What is the Solar Tax?
- The Solar Tax refers to any kind of fee, charge, or tax that is imposed on people just because they have solar panels on their roof.
- The Solar Rights Alliance is opposed to a Solar Tax of any form.
- A Solar Tax penalizes people for trying to lower their energy bill.
- We also believe a Solar Tax is likely illegal because it discriminates against a certain class of customers.
What Solar Taxes have been proposed?
- The proposals have varied over the years, but the effects would be the same: to penalize you for making your own energy instead of buying it from the utility.
- One Solar Tax proposal in 2021 would have been as much as $700 per year for the average solar user.
Who is pushing a Solar Tax?
- PG&E, Edison, SDG&E, and some local utilities have proposed Solar Taxes.
- We believe that their goal is to reduce the savings you get from rooftop solar, and make you pay them no matter what.
It makes no sense to tax rooftop solar.
A Solar Tax punishes people for trying to lower their energy bill. Are we also going to tax people for turning off their lights or using their AC less often?
The government should instead focus their efforts on reining utility spending and never-ending rate hikes.
Besides, rooftop solar reduces strain on the electrical grid, preventing blackouts. A recent study that was endorsed by a dozen energy experts and economists found that rooftop solar saved all ratepayers $1.5 billion in 2024 alone.
Here are the Solar Tax proposals that you helped to block:
- 2019: Sacramento Municipal Utility District proposed a Solar Tax of between $500 to $700 per year.
- 2021: The CA Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) put forward a utility-backed Solar Tax that would have been $700 per year on average.
- 2021: Utility-backed legislation to impose a new Solar Tax is introduced.
- 2022: The CPUC proposed a different kind of Solar Tax of between $300 and $600 per year.
- 2022: Later that year, the Newsom Administration tried to quietly slip a Solar Tax into a fast-moving bill.
- 2023-2025: Newsom Administration tries three times in three years to quietly sneak a Solar Tax into the Governor’s proposed budget.
Here are the two Solar Taxes that you helped to weaken:
- 2024: Utilities proposed a new, uncapped Utility Tax of $70/month or more. A public outcry wrestled the Utility Tax down to $24/month for most ratepayers. While not technically a Solar Tax because it is charged on all ratepayers, it has a similar effect of punishing people who buy less energy from the utility.
- 2026: Starting in 2027, a longstanding protection against a Solar Property Tax will end. Homeowners who install new solar or battery systems may face higher property taxes. We were able to ensure that all solar and battery systems installed before 2027 remain protected.
To be clear, we oppose both the Utility Tax and the Solar Property Tax and intend to keep fighting to get rid of them.
Where do things stand now?
- History has shown that the utilities will not give up their efforts to tax your solar.
- History has also shown that when solar users speak together, we can beat back Solar Taxes.
- So let’s stay alert and continue to defend your right to make energy from the sun without penalty!
