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

Fairfax Solar Permit Guide

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) territory · Marin County

Fairfax Solar Permit Checklist
Printed from mygridpermit.com/california/fairfax/solar-permit-guide/ · Last verified 2026-08-09 · Town of Fairfax Planning and Building Department / PG&E · Verify current requirements before relying on this checklist. Programs and fees change.
✓ Last verified 2026-08-097 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 Town of Fairfax Planning and Building Department 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.

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): About, 2026 Self-Generation Incentive Program Handbook, SGIP Program Metrics and Incentive Step Tracker

Permit fees

  • Solar permit fee: $0 (flat fee)

    Listed as 'WAIVED' across all fee-year columns (FY2025-26 through FY2030-31) in the Town's own Building & Planning Master Fee Schedule, for both residential and commercial solar.

Confidence: High (0.85)

Source(s): 25-26 Fairfax Master Fee Schedule

Rebates

Not yet verified.

Utility and generation supplier

Utility

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)

Confidence: High (0.9)

Source(s): Planning and Building

Generation supplier

MCE (Marin Clean Energy) (Community Choice Aggregator)

MCE's own service-area page confirms Fairfax as one of Marin County's member communities. PG&E continues to deliver the power and provide billing/customer service.

Confidence: High (0.85)

Source(s): Service Area

Interconnection

https://www.pge.com/en/save-energy-and-money/rebates-and-incentives/nem.html

PG&E's own utility-wide Net Energy Metering (NEM) program page.

Confidence: Medium (0.55)

Permit authority

Town of Fairfax Planning and Building Department

Confidence: High (0.85)

Source(s): Planning and Building

Permit page: https://townoffairfaxca.gov/departments/planning-building/

Required documents

Not yet verified.

Inspection steps

  • Call 415-453-2263 to schedule an inspection
  • Inspections are conducted Monday through Thursday, mornings and afternoons
  • Building permits are issued Monday through Thursday, 9-11 a.m.

This is the Town's general Building Division inspection scheduling process (the same page covers all building permit types, including solar); the Town does not publish a separate, solar-specific inspection sequence.

Confidence: Medium (0.65)

Source(s): Planning and Building

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: Small Residential Rooftop Solar Energy System Requirements (municipal code §17.138.230)
  • Other conditions:
    • Systems must meet applicable health and safety standards imposed by the state, the town, and the Ross Valley Fire District
    • Water-heating systems (single-family, commercial, or pool applications) must be certified by an accredited listing agency per the California Plumbing and Mechanical Code

Confidence: Medium (0.75)

Source(s): Planning and Building

Official contacts

Confidence: High (0.8)

Need a solar installer who handles permits in Fairfax?

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 Fairfax, California?

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is the interconnection and distribution utility for Fairfax. The default electricity generation supplier is MCE (Marin Clean Energy), a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), separate from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E).

Who do I contact about solar permits in Fairfax?

Town of Fairfax Planning and Building Department, phone 415-453-1584, email planning@townoffairfaxca.gov.

Disclaimers: This page is for informational purposes only and is not legal, engineering, financial, tax, or permit advice. GridPermit is not a solar installer, contractor, engineering firm, public utility, or government agency. Requirements, fees, and program terms change. Verify current requirements with Town of Fairfax Planning and Building Department and PG&E before starting a project. Last verified 2026-08-09.

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