Solar Companies in Palo Alto, CA: Installer Counts and License Checks

Installers who connected the most home solar systems in Santa Clara County 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). The data set covers PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers only, so in Santa Clara County it counts the areas PG&E serves.

Source: California Distributed Generation Statistics (CPUC), Interconnected Project Sites data set, data through May 31, 2026 (checked Sept. 24, 2026).

Home solar in Santa Clara County by the numbers

PG&E approved 6,416 home solar systems in Santa Clara County in 2025, from 310 installers; the top three were named on 40% of them. The busiest year since 2021 was 2023, with 11,838 (2025: -46%). Another 2,801 were approved from January through May 2026.

2025 mix: 30% leased or on a power purchase agreement, 71% owned by the household; 54% with a battery; median size 6.48 kW DC.

Hiring a solar company in Palo Alto

Solar companies in Palo Alto work with City of Palo Alto Utilities, not PG&E: CPAU's interconnection approval comes first, then SolarAPP+ and the City's Accela Citizen Access portal for an instant permit, and the Building Inspector grants permission to operate at the final inspection. New systems are on the City's NEM 2 program, which pays CPAU's export rate. Compare at least three written bids built on your own CPAU bill.

Start with your Palo Alto electricity bill

Palo Alto runs its own electric utility, City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU), so PG&E's Solar Billing Plan and the community choice providers around it do not apply. New solar customers have been served by the City's NEM 2 program since January 1, 2018, which credits exported power at CPAU's Export Electricity Compensation rate. Ask each bidder to model CPAU's rules from your own utility bill.

Palo Alto's instant permit, utility first

The City's SolarAPP+ route is for single-family, roof-mounted new installations by CSLB-licensed contractors, with PV and storage each up to 38.4 kW, electric service up to 400 amps and a 225-amp service disconnect and busbars. It excludes historic properties, standalone storage, ground-mounted and building-integrated systems, electrical panel upgrades, upgrades or additions to existing systems, and multifamily or commercial work; those use a traditional building permit.

The order matters. The contractor first registers in Accela Citizen Access and applies under the Utilities tab for interconnection, with a site plan, an elevation plan, a three-line diagram, manufacturer specifications and a signed interconnection agreement. Then it submits the design in SolarAPP+ and pays the $25 administration fee, and finally applies under the Building tab for the Residential Solar Permit with SolarApp+, uploading the approval, the spec sheet and the signed interconnection agreement and paying City fees, which vary by system size. Inspections can be booked in the iRequest app, the portal or by phone.

How CPAU credits solar

CPAU's original net metering program closed when it reached its cap of 10.8 MW of installed solar on December 31, 2017. NEM 1 customers are credited at retail rates for exports; everyone who went solar from January 1, 2018 on is on NEM 2 and paid for exports at the Export Electricity Compensation rate, Schedule E-EEC-1. The schedule effective July 1, 2026 pays $0.0990 per kWh for all exported electricity (checked September 24, 2026). Rates change, so a proposal should cite the schedule in force when you sign.

In Palo Alto the utility and the building department finish the job together. CPAU asks customers to schedule its electric meter inspection before the final building inspection, and the Building Inspector issues interconnection approval, permission to operate, at that final inspection. The City reported 155 residential solar permits for 2024 to the Energy Commission, 36% of them issued online.

What a Palo Alto quote needs to explain

A comparison to ask for

Many Palo Alto projects do not qualify for the instant route: the City excludes historic properties, ground-mounted and building-integrated systems, standalone batteries, electrical panel upgrades and additions to an existing array. Ask each bidder which route its design takes, who files the CPAU interconnection application, and who books the utility's meter inspection before the final.

Verify the company behind the Palo Alto quote

Match the business name and license number on each Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto rates and bills page.

Palo Alto solar quote questions