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

Installers who connected the most home solar systems in Richmond 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 Richmond by the numbers

PG&E approved 453 home solar systems in Richmond in 2025, from 89 installers; the top three were named on 45% of them. The busiest year since 2021 was 2023, with 642 (2025: -29%). Another 192 were approved from January through May 2026.

2025 mix: 56% leased or on a power purchase agreement, 44% owned by the household; 52% with a battery; median size 4.87 kW DC. Contra Costa County: 43% leased or PPA, 58% with a battery, median 6.48 kW.

Hiring a solar company in Richmond

Solar companies installing in Richmond, California can get an instant permit through SolarAPP+, but only with a current CSLB license and a current City of Richmond Business Tax Certificate on file, which makes the permit a quick check on who you are hiring. Historic-register homes need a certificate of appropriateness first. MCE supplies Richmond's generation and PG&E delivers it. Compare three written bids on the checks below.

Richmond's SolarAPP+ conditions

The City of Richmond uses SolarAPP+ for residential, roof-mounted retrofit systems that pass its eligibility checklist. SolarAPP+ charges its own processing fee; the contractor downloads the approved documents, applies for the building permit in the City's permitting system with the SolarAPP+ approval ID, uploads the SolarAPP+ documents and schedules the inspection. The City creates the permit instantly only when the contractor's CSLB license and its City of Richmond Business Tax Certificate are both current and the two uploads are named exactly as the City requires.

Those conditions double as a screen. A company that cannot get an instant permit in Richmond is missing a current license or a City business registration, and both are worth knowing about before you sign.

Historic properties and MCE's rules

Richmond adds one local step. If a property is listed on the Richmond Historic Register, the applicant must obtain a certificate of appropriateness from the Planning Division before using SolarAPP+, and the Division issues it only when the installation is consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's standards for rehabilitation. Ask the bidder to check the register for your address before promising a timeline.

On the bill side, MCE serves Richmond. Systems whose applications were filed before April 14, 2023 stay on net energy metering; later ones are on the Solar Billing Plan. MCE's annual cycle runs April through March and pays surplus at the Net Surplus Compensation rate plus $0.02 per kWh, up to $5,000 a year, with another $0.01 per kWh for customers on its Deep Green option; amounts of $200 or less arrive as a bill credit.

What a Richmond quote needs to explain

A comparison to ask for

For an older Richmond house, ask each bidder to check the Richmond Historic Register before quoting a timeline. A listed property needs the Planning Division's certificate of appropriateness before SolarAPP+ can be used, and the Division issues it only when the installation is consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's rehabilitation standards, which may change where the panels can go.

Verify the company behind the Richmond quote

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

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

Richmond solar quote questions