by Jeff Blyskal

Last updated October 2023

Here are the tax credits and other incentives we could identify for the Bay Area. Check with your utility company and dsireusa.org for up-to-date info.

Note that if you lease, rather than buy, incentives usually go to the leasing company that installs and owns the panels on your roof, not you.

Federal tax credit: Uncle Sam will reimburse you 30 percent of what you paid for panels, equipment, storage devices, installation, and permits.

Net metering: If your system produces electricity that you don’t use, it’s pushed onto the grid, your meter spins in reverse, and your utility pays you for it. You won’t necessarily get paid at the same rates at which you’d buy electricity. That’s because new PG&E and CleanPowerSF hookups are on time-of-use (TOU) rate plans that charge higher rates when you buy during peak times (4 p.m. to 9 p.m.), but solar-energy producers often get paid lower non-peak rates when they sell.

Even if you build up a huge surplus (unlikely), you’re not going to get rich as a Net Generator. Utilities typically limit generating capacity to no more than 120 percent of the electricity you used in the previous 12 months. Meanwhile, the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates private electric utilities, including PG&E, is in the process of changing the net metering rules, which solar advocates fear could cut the rate paid for sun-generated electricity sold to the grid or add fixed solar monthly fees.

Rebates and grants: Low-income Bay Area customers of PG&E and the SFPUC’s CleanPowerSF can get a solar energy system at no cost through the Disadvantaged Communities–Single-Family Solar Homes (DAC-SASH) program.

Property tax exemption: Any increase in your home’s value as a result of installing solar panels is exempt from property taxes.