Solar panel installation in Hilton Head Island, SC

Hilton Head homes are served by Dominion Energy South Carolina or Palmetto Electric Cooperative, depending on location. We confirm your exact utility during the assessment.

The one whose licence checks out with SC LLR (the Residential Builders Commission and contractor licensing), whose quote names Dominion Energy and states about 14,300 kWh a year for 9.5 kW, and who services what it installs. Ours does all three, with a lifetime full-system warranty.

At the $2.59 per watt benchmark, a 6 kW system is about $15,540 installed and a 9.5 kW system about $24,605. South Carolina’s 25% state credit brings those to about $11,655 and $18,454, claimed at up to $3,500 a year. In Hilton Head Island that 9.5 kW system makes about 14,300 kWh a year unshaded; your quote depends on roof, shade and usage.

One-for-one net metering closed to new applicants on 1 June 2021, and new Dominion Energy South Carolina systems are credited under Solar Choice instead, at roughly 2.8–4.1¢ per kWh for exports. Dominion Energy South Carolina households paid about 14.6¢ per kWh on average in 2024, so every kWh you use at home is worth more than one you export, and we size to your usage rather than to fill the roof.

Not for homeowners who buy: it ended December 31, 2025. South Carolina’s 25% state credit still applies to systems you own, capped at $3,500 a year with a 10-year carry-forward.

Qualifying residential systems of 20 kW or less are exempt from South Carolina property tax. Check with the Beaufort County assessor.

79% of Hilton Head Island homes are owner-occupied, and for owners the choice is real. Buying, with cash or a loan, means you own the system, can claim South Carolina’s 25% credit, and add an asset to the house. With a lease or power purchase agreement the provider owns the panels, so you cannot claim the state credit for them, and a buyer of your home has to take over the agreement.

Almost always there’s a review process. Hilton Head has very active architectural-review boards; designing for approval and preparing the packet is exactly what we do.

A building permit and a separate electrical permit for a rooftop system; Standard plan review for systems of roughly 10 kW and above; An additional electrical permit where battery storage is included; Structural review, roof-access pathways and setbacks under high-wind coastal requirements. We pull every one through Beaufort County and book the inspections.

Tree canopy shades your best roof planes for much of the day. On Hilton Head this rules out more roofs than anywhere else we work, and removal is usually not permitted. Your roof needs replacing within about five years. Your power bill is under roughly $90 a month, which is common in properties used seasonally.