Victorville, CA

California’s Active Solar Energy System Property Tax Exclusion protects homeowners from property tax increases when they install solar panels or other qualifying solar energy systems. This state incentive works as a “new construction exclusion,” meaning that when you add solar to your existing home, your property’s assessed value won’t increase due to the solar installation. Essentially, the county assessor treats your solar system as if it has no value for property tax purposes, keeping your annual property tax bill the same as before installation.

The financial benefit varies by home but can save thousands of dollars annually in avoided property tax increases. For example, if your solar system adds $30,000 in value to your home and your local property tax rate is 1.2%, this exclusion saves you $360 per year in property taxes. The exclusion applies to various types of active solar energy systems including rooftop solar panels for electricity, solar water heating systems, and solar space conditioning systems. However, it doesn’t cover solar pool heaters, hot tub heaters, or passive solar features.

The program is currently set to expire on January 1, 2027, so systems must be installed before this sunset date. Most homeowners don’t need to file any paperwork – the exclusion is automatically applied when the county assessor receives your building permit. The only exception is for initial home buyers who purchase newly constructed homes with pre-installed solar systems, who may need to file form BOE-64-SES to claim the exclusion. There are no residency requirements, income limits, or restrictions on system size, making this benefit available to all California property owners who install qualifying solar energy systems.

The Disadvantaged Communities Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes (DAC-SASH) Program is a California state initiative designed to make solar energy more accessible to homeowners in underserved communities. This program provides upfront cash incentives to help offset the cost of installing a solar energy system, making clean energy more affordable for qualifying families.

Eligible homeowners can receive up to $3 per watt in fixed, capacity-based incentives. For example, if you install a 6-kilowatt solar system, you could receive up to $18,000 in upfront incentives to reduce your installation costs.

To qualify for DAC-SASH, you must own and live in your home, receive electricity service from PG&E, SCE, or SDG&E, be enrolled in or eligible for the CARE or FERA income-qualified utility programs, and live in a designated disadvantaged community area. If you think you might qualify, you can visit the GRID Alternatives website to learn more about the application process and determine your eligibility.

California’s Equity Fund is a state program designed to make solar energy storage more accessible to low-income households and disadvantaged communities. This $630 million initiative, established under Assembly Bill 209 in 2022, provides rebates specifically for battery storage systems to help qualifying homeowners better utilize their solar energy and maintain power during outages.

The program offers rebates of $150, $850, or $1,000 per kilowatt-hour of battery capacity installed, with higher rebate amounts available for customers who qualify for special programs or live in high-risk areas. To be eligible, homeowners must be enrolled in California’s CARE or FERA low-income utility programs, live in designated disadvantaged communities, or reside in California tribal areas. Additional eligibility extends to customers in areas with high fire risk or frequent power outages.

The Equity Fund works alongside California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) and complements the state’s new net billing program (NEM 3.0). Qualifying customers also receive enhanced net billing credits and significant discounts on their electric bills – approximately 35% off for CARE program participants and 18% off for FERA participants. This program specifically addresses the concern that previous solar incentives primarily benefited higher-income households, ensuring that clean energy benefits reach California’s most vulnerable communities.

Net Billing in California is the current compensation system for solar customers who send excess electricity back to the grid. This program replaced the previous Net Metering system for most major utilities (PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E) starting April 15, 2023, and is often called ‘NEM 3.’ Under Net Billing, homeowners receive credits for the solar energy they export to the grid, but these credits are calculated based on the time of day and the utility’s avoided cost – meaning the value changes hourly and is typically much lower than what you pay for electricity.

The financial benefit varies significantly by utility and time of export. For the three major utilities (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E), export credits are calculated hourly using each utility’s Avoided Cost Calculator, with values typically ranging from 3-5 cents per kWh during annual true-up periods. Other utilities offer different rates: Imperial Irrigation District pays $0.0698 per kWh monthly, while SMUD provides 7.4 cents per kWh. LADWP still operates under traditional 1:1 net metering. Any unused credits are typically settled annually during your ‘true-up’ month, when excess credits are paid out at the lower avoided cost rate.

Important considerations include timing – if you submitted a complete interconnection application before April 14, 2023 with the major utilities, you may be grandfathered under the more favorable NEM 2.0 system. However, you cannot increase your system size or decrease it by more than 20% without losing this grandfathering. The significantly reduced export credit values under Net Billing make battery storage more attractive for maximizing your solar investment by storing excess energy for later use rather than exporting it to the grid.