Let’s start with the part most solar companies leave out of pages like this.
If you qualify for a no-cost programme, take it. It will almost certainly be a better outcome for you than anything we could sell you. There is no commission in these programmes, which is exactly why you rarely see an installer write about them. We would rather you got solar the cheapest way available to you than not at all.
This page explains what actually exists in Richmond and San Pablo, who qualifies, how to apply, and what your options are if you don’t. Every programme detail below was checked against the administering organisation’s own materials on 30 August 2026.
Is there really a free solar program in Richmond and San Pablo?
Yes — for households that qualify. It is not a marketing gimmick, and it is not a lease dressed up as a gift.
The main route is DAC-SASH — the Disadvantaged Communities Single-family Solar Homes programme. It is overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission and delivered by the non-profit GRID Alternatives. GRID describes it as providing qualifying low-income homeowners with up-front rebates to defray the cost of installing a solar electric system. In practice, for many qualifying households, the incentive covers the installation and there is nothing to pay.
Separately, the City of San Pablo runs its own partnership with GRID Alternatives, offering rooftop solar at no cost to qualifying San Pablo homeowners as part of the city’s Climate Action Plan.
Neither of these is us. We are not the delivery partner for either one, we don’t get paid if you enrol, and this page is not a lead form for them. GRID’s contact details are below and you should use them directly.
One caution, said plainly because it is our whole approach to numbers: some programme pages advertise very large percentage savings. No solar system in PG&E territory can remove your whole bill. PG&E’s Base Services Charge — about $24 a month since March 2026 — is, in PG&E’s own words, “not eligible to be offset by monthly generation credits.” Households on CARE or FERA pay a reduced version of that charge, but it does not go to zero. Free solar is genuinely worth having. It is not a zero bill, and anyone who tells you otherwise is setting you up to be disappointed.
Who qualifies for DAC-SASH, and how do you find out?
GRID Alternatives publishes four eligibility requirements:
1. Utility. You must receive electric service from PG&E, SCE or SDG&E. Everyone in Richmond, San Pablo and El Cerrito is on PG&E for delivery, so this one is satisfied here.
2. Ownership. You must own and occupy a single-family home as your primary residence. Renters are not eligible for DAC-SASH. (If you rent, ask your landlord — and see the multifamily note below.)
3. Location. Your address must sit in a disadvantaged community identified by the CalEnviroScreen 4.0 map — GRID’s page says only homes in the red areas qualify.
4. Income. Household income must be at or below CARE or FERA programme limits. Those limits change, so check the current figures rather than an old table — if you are already on CARE or FERA with PG&E, you have very likely cleared this test.
How to apply: complete GRID Alternatives’ online eligibility form, call them toll-free on (866) 921-4696, or email qualify@gridalternatives.org for a pre-screening conversation.
One thing to know about the map, because it is genuinely in flux right now. The disadvantaged community designation currently in force is built on CalEnviroScreen 4.0. On 1 July 2026 OEHHA released CalEnviroScreen 5.0, and CalEPA published a preliminary 2026 designation for public comment, which closed on 14 August 2026. That preliminary designation proposes to carry forward census tracts that overlap at least 25% with a tract designated under the 2022 list. It has not been finalised, and Bay Area coverage has flagged that some tracts in West Contra Costa look different under the new tool.
What that means for you, practically: do not self-disqualify from a map. Tract boundaries changed, the new designation is not final, and grandfathering is on the table. Call GRID with your address and let them check it.
What does San Pablo’s own city partnership cover?
The City of San Pablo has partnered with GRID Alternatives to install rooftop solar at no cost to qualifying San Pablo homeowners, under the city’s Climate Action Plan. The city’s published requirements are:
- You own and occupy the home — renters are not eligible
- The roof is suitable and largely shade-free — GRID carries out the assessment
- The property is in a qualifying, state-funded area
- Household income is at or below the programme limits, which scale with household size
The programme also includes maintenance and monitoring.
Who to call: the City of San Pablo on (510) 215-3066, or GRID Alternatives on (866) 921-4696. The city directs residents to GRID’s San Pablo page at `gridsolar.org/cityofsanpablo/`.
Two honest caveats. First, these programmes run on fixed annual budgets and applications are taken on a rolling basis, so there is usually a wait — get in the queue rather than waiting for a better moment. Second, roof condition is a real gate. If your roof is near the end of its life, a no-cost programme may not be able to proceed until that is dealt with, and that is worth finding out early.
What happens if you don’t qualify — what are the honest options?
If you’re over the income limit, outside a qualifying tract, or you rent, here is the actual position in 2026 with nothing sugar-coated:
The 30% federal residential tax credit is gone. Section 25D expired on 31 December 2025. If you buy a system for your own home now, there is no federal credit on the purchase. Any installer’s site still advertising one has not updated it — we wrote about what is and isn’t left.
California’s property tax exclusion for active solar sunsets on 1 January 2027. AB 2389, which would have extended it, died in Assembly Appropriations in May 2026. We won’t predict whether it is revived; we’re telling you the date on the calendar.
A lease or PPA may still capture a federal credit — because the provider owns the system and claims it under the business regime, not you. That is a genuine route for households without tax appetite. It is also a long contract with an escalator clause and a transfer clause, and those two clauses are the ones to read first.
Buying still works, at a smaller scale than most people expect. Richmond and San Pablo have older, smaller housing stock with modest roof planes, and under net billing the right answer is a system sized tightly to what you actually use rather than one that fills the roof. Our calculator uses $2,800/kW installed, 36¢/kWh, 1,500 kWh/kW/year for Contra Costa, and no federal credit. A solar-only system here typically covers 40–55% of a PG&E bill; a battery pushes that to 55–75%, but a battery is roughly a $15,000 adder and has to earn its place.
For a sense of scale: the Chauhan family in Richmond went with a 4.44 kW rooftop system, permitted and installed in 63 days. Small, correctly sized, done properly.
And if the numbers don’t work for your house, we will tell you that. It is a shorter conversation and it costs us nothing to be straight about it.
How does MCE change the numbers in West Contra Costa?
Richmond, San Pablo, El Cerrito and Hercules are served by MCE for electricity generation. That changes your bill’s supply line — but three things it does not change are the ones that drive solar economics:
- PG&E still owns the wires, still bills you, and still sets the export tariff. So NEM 3.0 net billing applies exactly as it does in a straight PG&E city. Exports earn roughly a quarter of what they earned under NEM 2.0, which is why the value comes from using your own power rather than selling it.
- The Base Services Charge still applies, and still can’t be offset by generation credits.
- CARE and FERA still work the same way, including the reduced base charge, whoever supplies your generation.
MCE runs its own customer programmes, and they change from year to year. We are not going to summarise them from memory — ask MCE directly what is open when you apply.
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Not sure which of these you fit?
Call GRID Alternatives on (866) 921-4696 first. If you qualify, that is the right answer and you don’t need us.
If you don’t qualify, or you’d like someone to check the arithmetic before you commit to anything, book a free consultation. No pressure, no obligation, and we will tell you if the numbers don’t work. You can run them yourself first in our savings calculator, or read how we approach residential systems.
Programme details, eligibility criteria and contact numbers verified 30 August 2026 against GRID Alternatives and City of San Pablo published materials. Programmes and funding change — confirm with the administrator before relying on anything here.