Oakland solar incentives in 2026: what is left after the federal credit ended
Last verified: November 11, 2026 · Written and checked by the DuloCore research team
Oakland solar incentives look very different in 2026. The 30% federal tax credit ended for home systems installed after December 31, 2025, so what is left for an Oakland homeowner is a battery rebate from Ava Community Energy, a few income-qualified state programs, and the export credits paid under the Solar Billing Plan. The checker below sorts these programs for your situation, and every amount links to the official page we checked today.
The short answer
- Federal credit: ended. The IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit "will not be allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025," and an expense counts as made when installation is completed (IRS FS-2025-05, checked Nov 11, 2026).
- Ava SmartHome Battery: open. $90 per kWh of battery capacity you agree to share, or $500 per kWh for CARE or FERA customers, plus $3 per shared kWh per month, paid quarterly (Ava Community Energy, checked Nov 11, 2026). The battery must be connected to solar.
- Income-qualified homeowners: GRID Alternatives installs DAC-SASH solar at no cost in qualifying neighborhoods (CPUC), and the SGIP equity budget pays $1,100 per kWh of storage and $3,100 per kW of solar (CPUC fact sheet, checked Nov 11, 2026; funding is limited, see the SGIP step tracker).
- Closed: the general SGIP home-battery rebate and the SGIP Equity Resiliency budget closed on December 31, 2025 (SGIP), and retail-rate net metering closed to new systems on April 15, 2023 (CPUC).
Incentive checker
Answer four questions. The checker marks each program open, closed or waitlisted as of November 11, 2026, using only the amounts on our program page. It is an estimate, not an eligibility decision.
Your answers stay in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere. Figures the checker uses: Ava's $90 or $500 per shared kWh and $3 per shared kWh per month (Ava); SGIP equity $1,100 per kWh for up to 15 kWh and $3,100 per kW for up to 5 kW (CPUC); installed cost from $2.54 per watt (EnergySage, Oakland, November 2026) to $3.50 per watt, plus $1.70 per watt with a battery (Berkeley Lab national medians for 2024 installs).
Why many pages still say 30%
A lot of solar pages about Oakland were written in 2023 to 2025 and still promise "30% back." The law changed on July 4, 2025 (Public Law 119-21). The IRS also answers the most common follow-up: paying for a system on or before December 31, 2025 does not keep the credit if installation was completed later (IRS). EnergySage's Oakland cost page, updated November 6, 2026, says the credit "is no longer available for systems purchased with cash or a loan" (EnergySage). If a 2026 quote subtracts a federal credit from your price, ask the seller which IRS rule allows it, in writing. Our tax credit page also covers the property tax exclusion for systems finished before January 1, 2027.
What still saves money
Without the federal credit, most savings come from your bill. New Oakland systems go on the net billing tariff, where exports earn credits based on their value to the grid, usually less than the price of power you buy (CPUC). That makes a battery more useful, because stored solar can cover the 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. hours when PG&E says energy costs more (PG&E). See cost and net billing for cited price ranges, the Oakland permit route for same-day SolarAPP+ permits, and installer checks before you sign.
Sources
- IRS FS-2025-05, FAQs on Public Law 119-21 (Aug 21, 2025): https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-for-modification-of-sections-25c-25d-25e-30c-30d-45l-45w-and-179d-under-public-law-119-21-139-stat-72-july-4-2025-commonly-known-as-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-obbb (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- Ava Community Energy, SmartHome Battery for residents: https://avaenergy.org/go-electric/residential-solar-storage/smarthome-battery/residents/ (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- CPUC, Solar in Disadvantaged Communities: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/SolarInDACs (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- GRID Alternatives, DAC-SASH: https://gridalternatives.org/what-we-do/program-administration/dac-sash (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- CPUC, SGIP Residential Solar and Storage Equity fact sheet: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/energy-division/documents/self-generation-incentive-program/sgip-fact-sheet---residential-solar-and-storage-equity_ver2.pdf (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- SGIP, Program metrics and step tracker (as of 11/11/2026): https://www.selfgenca.com/home/program_metrics/ (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- SGIP, About and budget closures: https://www.selfgenca.com/home/about/ (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- CPUC, Net Energy Metering and Net Billing: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries-and-topics/electrical-energy/demand-side-management/customer-generation/net-energy-metering-and-net-billing (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- SOMAH, Incentives and finance: https://calsomah.org/incentives-finance (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- PG&E, Generator and Battery Rebate Program: https://www.pge.com/en/outages-and-safety/outage-preparedness-and-support/general-outage-resources/generator-and-battery-rebate-program.html (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- BayREN, EASE Home: https://www.bayren.org/ease-home (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- California BOE, Active Solar Energy System Exclusion: https://boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/active-solar-energy-system/ (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- EnergySage, Cost of solar panels in Oakland, CA (updated Nov 6, 2026): https://www.energysage.com/local-data/solar-panel-cost/ca/alameda-county/oakland/ (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- Berkeley Lab, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage: 2025 Data Update (Oct 2025): https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/2025-10/Distributed%20Solar%20%26%20Storage-2025%20Data%20Update.pdf (accessed Nov 11, 2026)
- PG&E, Solar Billing Plan: https://www.pge.com/en/clean-energy/solar/getting-started-with-solar/solar-billing-plan.html (accessed Nov 11, 2026)