San Mateo County has some of the highest home values and household incomes in California — and PG&E rates that make solar ROI exceptional. Palo Alto and Menlo Park homeowners are early adopters; Redwood City and San Mateo's broader homeowning population represents the county's volume solar market. Battery + solar under NEM 3.0 is the standard recommendation.
San Mateo County has some of the highest home values and household incomes in California — and PG&E rates that make solar ROI exceptional. Palo Alto and Menlo Park homeowners are early adopters; Redwood City and San Mateo's broader homeowning population represents the county's volume solar market. Battery + solar under NEM 3.0 is the standard recommendation.
Utility: PG&E. Average monthly bill: $175–$275/month.
Note: California has no state solar income tax credit. The federal 30% ITC is the primary tax incentive.
No — California does not have a state income tax credit for residential solar. The federal 30% ITC is the primary tax incentive, plus CA's permanent property tax exclusion and SGIP battery incentive.
Under NEM 3.0 (effective April 2023 for new installations), exported solar earns ~$0.02–$0.08/kWh instead of the full retail rate. Battery storage is now essential — store excess production and use it at night during peak rate hours instead of exporting at low rates.
The Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) provides per-kWh incentives for battery storage in California — up to $1,000/kWh for qualifying low-income or high fire risk customers. Your installer applies through PG&E on your behalf.