Is Solar Still Worth It in California Under NEM 3.0? (2026)

Short answer: yes — but the way it saves you money has completely changed. Under California's NEM 3.0, solar is no longer about selling power back to PG&E. It's about storing your own power and using it when the grid is most expensive. Here's what that means for your home in 2026.

What NEM 3.0 actually changed

NEM 3.0 cut the credit you get for exporting solar to the grid by roughly 75% — from near the retail rate (~$0.30/kWh) down to avoided-cost rates that often land around $0.05–$0.08/kWh. In plain terms: sending your extra midday solar back to PG&E now pays very little. So the game is no longer "make extra and sell it" — it's "make it, keep it, and use it at peak."

Why a battery is now essential (not optional)

California's time-of-use rates spike in the evening — roughly 4–9 pm, when solar production is winding down and rates can hit 40–55¢/kWh. A battery lets you store the cheap midday sun and spend it during those expensive hours instead of buying from the grid.

• Self-consumption — you use your own stored solar at peak instead of paying top rates.
• Backup power — the lights, fridge, Wi-Fi and medical devices stay on during an outage.
• It's now the norm — battery attachment on new California solar jumped from ~11% before NEM 3.0 to well over half of installs today.

How long will a battery run my house in an outage?

It depends on what you keep on. A 13.5 kWh battery like the Powerwall 3 typically covers essential circuits — fridge, Wi-Fi, lights, a medical device — for 10 hours or more, and if you have solar it recharges during the day, effectively riding through multi-day outages on your must-run loads.

What about payback?

For most families who use the majority of their solar on-site, a solar + battery system pencils out to a payback in the range of 7–9 years, with households commonly cutting 60–80% off their peak-hour grid costs. Your exact numbers depend on your usage, your roof and your rate plan — which is why we model it around your real bill, not a generic estimate.

Don't forget rebates and incentives

There are PG&E, state and federal programs that change often and depend on your address and income. We check which ones you qualify for and help with the paperwork — start with our rebate finder.

The bottom line

Solar is still worth it in California in 2026 — you just design around storage and self-consumption instead of exporting. Astral is a Tesla Certified Installer serving Mountain House, Tracy, Lathrop, Manteca, Stockton and Livermore, and the assessment is free.