Solar installations in Sonoma County, CA
38,058 recorded installations in Sonoma County, California — capacity, prices and the installers doing the work.
At a glance
Sonoma County, California has 38,058 recorded solar installations totalling 427.6 MW of capacity — the 17th-highest count among the 58 California counties with records, and 2% of the state total. That is about 18.4% of the county's 206,319 housing units, against 16.6% statewide. The median installed price is $4.62/W before incentives, roughly in line with the California median of $4.26/W.
Dataset updated . Sources: LBNL Tracking the Sun + city permit records + state programs + USGS/EIA utility-scale.
Severe-weather exposure: solar sites here have been matched to an average of 0 hail and 1 high-wind NOAA storm events — a regional inspection/maintenance signal (proximity, not confirmed damage).
Search every recorded installation in Sonoma County by installer, size, date and equipment.
Search sites →Independent check:Stanford's DeepSolar detected about 18,216 solar arrays here from 2018 satellite imagery — our recorded data covers roughly 209% of that. A yardstick, not dated records.
Most active
Top installers in Sonoma County
| # | Installer | Installs here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunrun | 5,283 |
| 2 | Tesla | 3,738 |
| 3 | Northern Pacific Power | 2,228 |
| 4 | Sunpower | 1,017 |
| 5 | Solar Works | 1,000 |
| 6 | Rockin Roofers | 963 |
| 7 | Solarcraft Services | 875 |
| 8 | Suntegrity Solar | 768 |
| 9 | Synergy Solar | 699 |
| 10 | Freedom Forever | 670 |
Growth
Installations by year
How does Sonoma County compare with the rest of California?
The median recorded system in Sonoma County is 5.63 kW, roughly in line with the state median of 5.92 kW. 15% of installations here are third-party owned (lease or power-purchase agreement), compared with 29% across California. 9,068 systems (24%) of the county's records include battery storage, against 16% statewide. By share of housing units with a recorded system, Sonoma County ranks 28th of 57 California counties with at least 10 installations.
How has solar adoption changed in Sonoma County?
The earliest recorded installation in Sonoma County dates to 1998. The busiest year on record is 2023, with 4,591 installations. 2025 has 2,684 recorded installations so far. The county's cumulative total rose from 18,798 at the end of 2020 to 38,058 today. Recent years fill in as state programs and permit offices report, so the latest counts are provisional.
Who installs solar in Sonoma County?
Sunrun has the most recorded installations in Sonoma County (5,283, 14% of the county's records). Other active installers here include Tesla, Northern Pacific Power and Sunpower. Installers based anywhere in California are listed in the state installer directory.
Frequently asked questions
How many homes have solar in Sonoma County?
PanelCensus records 38,058 solar installations in Sonoma County, California (427.6 MW of capacity) — about 18.4% of the county's 206,319 housing units (U.S. Census ACS). Coverage depends on California's public reporting, so the true total is likely higher.
How much does solar cost in Sonoma County?
The median installed price for recorded systems in Sonoma County is $4.62/W before incentives; the median system is 5.6 kW. The California median is $4.26/W.
Who installs solar in Sonoma County?
The most active recorded installers in Sonoma County are Sunrun (5,283), Tesla (3,738) and Northern Pacific Power (2,228).
How much of the solar in Sonoma County is leased?
5,881 recorded installations (15%) in Sonoma County are third-party owned — a lease or power-purchase agreement, compared with 29% across California.
How big is a typical solar system in Sonoma County?
The median recorded system in Sonoma County is 5.6 kW, against 5.9 kW for California as a whole.
More solar data near Sonoma County
- Solar in California· 2,413,021 installations
- Solar installers in California
- Solar in Ventura County· 47,971 installations
- Solar in Placer County· 44,647 installations
- Solar in Solano County· 44,023 installations
- Solar in San Mateo County· 31,278 installations
- Solar in San Luis Obispo County· 30,116 installations
- Solar in El Dorado County· 27,208 installations
County assignment is derived from installation ZIP codes via the Census 2020 ZCTA↔county crosswalk (primary county by land-area overlap) — approximate at county boundaries. Market penetration = recorded installations ÷ housing units (U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year, Table B25001); it undercounts where dataset coverage is partial. See methodology.
About this data
Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Tracking the Sun, merged with city permit records, state incentive programs and the USGS U.S. Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database / EIA-860 plant registers, as published October 10, 2026 — PanelCensus refreshes it as each source publishes new records. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: PanelCensus, “Solar installations in Sonoma County, California”, https://panelcensus.com/solar/california/sonoma-county (data as of October 10, 2026).