Solar Panel Repair in California: $250 to $1,900, 13 Closed
Solar panel repair in California costs $250 to $1,900 in Los Angeles in Angi's 2026 data, and $275 to $1,900 in San Francisco.
California has the largest installed base of any state and the longest list of failed installers, so orphaned systems are common from San Diego to Sacramento. 13 failed solar installers have confirmed or reported customers in California, including Sunnova, SunPower and Freedom Forever. California requires a licensed contractor for solar electrical work and a permit for most removal and reinstall jobs.
Key numbers
- Jun 2025SunnovaFiled or closed
- Aug 2024SunPowerFiled or closed
- Apr 2026Freedom ForeverFiled or closed
Solar service in California covers repair, removal and reinstall, battery add-ons, inverter replacement, maintenance and inspection of home solar systems by contractors licensed under California rules, including systems whose original installer has gone out of business.
Solar installers that went out of business in California
NEM 3.0 (since April 15, 2023) credits exports at avoided cost for new interconnections, which makes batteries worth more and makes keeping a legacy NEM 2.0 system producing worth protecting; most repairs and like-for-like replacements preserve a legacy tariff, but adding capacity can trigger a review.
Know what the system needs? Call the line for the job: solar repair, new equipment, or roof work.
| Installer | Filed or closed | Status | Accounts now with | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunnova | Jun 2025 | Chapter 11 | SunStrong Management LLC services Sunnova leases and PPAs and handles loan accounts, but says it does not repair systems owned outright or on a loan. | Sunnova guide |
| SunPower | Aug 2024 | Chapter 11 | Leases/PPAs: SunStrong Management (sunstrong.youronlineaccount.com). Cash/loan systems: no servicer. | SunPower guide |
| Freedom Forever | Apr 2026 | Converted to Chapter 7 | No successor servicer. | Freedom Forever guide |
| Titan Solar Power | Jun 2024 | Chapter 7 | EnergyAid (energyaid.net) holds Titan's monitoring data and offers paid service. | Titan Solar Power guide |
| Lumio reported | Sep 2024 | Chapter 11 | Zeo Energy Corp. (New Port Richey, FL) committed to complete uninstalled Lumio contracts with the financing partners. | Lumio guide |
| ADT Solar reported | Jan 2024 | Exited solar | ADT (parent) says it will honor the 25-year limited workmanship warranty and 25-year power production guarantee. | ADT Solar guide |
| Vision Solar reported | Dec 2023 | Chapter 7 | No successor servicer. | Vision Solar row |
| Sungevity | Mar 2017 | Chapter 11 | None for legacy (pre-2017) systems. Pineapple Energy owns the brand for new California business. | Sungevity row |
| Infinity Energy | Nov 2023 | Closed | No successor servicer. | Infinity Energy row |
| Solcius | Feb 2024 | Chapter 7 | EnergyAid (monitoring and paid service). | Solcius row |
| Kuubix | 2023 | Closed | No successor servicer. | Kuubix row |
| Suntuity reported | 2024 | Closed | EnergyAid (monitoring network and paid service); loans/leases remain with original financiers. | Suntuity row |
| Sunworks | Feb 2024 | Chapter 7 | EnergyAid (monitoring and paid service); financiers unchanged. | Sunworks row |
Installers with confirmed or reported customers in California. 'Reported' means presence in the state comes from press or company statements rather than a court record.
Own a California system from one of these companies? Call the line for the job you need.
Solar repair, removal and battery service in California: what it costs
Published national ranges apply in California with local labor adjustments: a diagnostic visit $100 to $500, a string inverter replacement $1,000 to $3,500, removal and reinstall for a new roof $200 to $600 per panel, a battery add-on $13,000 to $18,000 installed, and an inspection $150 to $350. The cost tables list every published source and date.
| Service | What to expect in California | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Repair | Inverter faults, wiring, monitoring; parts under warranty from the manufacturer | Solar panel repair |
| Removal and reinstall | Detach and reset for roofing; usually a new permit | Removal and reinstall |
| Add a battery | AC-coupled batteries fit any existing array; utility interconnection approval needed | Add a battery |
| Inverter replacement | Electrical permit in most cities; licensed contractor required | Inverter replacement |
| Inspection | Baseline an orphaned system or a purchase | Inspection |
| Maintenance | Annual plan or inspection | Maintenance |
Service pages apply nationally; California rules are in the table below.
California solar license, permit and complaint rules
| Rule | California |
|---|---|
| License required for solar electrical work | CSLB license: C-46 Solar, C-10 Electrical, or B General Building (C-10 required for energy-storage/electrical scope in most cases); CSLB Solar Energy System Disclosure document required at sale. |
| Licensing board | www.cslb.ca.gov |
| Permits for repair, removal and reinstall | Removal-and-reinstall generally requires a new building/electrical permit and re-inspection from the local AHJ (the system is being re-attached and re-energized); a like-for-like string-inverter swap usually needs an electrical permit and may need utility notification; a single microinverter/optimizer warranty swap is typically treated as repair with no permit. Rules are AHJ-specific; verify with the local building department. California requires permits for PV and ESS; SolarAPP+ is accepted by many AHJs for like-for-like work; Title 24 and Rule 21 interconnection updates may be triggered by inverter changes. |
| Where to complain | Contractors State License Board (complaints against licensed/unlicensed contractors); California Attorney General Public Inquiry Unit; CPUC Solar Consumer Protection Guide www.cslb.ca.gov / oag.ca.gov |
| Net metering | NEM 3.0 'net billing tariff' since 2023-04-15 for new PG&E/SCE/SDG&E customers: exports credited at avoided-cost values (roughly 75-80% lower than NEM 2.0); legacy NEM 1.0/2.0 customers grandfathered for 20 years from interconnection. CPUC was considering further virtual-NEM revisions in 2025. |
From the state licensing board, consumer office and utility commission sources listed below. Checked October 11, 2026. Permit rules are set by the city or county.
Attorney general actions on solar in California
No lawsuit or settlement by the California attorney general against a residential solar sales company dated 2023 to 2026 was located in the attorney general's releases. Complaints still go to the consumer office in the table above, and a licensed contractor can be reported to the licensing board.
Solar panel repair in Los Angeles, San Diego and across California
The call lines cover California, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Sacramento, Fresno and San Jose. Each call goes to an independent company that serves the caller's area and takes that kind of job; in parts of the state with fewer companies, the call may reach a company based farther away. Ask any company for its California license number before booking. How calls work.
City guides in California
Local utility rules, permits, storm history, failed installers and prices: solar panel repair in Los Angeles, solar panel repair in San Diego.
Solar rules in other states
Questions people ask
Who repairs solar panels in California if the installer went out of business?
Any California-licensed solar or electrical contractor. Leased systems are repaired by the lessor (SunStrong, Renewbrook, Sunrun). Owned systems get warranty parts from the manufacturer and labor from a contractor you hire.
Do I need a permit to remove and reinstall solar panels in California?
Usually. Removal-and-reinstall generally requires a new building/electrical permit and re-inspection from the local AHJ (the system is being re-attached and re-energized); a like-for-like string-inverter swap usually needs an electrical permit and may need utility notification; a single microinverter/optimizer warranty swap is typically treated as repair with no permit. The city or county building department decides.
Which solar companies went out of business in California?
Confirmed or reported in California: Sunnova, SunPower, Freedom Forever, Titan Solar Power, Lumio, ADT Solar. The bankruptcy tracker has dates, courts and successor servicers.
Where do I complain about a solar company in California?
Contractors State License Board. For a licensed contractor, also the licensing board. For a company in bankruptcy, file a proof of claim with the court's claims agent instead.
Own a system in California that needs work? Solar repair line for faults, roof line for a reroof, new equipment line for a battery.
- 1Call the line
- 2It rings a local company
- 3They give you the price
Sources (7)
- EnergySage: Net Metering Is One Of The Best Solar Incentives. Is It Going Away? (2024-02-07)
- pv magazine USA: Net metering policies see significant revision in states across the U.S. (NC CETC Q1 2025) (2025-04-18)
- GreenLancer: A Guide to Solar Licensing Requirements by State for Contractors (2026-09-28)
- Solar Insure: The Complete List of Solar Bankruptcies and Business Closures (2026-09-29)
- Forme Solar closed-company table (SoCal) (2026-10-06)
- EnergyAid out-of-business page (2026-02-25)
- Angi: How Much Does It Cost to Repair Solar Panels? [2026 Data] (2026-07-10)
Roof, new equipment or solar repair. One call.
Have the inverter brand, your installer's name and the address ready. The company will ask about the job and quote its visit fee before anything is booked. Free call to an independent company in your area that takes this kind of work.