Santa Fe, NM Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Solar photovoltaic installations in Santa Fe are regulated as a building-permit activity under Chapter VII, Building and Housing, of the Santa Fe City Code (SFCC 1987). Section 7-1.1(A) adopts by reference the 2012 New Mexico Solar Energy Code, administered by the state Construction Industries Division under NMAC 14.9.6, which itself adopts and amends the Uniform Solar Energy Code. Because the state code is folded into the city's own building-permit chapter, an installer cannot mount panels on a Santa Fe roof or ground mount without first securing a permit through the Planning and Land Use Department's building-permit process described in Section 7-1.5.

The city's own fee schedule, Table 7-1.11-1 adopted under Section 7-1.11, lists a flat charge of $100.00 per permit for "PV Solar (Commercial or Residential)," separate from the general building-permit administrative fee of $40.00 per permit. Section 7-1.3 requires that this fee schedule be posted at the Planning and Land Use Department and paid in full before any permit or approval under the chapter is issued. Once issued, a residential solar permit follows the same one-year expiration clock as any other residential building permit under Section 7-1.6; commercial installations get two years. Staff who administer the permit are barred by Section 7-1.2 from holding any financial interest in a construction business while reviewing applications.

Failure to comply with the adopted solar code or the building-permit chapter is enforced through Section 7-1.1(B), which routes violations to the general penalty and enforcement provisions at Sections 1-3 and 14-11 SFCC 1987.