Is solar worth it in your city?

Independent viability reports for 20 California locations — the 15 largest cities plus Stanford & Berkeley — powered by NREL irradiance data and live utility rate detection.

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Showing all 20 reports · sorted by viability score · Chula Vista leads at 96/100
96

Chula Vista

ZIP 91910 · #15 · 276K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,816 kWh
LCOE
$0.072/kWh
Payback
6.5 yr
Utility
SDG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
95

San Diego

ZIP 92101 · #2 · 1.4M
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,643 kWh
LCOE
$0.074/kWh
Payback
6.6 yr
Utility
SDG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
89

Long Beach

ZIP 90802 · #7 · 451K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,667 kWh
LCOE
$0.073/kWh
Payback
7.2 yr
Utility
SCE
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
89

Bakersfield

ZIP 93301 · #9 · 413K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,679 kWh
LCOE
$0.073/kWh
Payback
7.2 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
89

Stanford

ZIP 94305 · University
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,594 kWh
LCOE
$0.074/kWh
Payback
7.2 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
89

Atherton

ZIP 94027 · Peninsula
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,577 kWh
LCOE
$0.074/kWh
Payback
7.2 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
89

Redwood City

ZIP 94061 · Peninsula
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,577 kWh
LCOE
$0.074/kWh
Payback
7.2 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
89

Irvine

ZIP 92618 · #13 · 311K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,614 kWh
LCOE
$0.074/kWh
Payback
7.3 yr
Utility
SCE
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
89

Santa Ana

ZIP 92701 · #14 · 310K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,596 kWh
LCOE
$0.074/kWh
Payback
7.3 yr
Utility
SCE
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
88

San Jose

ZIP 95113 · #3 · 1.0M
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,493 kWh
LCOE
$0.075/kWh
Payback
7.3 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
88

Fresno

ZIP 93721 · #5 · 545K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,475 kWh
LCOE
$0.075/kWh
Payback
7.3 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
88

Stockton

ZIP 95202 · #11 · 322K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,404 kWh
LCOE
$0.076/kWh
Payback
7.4 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
88

Arnold

ZIP 95223 · Sierra foothills
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,440 kWh
LCOE
$0.076/kWh
Payback
7.4 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
88

Riverside

ZIP 92501 · #12 · 315K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,728 kWh
LCOE
$0.073/kWh
Payback
8.0 yr
Utility
Riverside PU
Export
Net metering
Excellent — install with confidence
88

Los Angeles

ZIP 90012 · #1 · 3.8M
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,637 kWh
LCOE
$0.074/kWh
Payback
8.1 yr
Utility
LADWP
Export
Net metering
Excellent — install with confidence
88

Anaheim

ZIP 92805 · #10 · 345K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,572 kWh
LCOE
$0.074/kWh
Payback
8.2 yr
Utility
Anaheim PU
Export
Net metering
Excellent — install with confidence
87

Berkeley

ZIP 94704 · UC Berkeley
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,262 kWh
LCOE
$0.078/kWh
Payback
7.5 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
87

Oakland

ZIP 94607 · #8 · 419K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,172 kWh
LCOE
$0.079/kWh
Payback
7.6 yr
Utility
PG&E
Export
NEM 3.0
Excellent — install with confidence
87

Sacramento

ZIP 95814 · #6 · 528K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,401 kWh
LCOE
$0.076/kWh
Payback
8.3 yr
Utility
SMUD
Export
Net metering
Excellent — install with confidence
86

San Francisco

ZIP 94103 · #4 · 810K
System Size
4.5 kW
Annual Yield
7,147 kWh
LCOE
$0.079/kWh
Payback
8.6 yr
Utility
CleanPowerSF
Export
Net metering
Excellent — install with confidence

No matching report found

We don't have a report for that location yet. You can generate one from the command line:

python -m solar_fetch YOUR_ZIP --system-kw 4.5 --output report.html

About These Reports

Each report models a 4.5 kW south-facing residential rooftop system using irradiance and weather data from the NREL Developer Network (PVWatts v8). The utility and electricity rate are detected automatically per ZIP; for the three CPUC-regulated investor-owned utilities (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E) we apply current NEM 3.0 export pricing, while municipal utilities (LADWP, SMUD, Anaheim, Riverside) use their own net-metering tariffs.

Viability scores (0–100) combine levelized cost of energy (LCOE), simple payback period, net present value (NPV), solar resource quality, panel orientation, and local market maturity into a single weighted index (25% resource + 50% economics + 15% site fit + 10% policy). A score of 65 or above is rated "Good" for most homeowners; all 20 locations here clear that bar, reflecting California's high retail rates and strong solar resource.

Data sources: NREL PVWatts, OpenEI URDB, EIA rate data, and Berkeley Lab TTS. Built for DATA 201 at Cal Poly Humboldt. — Explore all 2,593 CA ZIPs on the heatmap →