Butte County, CA Solar Energy: Expedited Solar Permitting (2026)

Chapter 26, Article VII (§§ 26-100 through 26-103) governs small residential rooftop solar energy systems in unincorporated Butte County. Adopted by Ord. No. 5, which required every California county to adopt an expedited permitting ordinance by September 30, 2015. Section 26-101 defines a covered system as one no larger than 10 kilowatts AC nameplate rating or 30 kilowatts thermal, installed on a single or duplex family dwelling, and not exceeding the maximum legal building height. 5. Section 26-103 is the operative expedited-review provision: the Building Official must develop and publish a checklist and structural criteria on the county website, and applicants may submit by personal delivery, mail, or electronic submittal (email, internet, or facsimile) with an electronic signature accepted in lieu of a wet signature.

Before submitting, the applicant must verify through standard engineering evaluation that the roof support structure can carry the added wind, seismic, dead, and live loads, and must verify at the applicant's own cost that the existing electrical system, wiring, and panel sizing can carry the new photovoltaic load. For a system eligible for expedited review, only one inspection is required, done in a timely manner; a failed inspection authorizes one follow-up inspection that is not bound by the same expedited timing. An application meeting the checklist is deemed complete; an incomplete one draws a written correction notice detailing the deficiencies.

Once complete, the Building Official administratively approves the application and issues the permits, though that approval does not authorize connecting the system to the utility grid, which the applicant must arrange separately with the utility.