Oxnard, CA

California’s Property Tax Exemption for Solar (officially called the Active Solar Energy System Exclusion) prevents homeowners from paying higher property taxes when they install solar panels. When you add solar to your home, the county assessor will not increase your property tax assessment, even though you’ve added value to your property.

This is not technically an exemption but rather a “new construction exclusion” – meaning the solar system is simply not counted when determining your home’s taxable value. The exclusion applies to all qualifying solar energy systems that generate electricity or heat water (except for solar swimming pool heaters and hot tub heaters). The financial benefit varies based on your system’s value but can save homeowners thousands in property taxes over the life of their system.

Both owned and leased solar systems qualify for this exclusion. If you purchase a newly built home that includes solar, you may also qualify as the “initial purchaser” if the builder didn’t receive the exclusion and you file form BOE-64-SES with your county assessor.

This valuable incentive is currently set to expire on January 1, 2027, so systems installed through the 2025-26 fiscal year will qualify. No application is needed for existing homeowners adding solar – the exclusion is automatically applied when the assessor receives your building permit.

The Disadvantaged Communities Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes (DAC-SASH) Program is a California state initiative designed to make solar energy accessible to lower-income homeowners in disadvantaged communities. This program provides substantial upfront incentives of up to $3 per watt to help offset the cost of installing a solar energy system, making clean energy more affordable for those who might otherwise be unable to access it.

To qualify for the DAC-SASH program, homeowners must meet several eligibility requirements: you must own and live in your home, receive electrical service from one of California’s major utilities (PG&E, SCE, or SDG&E), be enrolled in or eligible for the CARE or FERA income-qualified utility bill programs, and your property must be located in a designated disadvantaged community area. If you think you might qualify, you can visit the GRID Alternatives website for more information and to apply for this valuable solar incentive.

The California Equity Fund is a state program designed to make clean energy more accessible to low-income households. Created under Assembly Bill 209 in 2022, this program allocates $630 million to support battery storage incentives for qualifying Californians through the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP).

Eligible homeowners can receive substantial rebates based on battery capacity: $150, $850, or $1,000 per kilowatt-hour as of September 2024. Additionally, participants in the program receive enhanced net billing credits under the NEM 3.0 program, with CARE program enrollees receiving approximately 35% off their electric bills and FERA program participants receiving about 18% off.

To qualify for these incentives, you must be enrolled in California’s CARE/FERA program, live in a Disadvantaged Community, or be part of a California Tribal community. Higher rebate amounts are available for residents in areas with higher fire risks, more frequent power outages, or those participating in specific assistance programs like DAC-SASH.

The Equity Fund represents California’s effort to address critiques that previous solar incentive programs primarily benefited higher-income households. By providing these targeted incentives, the program aims to expand clean energy access to traditionally underserved communities while supporting the state’s broader climate goals.

California’s Net Billing program (also known as NEM 3) is a solar incentive structure that replaced the previous Net Metering 2.0 program for new solar installations. Under this program, when your solar panels generate excess electricity that flows back to the grid, you receive credits on your utility bill based on the time of day and the utility’s avoided cost calculator.

The program works differently across California’s utilities. For major providers like Southern California Edison (SCE), Pacific Gas & Electric (PGE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE), export credits are calculated hourly based on when electricity is sent to the grid. Imperial Irrigation District (IID) offers a fixed rate of $0.0698 per kWh for excess generation. Any unused credits remaining at your annual true-up date are typically paid out at approximately 3-5 cents per kWh.

Net Billing applies to all new solar interconnection applications submitted after April 15, 2023. If you submitted a complete application before this date, you may be grandfathered into the more favorable NEM 2.0 program. However, be aware that modifying your system size (increasing it at all or decreasing by more than 20%) will forfeit your NEM 2.0 status.

It’s worth noting that municipal utilities like Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) operate under different rules and are not subject to the NEM 3 changes. Additionally, Net Billing customers can now select their annual true-up month by contacting their utility, giving homeowners more flexibility in managing their solar credits.