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California solar decisions
Solar Companies in Carlsbad, CA: Who Installed the Most Systems in 2025
Utility records show 487 home solar systems connected in Carlsbad in 2025. Asgard Electric was the installer of record on 70 of them, followed by Sunrun Inc. (64) and Baker Electric, Inc. (40). The table lists each company's CSLB license number. It is a count from public records, not a ranking or endorsement: check each license and get at least three quotes.
California Rate Relief is a private solar referral service.
Key facts
- Permit timing
- Issued immediately
- After SolarAPP+ approval and a Customer Self Service application
- City of Carlsbadchecked Sep 23, 2026
- Supplies the generation
- Clean Energy Alliance
- Serving Carlsbad since May 2021; SDG&E delivers
- Clean Energy Alliancechecked Sep 23, 2026
- CEA surplus payment
- $0.06/kWh
- Net energy metering accounts; checks at $100 or more
- Clean Energy Alliancechecked Sep 23, 2026
Installers who connected the most home solar systems in Carlsbad in 2025
| Installer (name as reported) | Systems in 2025 | Jan 2024 to May 2026 | CSLB license |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asgard Electric | 70 | 92 | 912557 check |
| Sunrun Inc. | 64 | 203 | 750184 check |
| Baker Electric, Inc. | 40 | 97 | 858088 check |
| Stellar Solar | 31 | 70 | 749095 check |
| Aloha Solar Power | 29 | 52 | 1066562 check |
| SolarCity | 16 | 40 | 888104 check |
| Solara Home Energy | 14 | 22 | 1103958 check |
| Sunline Energy Inc. | 11 | 37 | 971708 check |
Counts from utility records, not a ranking or endorsement. Check each license's status and complaint history on the CSLB's Check a License page (checked Sept. 24, 2026).
Source: California Distributed Generation Statistics (CPUC), Interconnected Project Sites data set, data through May 31, 2026 (checked Sept. 24, 2026).
Home solar in Carlsbad by the numbers
SDG&E approved 487 home solar systems in Carlsbad in 2025, from 97 installers; the top three were named on 36% of them. The busiest year since 2021 was 2023, with 1,611 (2025: -70%). Another 188 were approved from January through May 2026.
2025 mix: 17% leased or on a power purchase agreement, 83% owned by the household; 0% with a battery; median size 6.17 kW DC. San Diego County: 36% leased or PPA, 0% with a battery, median 5.36 kW.
| Year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systems connected | 937 | 1,318 | 1,611 | 481 | 487 |
Hiring a solar company in Carlsbad
Solar companies in Carlsbad can get a permit the same day: the City issues residential solar permits as soon as the contractor has a SolarAPP+ approval and applies on its Customer Self Service portal. Clean Energy Alliance supplies Carlsbad's generation and SDG&E delivers it, and CEA pays 6 cents per kWh for a net energy metering account's yearly surplus. Compare at least three written bids built on your own bill.
How Carlsbad issues a rooftop solar permit
Carlsbad uses SolarAPP+, an automated online plan review, for standard residential rooftop solar and battery systems. A licensed contractor enters the design in SolarAPP+, and once it is approved, applies on the City's Customer Self Service portal, where the City says the permit is issued immediately. That leaves little room for a bidder to blame the City for a long wait on a standard retrofit.
Two things can move a Carlsbad job off that fast track. A design SolarAPP+ will not approve, such as an unusual structure, goes to regular review. And for new homes and larger residential projects, the City points to photovoltaic requirements that arrived with the 2019 state green building code and asks applicants to use its Climate Action Plan consistency checklist to see whether they apply. Ask your bidder which of these cases your project is.
What a Carlsbad quote needs to explain
| Check | Ask each bidder |
|---|---|
| Permit route | Confirm the design qualifies for SolarAPP+ and say who applies on the City's Customer Self Service portal. |
| CEA and SDG&E bill | Model Clean Energy Alliance generation and SDG&E delivery, including the Base Services Charge, from your own bill. |
| True-up date | Show the month your NEM or Solar Billing Plan year closes and what the model assumes you export. |
| Contract and service | Name the contracting business, its CSLB license and who answers service calls after installation. |
A comparison to ask for
If you are adding panels to an existing Carlsbad house, ask each bidder to confirm the job fits SolarAPP+ and to name who files on the Customer Self Service portal. If you are building or substantially remodeling, ask first whether the City's Climate Action Plan checklist already requires solar on the project, since that changes what you are shopping for.
Verify the company behind the Carlsbad quote
Match the business name and license number on each Carlsbad proposal to the CSLB record, then use our contractor verification steps, the quote comparison guide and the PPA, loan, lease and cash comparison. What you pay the utility today is on the Carlsbad rates and bills page.
Permit fees and the filing route are on the Carlsbad solar cost and permit page.
Carlsbad solar quote questions
How fast can I get a solar permit in Carlsbad?
The City says residential solar permits are issued immediately once the applicant has SolarAPP+ approval and applies on its Customer Self Service portal. Designs that SolarAPP+ does not approve go through the City's regular review instead.
Is Carlsbad served by Clean Energy Alliance?
Yes. Clean Energy Alliance began serving Carlsbad, Del Mar and Solana Beach in May 2021. SDG&E still delivers the power and sends the bill. You can opt out; if you do so more than 60 days after service began, SDG&E bars a return to CEA for one year.
What does Clean Energy Alliance pay for extra solar?
For a net energy metering account that produces more than it uses over its 12-month period, CEA pays Net Surplus Compensation of $0.06 per kWh, by check if the amount is $100 or more and as a credit toward the next period if it is less.
Before you sign anything in Carlsbad
Two of the contract terms that most often change what a quote really costs.
Ask for a competing quote
Start with the utility on your bill and what you pay in a typical month. Contact details come after that. Submitting does not guarantee that a provider will quote your project.
California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor. California Rate Relief is compensated by a solar provider when a homeowner we refer signs an agreement. How we make money
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