Independent Educational Guide: California residential solar permit facts, sourced, dated, and confidence-scored. Not legal, engineering, or permit advice.

Davis Solar Permit Guide

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) territory · Yolo County

✓ Last verified 2026-08-096 official sources
Informational only. This page is not legal, engineering, or permit advice. Every fact below links to the official source it came from and shows how confident we are in it. Verify current requirements with City of Davis Building Division and PG&E before making a decision.

Overview

GridPermit collects California residential solar and permitting facts directly from official sources (city, county, and state government sites, utilities, and public utilities commissions) and shows only what we can verify, with a confidence score and a link to where it came from. Nothing here is estimated or inferred beyond what's stated below. See our methodology for the rules this page follows.

Permit timeline

1–3 days

The City's own SolarAPP+ page states applicants 'receive an email within 24 business hours containing the City of Davis permit number' after submitting approved plans in person; represented here as roughly 1-3 business days (24 business hours at a standard workday) for SolarAPP+-eligible projects.

Confidence: Medium (0.65)

Source(s): Building

Battery/solar incentive program on record

California SGIP - current category and budget check required

New applications and waitlist applications for ratepayer-funded SGIP budgets closed on December 30, 2025. New AB 209 applications have a June 30, 2028 deadline. The 2026 SGIP rate table publishes $3.10/W for solar and $1.10/Wh for storage in applicable Residential Solar and Storage Equity categories. Household eligibility and live budget availability vary by category and program administrator; check the official Program Metrics tracker before relying on an incentive.

Status on file: unknown. Verify current status before relying on this.

Confidence: High (0.9)

Source(s): SGIP - Statewide Announcements / About, 2026 Self-Generation Incentive Program Handbook, SGIP Program Metrics and Incentive Step Tracker

Permit fees

Not yet verified.

Rebates

Not yet verified.

Utility and generation supplier

Utility

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)

Confidence: High (0.9)

Source(s): FAQs

Generation supplier

Valley Clean Energy (VCE) - Standard Green (default) (Community Choice Aggregator)

Confirmed directly via Valley Clean Energy's own FAQ page: 'VCE replaces PG&E as the default electricity provider in Woodland, Davis, Winters and the unincorporated areas of Yolo County.' The default product is 'Standard Green'; customers may upgrade to 'UltraGreen' (100% renewable/carbon-free) or downgrade to 'Base Green.'

Confidence: High (0.9)

Source(s): FAQs

Interconnection

https://www.pge.com/en/about/doing-business-with-pge/interconnections/net-energy-metering-program.html

PG&E's own Net Energy Metering (NEM) program page — a utility-wide fact already established for other PG&E-territory records in this dataset.

Confidence: Medium (0.6)

Permit authority

City of Davis Building Division

Confidence: High (0.8)

Source(s): Building

Permit page: https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/community-development-and-sustainability/building

Required documents

  • Two printed copies of SolarAPP+ approved plans (for City stamps and building permit card) (required when: always)

Confidence: Medium (0.65)

Source(s): Building

Inspection steps

Not yet verified.

Eligibility constraints

  • Property types: residential
  • Max system size (AC): Not yet verified.
  • Max system size (DC): Not yet verified.
  • Max thermal capacity: Not yet verified.
  • Program/pathway: SolarAPP+ (residential, roof-mounted, retrofit PV)
  • Other conditions:
    • The city's small residential rooftop solar system permit process and checklists substantially conform to the California Solar Permitting Guidebook's recommendations for expedited permitting

Confidence: Medium (0.6)

Source(s): Building

Official contacts

Confidence: Medium (0.7)

Need a solar installer who handles permits in Davis?

EnergySage is an independent solar marketplace where you can request property-specific pricing from installers familiar with local permitting.

Compare quotes from solar installers →

You'll continue on EnergySage's website. GridPermit has a partner relationship with EnergySage; this link is not currently tracked, and whether the partnership results in compensation to GridPermit has not yet been confirmed.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

What utility serves solar customers in Davis, California?

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is the interconnection and distribution utility for Davis. The default electricity generation supplier is Valley Clean Energy (VCE) - Standard Green (default), a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), separate from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

How long does a residential solar permit take in Davis?

The City's own SolarAPP+ page states applicants 'receive an email within 24 business hours containing the City of Davis permit number' after submitting approved plans in person; represented here as roughly 1-3 business days (24 business hours at a standard workday) for SolarAPP+-eligible projects.

What documents are required for a solar permit in Davis?

Commonly required documents include: Two printed copies of SolarAPP+ approved plans (for City stamps and building permit card).

Who do I contact about solar permits in Davis?

City of Davis Building Division, phone 530-757-5610, email cddweb@cityofdavis.org.