Ridgewood, NJ Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

The Village's consolidated fee schedule, Village of Ridgewood Code § 145-6, prices solar photovoltaic installations under two separate Uniform Construction Code subcodes. The building subcode fee list charges a flat $100 for photovoltaic systems, the same flat rate applied to permit updates and to smaller accessory items like garden sheds. The electrical subcode fee list prices the same installation by its design kilowatt rating: $125 for systems from one to 50 kilowatts, $150 for systems from 51 to 100 kilowatts, and $675 for anything larger than 100 kilowatts.

A separate fire protection subcode line item also lists a $100 photovoltaic charge, reflecting that a rooftop or ground-mounted array can trigger review by more than one subcode official under the enforcing agency structure set out in § 125-1(A), the Building Subcode Official, Electrical Subcode Official, and Fire Protection Subcode Official each administering their own piece of the installation. Because § 125-3(A) requires all subcode permit fees to be paid before the Department of Building and Inspections issues the permit, an installer or homeowner effectively pays the flat building subcode fee, the kilowatt-tiered electrical subcode fee, and, where fire subcode review applies, the fire protection fee, all before racking and panels can go up.

Anyone applying should have the system's design kilowatt rating documented up front, since that figure determines which electrical subcode tier applies and therefore the largest component of the total permit cost.