Solar Panels Cost $2.2k-$11k in Mountain View, CA | August, 2025

To be eligible for the sales and use tax exclusion (STE), the property must be used to design, manufacture, produce, or assemble advanced transportation technology or alternative source products or systems. Electric vehicle, electric vehicle battery, and solar photovoltaic manufacturing have been approved for financial assistance. Other approved applications include entities involved in landfill gas and biogas capture and production, demonstration hydrogen fuel production, and biomass processing and fuel production. To be recommended to the CAEATFA Board for approval, applications must be fiscally and environmentally beneficial. Application fees range between $250 and $10,000, and administrative fees range between $15,000 and $350,000. Both are based on the total purchase price.

Savings by Design is a program that operates in conjunction with the California Department of Public Utilities. It was established to incentivize builders and owners of commercial buildings to increase energy performance and efficiency. To participate, the project must qualify as a non-residential new construction or renovation project in the service area of one of the six participating utilities within California. To determine funding eligibility, interested prospective participants should contact their respective utility as early on in the design process as feasible. Complete, up-to-date details can be found on the program’s website.

In December of 2005, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger established a statewide Green Building Action Plan by executive order. Under the order, all new state buildings constructed up to 2025 must meet a minimum LEED certification of Silver, make use of ENERGY STAR certified products, including solar PV and water heating, and meet state energy savings standards. Existing builidngs should comply with the state standards at minimum. By 2025, at least half of existing buildings should be in remodeling to achieve "energy net-zero" in addition to fulfilling LEED Silver minimum requirements. Beginning in 2025, all new state buildings and large-scale remodeling projects must be "energy net-zero" in addition to fulfilling LEED Silver minimum requirements.

The California Building Standards Commission (BSC), since 1989, has published triennial editions of its code that is often referred to as Title 24. In 2008, the BSC approved its first statewide voluntary building code. Two years later, in 2010, a final version of this code was adopted. Parts of this code became mandatory, effective January 2011, and is presently referred to as CalGreen. The latest edition of Title 24 from 2017 stands alongside CalGreen and incorporates critical updates in a section called the Building Energy Efficiency Standards. BSC standards are continuously being amended. The most notable among those modifications include a mandate that all new low-rise homes install photovoltaic (PV) equipment with an annual output greater than or equal to the home's annual electrical consumption.

This property tax exclusion is reserved for those who install solar energy systems before 2024. New buildings, even if going unused, are included in this exclusion. Solar energy systems eligible for this exclusion are those used to collect, store, or distribute solar energy. This includes photovoltaic systems, solar thermal electric systems, solar space conditioning systems, solar water heating systems, solar process heating systems, active solar energy systems, and solar mechanical energy. Also included (at least partially) are storage devices, power conditioning equipment, transfer equipment, pipes, ducts, and dual-use equipment for solar-electric systems. Solar heating systems for pools and hot tubs are ineligible systems.

The California Energy Commission offers institutions in the public sector low-interest loan programs for energy efficiency and energy generation projects. Renewable energy generation, combined-heat-and-power energy generation, and thermal energy storage projects are eligible. Some approved projects are upgrades to lighting systems, installment of LED traffic signals, installment of insulation, and purchase of water and wastewater treatment equipment. The maximum loan amount is $3 million to be repaid within a maximum of 17 years. The Commission offers a zero-interest loan to public schools, charter schools, state special schools, and country offices of education. A 1% interest loan is available for cities, counties, special districts, public colleges, community colleges, and public hospitals. Residential, commercial, and private nonprofit institutions are ineligible.

The state of California provides farmers the opportunity to save thousands of dollars through partial sales and use tax exemptions for the purchase of solar energy systems that generate electricity for agricultural purposes. At least 50 percent of the solar power must be used to produce and harvest agricultural products. Farmers must support their claims by documenting the use of the solar power system, ensuring that the energy generated is primarily used for agricultural activities. (Data from the meters on the farm equipment and machinery serves as documentation.)

In 2017, the Executive Director of the CPUC declared in a letter to the IOUs that the US District Court Re-Mat program violated the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution by mandating numerical limits on utility obligations to purchase power from QFs at a price that differed from the utility’s avoided cost. As a result, all new Re-MAT contracts were suspended pending further CPUC action. The Re-MAT intended to aid the utilities in meeting California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), to include all the green attributes associated with the energy along with Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) transfer to the utility with the sale. If a real property owner patronizes a publicly-owned utility with 75,000 customers or more, they are encouraged to contact their local utility for further details. Investor-owned utilities can reach out to their respective program administrator for more information.

The Single-Family Affordable Solar Housing (SASH) Program is designed to help low-income, single-family homeowners access solar technology. The program also helps to educate families on the benefits of solar technology and provide green-jobs training by allowing trainees to participate in the installations. The California Solar Initiative funds are partially reserved for households in Investor Owned Utility (IOU) service territories. Low-income families enrolled in the program are provided with up-front incentives for solar system installations. Based on incentive dollars, the SASH program in the PG&E and SDG&E utility territories have been fully reserved. Both territories are closed to any new applications.

The Contractors State License Board is solely responsible for administering contractor licenses in California. This state-specific licensure covering active solar water and space heating systems, solar pool heating systems, and photovoltaic systems is called the C-46 Solar Contractor license. License requirements affirm that prospective contractors must have accumulated four years of relevant experience in addition to passing a state-accredited business and law exam along with the trade exam. While there are no education requirements, there are numerous independent license exam preparation schools throughout California. Once the C-46 requirements are met, contractors are eligible for several other solar contractors license classifications such as General Engineering, General Building, Plumbing, Electrical, and Boiler, Hot Water Heating, and Steam Fitting for solar thermal systems. A comprehensive resource guide to becoming a contractor is published on California's State Contractors Licensing Board website.

In 2017, the Executive Director of the CPUC declared in a letter to the IOUs that the US District Court Re-Mat program violated the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution by mandating numerical limits on utility obligations to purchase power from QFs at a price that differed from the utility’s avoided cost. As a result, all new Re-MAT contracts were suspended pending further CPUC action. The Re-MAT intended to aid the utilities in meeting California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), to include all the green attributes associated with the energy along with Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) transfer to the utility with the sale. If a real property owner patronizes a publicly-owned utility with 75,000 customers or more, they are encouraged to contact their local utility for further details. Investor-owned utilities can reach out to their respective program administrator for more information.

State Senate Bill 1 of 2006 established the California Solar Initiative and mandated the California Energy Commission (CEC) to create a set of regulations that require sellers of production homes to present solar energy options to all prospective homebuyers. All home sellers must disclose the total installed cost of the solar option presented for all homes located within a subdivision for which a tentative subdivision map has been deemed complete on or after January 1, 2011. Sellers of these newly constructed homes must also disclose where to access information about California solar incentives on the Go Solar California website. Homebuyers may elect into an offset program to install a solar system elsewhere that is equivalent to the aggregate capacity of solar if at least 20% of the buyers within the affected subdivision have opted into the solar option.

A wide range of incentives to increase the energy efficiency of their facilities are available to Sacramento residents through Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). To this end, four separate rebate programs are offered by SMUD. Express Solutions among them, it’s a program meant for customers who already know which energy upgrades they want to install. Complete Energy Solutions, conversely, is for customers still in the exploratory phase of their energy efficiency solutions. Large industrial projects are eligible for the Custom Incentives program. New constructions are directed by the Savings by Design Program. Additional details are discoverable on the program’s website.

Both prescriptive and custom incentives are available to non-residential customers through the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The incentives are meant to encourage energy-efficient upgrades to non-residential facilities through the installation of energy-saving devices, equipment, or systems that exceed Title 24 or minimum industry standards. Estimation software determines the energy savings for each project and, thusly, the custom incentive amount. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power should be contacted before beginning any potentially qualifying project.

In April 2016, The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) established a set of rules for net metering PV systems specifically paired with storage devices. The law has endured numerous amendments since it was introduced. Making use of CPUC-approved tools, utilities must establish monthly maximum allowable output limits for net metering facilities. Energy exports from the customer's system exceeding the monthly limit are ineligible for net metering. Publicly-owned electric utilities are exempt if they serve more than 750,000 customers and also provide water services.

Under Decision 14-11-042, utilities to are permitted to continue using The Renewable Auction Mechanism (RAM) as a mechanism for meeting a portion of their RPS requirements. While some new parameters were established and the CPUC lifted, the essence of the RAM program will remain. The aim of this program is to streamline the procurement process for distributed generation projects between 3 MW and 20 MW while ensuring lower costs for utilities customers. The reverse auction is scheduled to occur twice annually for each of the three investor-owned utilities in the state. The last auction closed in 2015, and it was sixth in the series. Project size requirements are at the discretion of the utility and are based on their specific procurement needs at the time of the solicitation.

The CaliforniaFIRST Program operates in conjunction with the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program for non-residential properties. Under the program’s financing proposal, property owners may elect to finance green energy and water improvements on their buildings that can be paid back through their property taxes. Eligible California properties include commercial, industrial, agricultural, and multi-family (over 5 units) buildings in one of the 120 participating cities or the unincorporated parts of the 14 participating counties. Property records are used for establishing participation. All required property payments must be current, and a review of mortgage payment history along with other credit history criteria are required.

In September 2012 The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) enacted the first fundamental redesign of Rule 21 in over 11 years. The revised Rule 21 Tariff is described on page 136 of the CPUC Decision. Subsequent individual tariffs adopted by the utilities can be reviewed on the CPUC website. Rule 21 directs a specified screening process to allocate applicants into the path most suitable for their projects. The tariff also defines several fees and deposits required at various stages of the interconnection process. Once the utility performs and approves an initial review the system can interconnect without an additional supplemental review.

Marin Clean Energy is a community choice aggregator located in the northwest San Francisco Bay Area. CCAs purchase energy from specially selected sources their stakeholders choose, offering participating communities greater choice in green energy adoption. Currently, all Marin County residents are enrolled in MCE by default, though they may decline to participate. MCE funds new local renewable energy, including solar, wind, biomass, and fuel cell generation, through a "feed-in tariff." As enrollees install interconnected solar or wind energy systems on their own property, they will receive a fixed rate per kilowatt hour that returns to the network. Tariff amounts are based on energy capacity and characteristics of the systems MCE purchases. Incentives expire at the conclusion of a 20-year term.

SB 100 is a Special Bill that was signed into California state law in September 2018. The law altered some rules governing the use of hydro by public, municipally-owned facilities. The bill stipulates that 60% of all retail sales must come from renewable energy sources by 2030, and 100% of all retail sales shall originate from renewable energy and zero-carbon resources by 2045. The Energy Commission publishes two approved guidebooks that enumerate the various eligibility requirements under the Renewables Portfolio Standard program. Interested parties should reference these manuals to determine the specific standards and targets of the RPS program established in this bill.