Solar Companies in Hollister, CA: Who Installed the Most Systems in 2025

Installers who connected the most home solar systems in Hollister in 2025

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 Hollister by the numbers

PG&E approved 481 home solar systems in Hollister in 2025, from 49 installers; the top three were named on 70% of them. The busiest year since 2021 was 2022, with 725 (2025: -34%). Another 202 were approved from January through May 2026.

2025 mix: 39% leased or on a power purchase agreement, 61% owned by the household; 34% with a battery; median size 4.25 kW DC. San Benito County: 39% leased or PPA, 36% with a battery, median 4.37 kW.

Hiring a solar company in Hollister

Solar companies in Hollister connect a home system to PG&E, with Central Coast Community Energy supplying the generation and truing up solar credits every December. The City reported no automated online solar permit platform to the Energy Commission, so expect a regular permit through the Building Division, which works by appointment. Compare at least three written bids built on your own 3CE and PG&E bill.

Start with your Hollister electricity bill

Hollister is PG&E delivery territory and Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) generation territory across the whole city on the California Energy Commission's maps. A 3CE solar customer has two true-ups a year: one with PG&E for delivery and one with 3CE, every December, for generation. Have each bidder model both halves from your own bill, under the solar plan that matches your interconnection date.

How 3CE settles a Hollister solar account

3CE handles generation and PG&E handles transmission and distribution, so a 3CE customer on a Net Energy Metering tariff sees PG&E's minimum monthly delivery charges and gets two true-ups each year. 3CE bills monthly for energy used beyond what the system produces, gives retail credits for extra generation within the true-up period, and trues up every December. At that point customers receive credit for earlier generation charges before retail credits accrue, and Net Surplus Compensation as a bill credit.

3CE's Net Surplus Compensation rate in the PG&E service area is $0.023 per kWh. A residential customer with at least $200 in retail credits and surplus compensation combined can ask for a check within 45 days of the true-up statement; otherwise the amount stays as bill credit. Customers whose interconnection agreement was approved after April 15, 2023 are on the Net Billing Tariff instead, so ask the bidder which one your system will be on.

Hollister's permit office

The City told the Energy Commission it has no automated solar permitting platform, and it has not filed an annual SB 379 permit report, so there is no published count of Hollister solar permits or of how many were issued online. Its solar permit page provides the building permit application, and the Building Division, at 339 Fifth Street, takes appointments through an online booking link.

Homes outside the city limits are permitted by San Benito County, which the Energy Commission lists as exempt from the SB 379 requirement but as having a SolarAPP+ platform. If pigeons nesting under panels are a concern, ask each bidder to price critter guards as a separate line rather than assuming they are included.

What a Hollister quote needs to explain

A comparison to ask for

3CE settles generation credits in December, so a proposal that shows a year-end credit should say whether you would take it as a bill credit or, above the check threshold, as a check. Ask each bidder to separate 3CE's generation credits from PG&E's delivery charges in its estimate.

Verify the company behind the Hollister quote

Match the business name and license number on each Hollister proposal to the CSLB record, then use our contractor verification steps, the quote comparison guide and the PPA, loan, lease and cash comparison.

Permit fees and the filing route are on the Hollister solar cost and permit page.

Hollister solar quote questions