California / Local permit guide
Millbrae Solar Permit Guide
Your local requirements. The official sources. A clearer next step.
- Permit authority
- City of Millbrae Building DivisionSource linked
- Electric utility
- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)Source linked
- Local pathway
- Streamlined in-house review for SolarPV systemsProject-specific eligibility conditions apply.
- Review time
- Up to 15 daysOnly the stated upper bound is verified. The source's project scope and conditions apply.See source scope and conditions below.
San Mateo County · Explore related utility guides
Jump to a section
Planning a new solar project? See the homeowner quote option →
Research coverage
Your permit path,
at a glance.
This shows what GridPermit has verified for Millbrae. It does not show the status of a specific project.
01 / Know your path
Two approvals.
One project.
A local permit and utility permission to operate are different approvals. Check the local sequence and requirements below.
How to read this guide
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
Up to 15 days
Only the stated upper bound is verified. The source's project scope and conditions apply.
The city's Building Division page states 'Permit applicants should allow 15 days for all plan check activities to be performed' as the standard timeline; solar PV systems are separately described as qualifying for a streamlined, in-house expedited review, which the source suggests may be faster than the standard 15-day timeline but does not itself quantify.
Sources & confidence
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.
Sources & confidence
02 / Prepare your application
What you need.
Not yet verified.
Permit fees
Some supporting official material could not be independently confirmed from the full source in GridPermit's latest review. Verify the current requirement with the authority before relying on it.
Not yet verified.
Rebates on record
Rebates on record
Not yet verified.
Utility and generation supplier
Utility
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
PG&E's own electric service territory map covers all of San Mateo County. Some supporting official material could not be independently confirmed from the full source in GridPermit's latest review. Verify the current requirement with the authority before relying on it.
Sources & confidence
Generation supplier
WestLight Energy (formerly Peninsula Clean Energy) - ECOplus (default) (Community Choice Aggregator)
Confirmed directly via WestLight Energy's own site, which states it serves San Mateo County (including Millbrae) and the City of Los Banos, with ECOplus remaining the default product (50% renewable, rates effective July 1, 2026, lower than PG&E). PG&E continues to handle billing, metering, and outage response. The City of Millbrae's own civic-alert page previously cited for this rebrand (CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=164) returned a confirmed 404 on re-check; searching the City's current site found no live replacement page documenting this specific rebrand (the City's own 'Energy Conservation' page, ci.millbrae.ca.us/337/Energy-Conservation, is itself stale and still links to the pre-rebrand peninsulacleanenergy.com domain rather than westlightenergy.org). Rather than cite a dead or non-corroborating page, this fact is now supported solely by WestLight Energy's own official site, which independently and currently confirms Millbrae/San Mateo County coverage.
Sources & confidence
Interconnection
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.
Inspection steps
- Call the Building Division at 650-259-2330 to schedule an inspection
- Inspections are conducted Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
This is the City's general Building Division inspection scheduling process (the same page covers all building permit types, including solar); the City's page does not describe a separate, solar-specific inspection sequence.
Sources & confidence
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: Streamlined in-house review for SolarPV systems
- Other conditions:
- The city's own page states: 'Certain types of permits may be subject to a streamlined permitting process and will be reviewed in-house as time allows, these permits/plans are typically for SolarPV systems, kitchen, and bath remodels'
Sources & confidence
Official contacts
Official contacts
- City of Millbrae Building Division, phone: 650-259-2330, email: PTech@ci.millbrae.ca.us, official website
- SGIP Program Administrator (PG&E territory), official website
Need a solar installer who handles permits in Millbrae?
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 links to EnergySage as an independent third-party resource. This link is not currently tracked for compensation.
Official sources
Official sources
- Building Division, City of Millbrae (government). Accessed 2026-08-05.
- PG&E's Electric Service Territory, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (utility). Accessed 2026-08-05.
- WestLight Energy (Homepage) - 'Peninsula Clean Energy is now WestLight Energy', WestLight Energy (formerly Peninsula Clean Energy) (other_official). Accessed 2026-08-13.
- SGIP - Statewide Announcements / About, Self-Generation Incentive Program (statewide administrator site) (program_administrator). Accessed 2026-08-01.
- SGIP - Contact, Self-Generation Incentive Program (statewide administrator site) (program_administrator). Accessed 2026-08-01.
- 2026 Self-Generation Incentive Program Handbook, Self-Generation Incentive Program Program Administrators (program_administrator). Accessed 2026-08-26.
- SGIP Program Metrics and Incentive Step Tracker, Self-Generation Incentive Program Program Administrators (program_administrator). Accessed 2026-08-26.
Frequently Asked Questions
What utility serves solar customers in Millbrae, California?
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is the interconnection and distribution utility for Millbrae. The default electricity generation supplier is WestLight Energy (formerly Peninsula Clean Energy) - ECOplus (default), a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA), separate from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
How long does a residential solar permit take in Millbrae?
The city's Building Division page states 'Permit applicants should allow 15 days for all plan check activities to be performed' as the standard timeline; solar PV systems are separately described as qualifying for a streamlined, in-house expedited review, which the source suggests may be faster than the standard 15-day timeline but does not itself quantify. Only the stated upper bound is verified. The source's project scope and conditions apply.
Who do I contact about solar permits in Millbrae?
City of Millbrae Building Division, phone 650-259-2330, email PTech@ci.millbrae.ca.us.
Related cities
Related cities
Other verified cities related to Millbrae. See all cities on the California solar permit guide index.
- Atherton, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)
- Belmont, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)
- Burlingame, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
- Daly City, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
- East Palo Alto, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
- Foster City, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)