El Dorado County, CA Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

El Dorado County treats solar as an allowed use rather than a special exception: Section 130.40.310 permits active solar collection systems in any zone as long as the installation meets the general standards in Subsection B, with no separate use permit required for a typical residential or commercial rooftop system.

Placement drives which standard applies. A system mounted on the roof of an existing building has to stay within that zone's height limit, the same ceiling that applies to the building itself. A ground-mounted system is classified as an accessory structure, which pulls in the front yard setback for the zone; side and rear setback exceptions for ground-mounted panels are handled separately under Subsection 130.30.050(C)(3)(f), the county's rule on projections into required setbacks for solar collectors. Solar structures built over a parking lot, public or private, can be counted toward the lot's shade-structure requirement under the county's adopted design standards, giving commercial developers a way to satisfy two standards with one canopy.

The one path that requires discretionary review is a system built mainly to generate power for sale to a public utility. Even if that system also serves the property's own electricity needs, Section 130.40.310(B)(4) requires a Conditional Use Permit under Section 130.52.021 before construction, meaning it goes through the Planning Commission hearing process rather than the over-the-counter permitting that covers an ordinary rooftop or ground-mount system sized for on-site use.