interest, but it requires no money down and turns cash-flow positive immediately as monthly bill savings exceed the loan payment.
In other words, solar delivers stock-market-comparable returns — but with a very different risk profile.
Assumptions behind the numbers
The model uses a $24,000 8 kW system (about $3.00/W installed), 10,000 kWh of annual production with 0.4% yearly degradation, a starting electricity rate of $0.28/kWh growing 5% per year, and $30/MWh in renewable energy certificate revenue with modest annual decline. The S&P 500 assumes a 7% nominal annual return, roughly the long-term historical average. Your actual results will vary based on your specific roof, utility rate, and market conditions. Many New Englanders pay more than $0.28/kWh today for their grid electricity which makes solar even more compelling.
Why solar’s “comparable” return is actually better
The S&P 500 has averaged around 7% annually over the last century, but that average hides enormous volatility. The market lost 37% in 2008, dropped 19% in 2022, and earlier this year saw trillions of dollars in value evaporate within hours amid tariff turmoil. Long-term investors have been rewarded for staying the course, but the ride is bumpy.
Solar’s return looks different in three important ways:
- Predictability. Your panels produce roughly the same amount of power every year, regardless of what’s happening on Wall Street. Returns are determined by sunlight and your utility rate — not investor sentiment.
- Inflation protection. Utility electricity rates tend to rise with inflation, and often faster. Maine residents saw their total residential electricity bills jump roughly 10% between early 2025 and early 2026. When your utility raises rates, your solar production becomes more valuable, automatically.
- Tax efficiency. Bill savings from solar are not taxed. Stock gains are subject to capital gains tax (typically 15–20% on long-term gains for most households), which trims the headline S&P return when you eventually sell.
Solar Investment: A Virtuous Cycle
Unlike a brokerage account, a solar investment pays you back in many ways at once. A solar electric array can increase the value of your home and lower your cost of ownership. The money you spend on a solar project flows back into your local economy rather than out of state to fuel suppliers. The environmental return is harder to put on a chart, but reducing air and carbon pollution helps your community immediately and our shared planet indefinitely.
Owning a solar electric array also comes with powerful peace of mind. No matter what happens to fuel prices or grid reliability, you own a steady stream of clean power for your home.
Take control of your future
As energy prices continue to climb, the returns from a solar energy system get more attractive. Homeowners who have invested in solar — and renters with a Member-Owned Community Solar share — can enjoy reduced or fully offset monthly electric bills from the clean energy they produce.
While it’s tempting to hold onto cash during uncertain times, your future self will be glad you put that money to work in solar and took control of your energy future. Whether you pay outright or finance with a solar loan, you can lock in tomorrow’s electricity costs at today’s rates. This time next year, you could be enjoying that sweet solar energy and watching your savings climb.
