Solar permits in North Carolina: where installs are being filed
For solar installers
Every solar installation in North Carolina needs a permit, and the permit names the installer. This guide counts the permits that mention solar or photovoltaic work, shows where they're being filed and who's installing.
- Permits, last 12 months
- 1,961
- Last 90 days
- 434
- Last 30 days
- 134
- Contractors on the list
- 12
- most active, below
When solar needs a permit in North Carolina
A solar system adds electrical equipment and wiring, which the state's $40,000 permit exemption (G.S. 160D-1110) doesn't cover — so every install needs at least an electrical permit, whatever its size. Offices that review the roof or the racking add a building permit as well.
Most offices have no permit type for solar. It's usually filed as an electrical permit, sometimes as a building or roofing permit, so we find it by its description: any permit whose type or description mentions solar, photovoltaic or PV. A permit described only as “electrical” isn't counted, so treat the totals here as a floor.
Connecting the system to the utility is a separate process that doesn't appear in permit records.
The permits worth watching
Solar permits
The install itself, with the installer named. A run of them in one neighborhood is word of mouth at work.
Electrical service upgrades
A new panel or service often comes before or alongside a solar install — and a home that just upgraded its service has the capacity for one.
Roofing and new roofs
Installers want a new roof under the panels. A roofing, addition or new-home permit is the moment to talk about solar.
New homes
Builders that offer solar as an option choose one installer for a whole community. The builder is the account to win.
Where the work is
1,961 solar permits in the last 12 months, by the permit office that issued them and by ZIP code. Each links to its own page.
Solar permits by city
Every permit office with 50 or more of these permits in the last year has its own page: counts by month, the busiest ZIP codes, who's pulling them and recent filings.
Who's doing the work
The contractors pulling the most of these permits in the last 12 months — your competitors, or the builders and GCs worth a call.
| Contractor | Last 12 months | Last 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Top Tier Solar Solutions, LLC | 141 | 6 |
| NC Solar Now, Inc. | 112 | 44 |
| 8Msolar LLC | 89 | 29 |
| Southern Energy Management, Inc | 70 | 12 |
| Nc Solar Now | 61 | 11 |
| Complete Solar, Inc. | 59 | 18 |
| 8MSolar | 45 | 12 |
| Cate Associates Inc. DBA Yes Solar Solutions | 41 | 6 |
| Luminasun Smart Home, LLC | 41 | 34 |
| 8m Solar, LLC | 35 | 9 |
| Renu Energy Solutions, LLC | 30 | 6 |
| Cape Fear Solar Systems LLC | 29 | 16 |
Recent permits
A sample from 30 or more days ago. Permit Search and the daily email have them as they're filed.
| Address | Type | Value | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 112 HALPEN DRCary 27513 | ElectricalPVRS | $50K | Issued | |
| 122 TRINITY GROVE DRCary 27513 | ElectricalE102 | $20K | Issued | |
| 1432 JENKS CARPENTER RDCary 27519 | ElectricalPVRS | $43K | Issued | |
| 709 S ELAM AVEGreensboro | ElectricalElectrical | — | Issued | |
| 636 COBALT INDIVIDUALWilmington 28412 | ElectricalNHC Residential Building | $10K | Issued | |
| 1217 PAVO PATHWendell 27591 | ElectricalResidential Alteration | — | — | |
| 801 GOLDEN PLUM LNZebulon 27597 | ElectricalResidential Alteration | $25K | In review | |
| 8 LOXWOOD CTGreensboro | ElectricalResidential | $28K | Issued | |
| 109 RAPPORT DRCary 27519 | ElectricalPVRS | $38K | Issued |
How to work the list
- 01
See who's installing where
The contractor table and each installer's page show where they work. ZIPs nobody is working are open territory.
- 02
Watch the roofs
Roofing, addition and new-home permits in your ZIPs are the homes about to get a new roof — the best time to install.
- 03
Follow the service upgrades
Electrical service-upgrade permits flag homes adding capacity. Work them inside your own sales area.
Solar permits in North Carolina: common questions
- Do you need a permit to install solar panels in North Carolina?
- Yes. A rooftop or ground-mounted solar system adds electrical equipment and wiring, which the state's permit exemption doesn't cover, so it needs at least an electrical permit — and a building permit where the office reviews the roof or racking.
- How many solar permits are filed in North Carolina?
- 1,961 permits in the last 12 months mention solar or photovoltaic work in their type or description. Most were filed in Mecklenburg County (933), Wake County (356) and Durham (253). Most are filed as electrical permits; a few offices file them as roofing or building permits.
- Who pulls the most solar permits in North Carolina?
- By permits in the last 12 months: Top Tier Solar Solutions, LLC, NC Solar Now, Inc. and 8Msolar LLC. The table above has the top twelve, each linked to its own page where it has one.
More guides
- North Carolina building permits: the guide
- Roofing permits in North Carolina
- HVAC permits in North Carolina
- Building permit data for general contractors
- The Charlotte region: building permits guide
- The Triangle: building permits guide
- The Triad: building permits guide
- Wilmington and the Cape Fear region: building permits guide
Get these permits as they're filed
Tell us your ZIP and the first list of new permits lands in your inbox right away, then every Monday morning. Free, no card. Pro adds daily alerts and the contractor's contact details.
Source: TarSignal, from North Carolina public building permit records, data through October 2, 2026. Refreshed nightly. Counts include every permit type a jurisdiction files — trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) as well as building permits — so one project can appear more than once. Values are what the applicant declared, where the jurisdiction records one. We keep improving how we collect each office's permits, so a count that steps up suddenly usually means more complete records, not more construction.