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

Installers who connected the most home solar systems in San Jose 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 San Jose by the numbers

PG&E approved 3,211 home solar systems in San Jose in 2025, from 222 installers; the top three were named on 44% of them. The busiest year since 2021 was 2023, with 6,491 (2025: -51%). Another 1,228 were approved from January through May 2026.

2025 mix: 35% leased or on a power purchase agreement, 65% owned by the household; 60% with a battery; median size 6.48 kW DC. Santa Clara County: 30% leased or PPA, 54% with a battery, median 6.48 kW.

Hiring a solar company in San Jose

Any solar company that installs in San José has to get two approvals before the system can run: a City building permit through SJPermits and a PG&E interconnection. On most San José bills, San José Clean Energy (SJCE) supplies the generation and PG&E delivers it. Get at least three written bids built on your own SJCE and PG&E account, then compare them on the checks below.

Start with your San Jose electricity bill

Check PG&E delivery and the generation provider, which may be San José Clean Energy. SJCE’s generation billing and PG&E’s delivery billing are distinct. Confirm whether the account is on legacy NEM or a newer solar billing plan before comparing exports.

How SJCE and PG&E split a San José solar bill

A San José solar home deals with two electricity companies at once. PG&E owns the lines and the meter and sends the statement; SJCE's generation charges and credits are printed inside that same PG&E statement. The California Energy Commission's service-territory map puts nearly all of the city inside both PG&E's delivery area and SJCE's generation area, so a proposal that models only PG&E generation rates is usually modeling the wrong company.

SJCE says customers who applied for solar before April 14, 2023 keep NEM 2.0 for their 20-year legacy period, and anyone who applied on or after April 15, 2023 is on the Solar Billing Plan, where exports are credited at time-of-day Energy Export Credit values. SJCE runs its own annual true-up in April. For legacy NEM customers it pays $0.03575 per kWh of surplus as of April 1, 2026, which it describes as 25% higher than PG&E's rate.

What that means for a quote: ask the bidder which plan your new system will land on (for a new system, the Solar Billing Plan), which true-up month it assumed for SJCE and for PG&E, and whether its savings figure counts SJCE's generation credits separately from PG&E's delivery credits. Two bids that disagree on those three points are not comparable.

San José's permit path for panels and batteries

San José takes residential solar permit applications online through SJPermits.org, which presents the permit fee and accepts payment. The City's streamlined path is written for rooftop systems on single-family, duplex and townhouse properties that meet its listed criteria, including weight and height limits; a system outside those criteria needs a fuller review.

Batteries get their own scrutiny. The City asks for a City-approved anchorage detail, or an approved master file, for the storage unit, and publishes bracket details sized for equipment from 200 to 1,200 pounds. Required inspections are listed on the permit card and are booked at SJPermits.org or by phone at 408-535-3555.

Ask each bidder who holds the permit, whether its battery mounting matches a City-approved anchorage detail, and who will meet the inspector. A bid that leaves the permit to you, or that prices a battery without a mounting plan, is missing part of the job.

A comparison to ask for

If competing quotes use different SJCE/PG&E billing assumptions, ask both to use your actual account enrollment and the same production profile. A larger array does not automatically produce a better financial result.

Verify the company behind the San Jose quote

Match the business name and license number on each San Jose 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 San Jose solar cost and permit page.

San Jose solar quote questions