Solar Panel Cost in Redding, CA (2026): $4.00/W County Median

What a solar permit costs in Redding

Redding's published permit fee for a home rooftop system is $450 (residential PV, 7 to 15 kW). Above 15 kW: $450.00 plus $15.00 per kW; battery (alternative power source) $187.50.

That is exactly the $450 limit that Government Code §66015 sets for a home system up to 15 kW.

• What Redding publishes: Redding's Master Fee Schedule for fiscal year 2025-26 lists a residential photovoltaic system of 7 to 15 kW at $450.00, and a system of 16 kW and up at $450.00 plus $15.00 for each kW above 15 kW; the schedule has no line for a smaller system. The fiscal year 2026-27 schedule, whose building permit fees take effect October 19, 2026, keeps both figures. A battery is permitted separately, under the schedule's alternative power source line: $187.50, rising to $193.00 when the new building fees take effect. Redding Electric Utility's own solar paperwork and Generator Number come before the City permit.
• How to file: Yes. The Building Division's Apply for a Permit link opens the City's EnerGov Self Service portal, but the City will not accept a solar building permit application until Redding Electric Utility has received every item on its Solar PV Checklist and issued a Generator Number. The California Energy Commission's SB 379 data lists Redding's platform as SolarAPP+.
• Automated permit platform: SolarAPP+. Per the CEC SB 379 data (self-reported); REU paperwork and a Generator Number come before the City permit.

Sources: Redding Electric Utility, Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Program, checked September 24, 2026; City of Redding, Adopted FY 2025-26 Master Fee Schedule (Building Division, Electric Permit Fees: Photo Voltaic Systems - Residential; Alternative Power Source Other Than Solar Permit), checked September 24, 2026; City of Redding, Adopted FY 2026-27 Master Fee Schedule (development and building permit fees effective October 19, 2026, per the City's Master Fee Schedule page), checked September 24, 2026; California Energy Commission, Residential Solar Permitting Program data (SB 379 platform status as self-reported by each jurisdiction; data last updated August 3, 2026), checked September 23, 2026; Gov. Code §66015, checked September 24, 2026. Redding in the California Solar Cost Index sets this fee beside every other city's.

Solar data for Redding: REU is not covered

REU customers are not in the CPUC data, so nothing in it describes most Redding homes. It does list 126 systems connected in 2025 at addresses it records as Redding in PG&E territory; those homes buy power from PG&E, not REU.

Across Shasta County homes served by PG&E, SCE or SDG&E, 38% of 2025 systems were leased or on a PPA, 39% had a battery and the median size was 7.94 kW.

Source: CPUC DG Stats, data through May 31, 2026. Counts are home systems given permission to operate each year; a city means the service city on the application.

Your utility: REU

Redding is billed by Redding Electric Utility (REU). The CPUC's average-rate reports do not cover REU; read its own tariff and your bill.

Before you sign

In Shasta County the middle half of reported costs spans $3.19 to $5.64 per watt, and roof, panel work, equipment and contract terms explain most of that gap. California Solar Tax and Permit Rules for 2026 covers them, and the tax, lease and disclosure rules a Redding contract follows.