Eligibility
Eligibility
The San Diego Solar Equity Program offers monetary assistance to income-qualifying, single-family homeowners in the City of San Diego to offset the cost of solar panel installation.
Homeowner Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the solar incentive, a customer must meet all of the following eligibility requirements. Eligibility requirements are rolled out in phases as described in the Eligibility Table below. The Solar Contractor you select will assist you in the application and approval process. If you apply for the program in a phase for which you do not qualify, your application will be cancelled, and you will have to re-apply in the appropriate phase.
| Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 6 months (August 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024) |
3 months (February 1, 2024 to April 30, 2024) |
2 months (May 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024) |
| Eligibility | Total household income less than 80% AMI AND located in a Community of Concern | Total household income less than 120% AMI and located in a Community of Concern OR total household income less than 80% AMI | Total household income less than 120% AMI |
- Income
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This is an income-qualifying program. Participating households must have a total household income of 80% or 120% or less of the San Diego County Area Median Income (AMI). Refer to the Eligibility Table above for income requirements by phase. The total household income must meet this requirement for at least 12 months prior the date of application.
Customers will need to provide income verification as part of the application process or submit documentation indicating proof of enrollment in another income-qualifying program such as the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) Program or the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA).
- Home Address
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Eligible customers must reside within the San Diego city limits.
Additionally, in some phases of the program eligibility requirements, your home address must be located within a Community of Concern as defined by the City of San Diego's Climate Equity Index (CEI). If applying to Phase 1, your home must be in a Community of Concern. If applying to Phase 2 and your AMI is between 80% and 120% AMI, your home must be located in a Community of Concern. Refer to the Eligibility Table above for more details. If you are unsure if this applies to you, please use the linked tool to search for your address and refer to the provided guidance on the Resources page of the website.
- Property Type
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To participate you must be a single-family homeowner. “Single-family” includes detached homes, as well as duplexes, quadplexes, or mobile/manufactured homes.
- No Existing Solar Systems
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To be eligible for the program, you cannot already have a PV (photovoltaic) system installed on your home. A photovoltaic system is composed of one or more solar panels combined with an inverter and other electrical and mechanical hardware that use energy from the sun to generate electricity.
Solar Contractor Eligibility Requirements
Becoming an approved Solar Contractor for the San Diego Solar Equity Program is easy. To become an eligible Solar Contractor, you must meet all of the following requirements.
- Wages
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Participating Solar Contractors are required to pay a prevailing wage to all workers involved in the solar panel installation, as defined by the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).
Solar Contractor will be required to provide verification of prevailing wage, if requested.
- Licensed Solar Contractor
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Participating Solar Contractors must be certified to install solar systems per the California Contractors State Licensing Board (CSLB). This includes active licenses A, B, C-10, or C-46.
- Energy Efficiency Education
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Participating Solar Contractors must commit to discuss energy efficiency with each customer during the initial consultation phase. Energy efficiency upgrades are not required, but the Solar Contractor must ensure each customer has a basic understanding of energy efficiency including the current and future energy needs that their new solar system will support.
- Job Training
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While job training is not a formal requirement, it is highly encouraged. Participating Solar Contractors that provide 40 hours of training time on the project will be eligible for an additional incentive per project.
Eligible job training hours do not need to be solely spent on the specific program project and can be spread across the Solar Contractor’s other projects, provided that these projects are not funded by another solar incentive program requiring job training.