Ground mount in Monterey County, CA

[Electronic]

Hey folks, I am looking at installing solar panels on the ground or on a carport that I intend to build in the spring/summer. I have reasonable quotes for building a 22x22 carport (and I estimated the roof pitch based on my zip code (~30 degrees). Anyone here familiar with Monterey, CA county code for this? I do not intend to DIY, I want to get all the necessary permits and be grid-tied. So I am looking at hiring a local solar installer. But the companies that gave me a quote for ground mount were very expensive. I'd appreciate any help/suggestions on this. If you are an installer and want to give me a quote I'd be happy to hear from you also.

Thanks,
Frank

 

[zanydroid]

You are generally allowed to DIY with permits and grid tie in California, that’s the main savings. Lots of people on the forum from California that have done it

If the carport is treated as a roof for permitting you can use regular roof mount hardware, this is pretty easy to ramp up on how to build.

(There are some AHJ that doesn’t allow DIY owner builder)

 

[Electronic]

Thanks @zanydroid. I am not well versed in all the codes. I have the technical ability and very handy but I do not have much time to put into it. Busy with work. I hear the permitting process is lengthy where we are. So all of these making me think twice before I delve into doing DIY myself. I am looking for locals or at least people nearby who has the experience and maybe willing to help.

 

[hwy17]

I'm in Santa Cruz County and I got a quote from a Monterey based installer at $4.50/watt I think for a ground mount in 2022. I passed on that.

 

[zanydroid]

Thanks @zanydroid. I am not well versed in all the codes. I have the technical ability and very handy but I do not have much time to put into it. Busy with work. I hear the permitting process is lengthy where we are. So all of these making me think twice before I delve into doing DIY myself. I am looking for locals or at least people nearby who has the experience and maybe willing to help.

I don't believe it's easy at all to find someone with a license willing to do this on a budget, for a roof mount. And ground mounts are generally more site visits, soft costs, than a roof mount, so chances are worse.

Who did you hear from about permitting difficulty? For solar it is pretty turn-key for roof mounts in California, permit-ready package is super easy to outsource and commoditized. POCO processes are well documented within DIY community. People on the forum have also slowly slogged out engineer stamped plans for value-priced ground mounts, and if you want to simplify matters you may also pay a markup for pre-engineered systems.

In most AHJs I'm familiar with in California, if you want to grid tie legally you will need to carry the appropriate insurance to allow you to hire people as employees. Due to this being a conditional of owner-builder permit.

 

[Electronic]

I'm in Santa Cruz County and I got a quote from a Monterey based installer at $4.50/watt I think for a ground mount in 2022. I passed on that.

That would be a bargain now. It is more like $7.5 these days. So what did you end up doing?

 

[Electronic]

I don't believe it's easy at all to find someone with a license willing to do this on a budget, for a roof mount. And ground mounts are generally more site visits, soft costs, than a roof mount, so chances are worse.

Who did you hear from about permitting difficulty? For solar it is pretty turn-key for roof mounts in California, permit-ready package is super easy to outsource and commoditized. POCO processes are well documented within DIY community. People on the forum have also slowly slogged out engineer stamped plans for value-priced ground mounts, and if you want to simplify matters you may also pay a markup for pre-engineered systems.

In most AHJs I'm familiar with in California, if you want to grid tie legally you will need to carry the appropriate insurance to allow you to hire people as employees. Due to this being a conditional of owner-builder permit.

It is not the difficulty of permitting, the whole installation and permitting will need a lot of my time. I would be willing to pay someone the market rate if it costs less than the quotes I have gotten (which price in the 30% federal credit and then some). And yeah I am not sure I have the right insurance for grid tie owner-builder permit. So another reason to hire someone who has.

 

[zanydroid]

Roger, yeah, you actually don't save money at all with DIY solar if you value your time at an appropriate rate. LOL.

I believe you can get the info about insurance from people that do owner-builder on remodels.

Ground mount would be more specialized than roof, in terms of who would bid for it.

Have you looked at pre-engineered structures for solar carport? Maybe they can refer to a GC that can put that up for you, and won't charge you as much as a C-46 company. You pay more $$$ on the other end (for the product)

 

[hwy17]

That would be a bargain now. It is more like $7.5 these days. So what did you end up doing?

Tried to pull a permit for DIY but santa cruz county told me no DIY allowed so I just did it unpermitted.

 

[Electronic]

Roger, yeah, you actually don't save money at all with DIY solar if you value your time at an appropriate rate. LOL.

You are right, I always underestimate value of my time. But at least in this case I am trying not to.

I believe you can get the info about insurance from people that do owner-builder on remodels.

Ground mount would be more specialized than roof, in terms of who would bid for it.

Right, it would require them to be able to build a ground mount structure, right?

Have you looked at pre-engineered structures for solar carport? Maybe they can refer to a GC that can put that up for you, and won't charge you as much as a C-46 company. You pay more $$$ on the other end (for the product)

I have done some google searches. A lot of the ones I have seen online have metal frames. I was thinking of building the carport out of wood. Do you have any recommendation for pre-engineered structure companies?

 

[zanydroid]

Right, it would require them to be able to build a ground mount structure, right?

They have to know how to do it, and it involves mostly different components from rooftop as well as extra site visits and engineering to determine which ground mounts work for your soil etc

For a roof top mount, the house or structure locks everything to the ground.

I have done some google searches. A lot of the ones I have seen online have metal frames. I was thinking of building the carport out of wood. Do you have any recommendation for pre-engineered structure companies?

There are contractors that specialize in stick building solar pergolas and carports. It probably won’t save you money, but you might get a nicer product

Manufacturers sell complete carport and pergola kits too, Like this one

Chiko USA Premier Residential Steel Carport | Black | Solar Pergola | Solar Gazebo

Stylish Chiko USA Black Steel Carport with integrated solar pergola and gazebo, perfect for residential use. Combines sleek design with eco-friendly energy solutions.

signaturesolar.com

Another thing to look into is overbuilding a carport so that it counts as a regular structure, then you can use standard roof mounts for it, that’s more like $3-4 /W for turnkey for the solar part only.

The shops that stick build solar pergolas probably have ready to go process and design to pour a bigger foundation or whatever to be able to deal with the extra uplift of solar panels vs a regular pergola.