Georgia Home Solar Permits and Interconnection: Step by Step
Georgia home solar permits and utility interconnection are two separate approvals: your city or county issues the building and electrical permits, and your electric utility (Georgia Power, an EMC or a city utility) must approve the connection and grant permission to operate before the system is switched on. Getting the order right, and not buying equipment before the utility has reviewed your application, avoids most of the delays and surprises homeowners in Atlanta, Savannah, Macon and the rest of the state run into.
This guide walks through the process step by step for a typical roof-mounted home system in the U.S. state of Georgia, using the utility and city documents that are public today. Rules differ between utilities and between local governments, so treat it as a map of the questions to ask, then confirm each step with your own utility and permitting office.
Step 1: Find out who your utility is and which rules apply
Many Georgians are not Georgia Power customers. Electric membership corporations (EMCs) and city-owned utilities serve large parts of the state, and each sets its own interconnection application, fees and buy-back rate. Your bill tells you which utility you have. Two examples show how different the rules can be:
Item | Georgia Power (RNR tariff) | Cobb EMC (Schedule DG-1) |
Residential size limit | 10 kW AC or less for the RNR program | 10 kW for residential installations |
How you apply | Online through PowerClerk, usually by the installer | Interconnect agreement through the Cobb EMC portal, at least 45 days before you plan to connect |
Interconnection fee | $100 for projects up to 250 kW AC, billed after interconnection | $100, billed to your account |
Credit for energy you export | Instantaneous Netting: Solar Avoided Energy Cost rate (3.2188¢/kWh for 2026) plus a 4¢/kWh adder | Avoided-cost purchase rate, currently $0.04554/kWh for systems connected on or after July 1, 2015 |
Cobb EMC serves members in Cobb, Bartow, Cherokee, Fulton and Paulding counties. If you are with a different EMC or a city utility, look for its "distributed generation" or "member solar" page and its rate schedule before you sign anything. Rates can change: Cobb EMC's schedule says its purchase rates may be adjusted annually, and Georgia Power's avoided cost rate is set each year.
Step 2: Choose your Georgia Power billing program before you size the system
If Georgia Power serves you, the program you pick affects how large the system should be:
RNR Instantaneous Netting credits each kWh you send to the grid at the Solar Avoided Energy Cost rate plus a Renewable Generation Adder of 4¢/kWh. It is open on a first-come, first-served basis until all participating renewable capacity reaches 0.2% of the company's previous-year peak demand.
RNR Monthly Netting is not available to new customers. The tariff limits it to an existing 5,000-customer pilot.
Energy Offset is the default if you do not choose a program. It has no system size limit, but the system is not designed to push energy back onto the grid and you are not paid for any excess.
Exported energy is credited at these export rates, not at the per-kWh charges on your bill, so compare the two on your own bill before deciding how much of your output you expect to export. As an illustration (assumptions, not a quote): 300 kWh exported in a month would earn about $21.66 under Georgia Power Instantaneous Netting at 2026 rates (7.2188¢/kWh) and about $13.66 at Cobb EMC's current purchase rate. That gap is why an installer's estimate should state how many kWh it expects you to export, not just total production.
Step 3: Check the roof, the trees and any HOA covenants
Do this before you request final designs:
Roof readiness. Removing and reinstalling panels later to replace a worn roof adds cost, so an older roof may need replacing first. Ask how roof leaks at mounting points are handled and who warrants the penetrations.
Structure. In Atlanta, plan sets must show roof pitch, sheathing and framing type, and any structural modification needs drawings sealed by a Georgia-licensed professional engineer.
Trees. Shade from pines and oaks is common in Georgia. Atlanta's express solar checklist limits tree pruning to 20% of the live canopy, so check local tree rules before you assume trees can be trimmed.
HOA rules. We could not confirm today whether Georgia has enacted a statewide law limiting HOA restrictions on rooftop solar; HOA solar bills have been introduced in the General Assembly. Read your covenants, apply to your architectural review committee in writing, and get approval before you sign an installation contract.
Step 4: Apply to the utility, then wait for its review
For Georgia Power, the customer or installer submits the application in PowerClerk with a one-line electrical diagram (hand-drawn diagrams are not accepted), a site plan, and inverter and battery spec sheets showing UL 1741 SB and IEEE 1547-2018 compliance. If you are adding a battery that can run in backup mode, a separate non-export form is required.
Georgia Power's residential interconnection summary advises customers not to buy any equipment until it has reviewed the application. The review can flag problems such as equipment that does not meet the standards or local grid upgrades, which may add time. After review, you sign the service and interconnection agreement electronically; Georgia Power signs after you and sends the fully executed copy when it grants permission to operate.
EMCs have their own forms and lead times. Cobb EMC, for example, asks members to start the agreement at least 45 days before the planned interconnection date, with the contractor supplying the system's technical specifications.
Step 5: Pull the local permits
Your city or county (the "authority having jurisdiction") issues permits and inspects the work. Requirements vary, so check your local building department. The City of Atlanta's Office of Buildings is a useful example of what to expect:
Roof-mounted residential and commercial systems of 25 kW or less can use Atlanta's express permitting process, and express permits can be reviewed within 30 minutes.
Zoning, building and electrical approvals are required as applicable to the scope of work, and the electrical permit fee is a minimum of $175, based on project valuation.
Applicants provide at least two complete plan sets, including a cover sheet listing applicable codes as adopted and amended by the State of Georgia, a roof plan and a one-line diagram.
Technical items on the checklist include rapid shutdown, UL 1741-listed inverters and combiners, and mounting hardware rated for 90-mph winds with at least 40 lbs of uplift resistance.
Outside Atlanta, ask your county or city building department for its solar checklist, fee schedule and inspection list. Requirements, fees and inspection steps can differ from Atlanta's.
Step 6: Install, inspect, witness test and get permission to operate
Installation. The installer builds the system and tells the utility when construction is complete.
Local inspection. Georgia Power requires the local inspection before interconnection. In Atlanta the required inspection is a final electrical inspection, which also checks roof attachments, open conduit and junction boxes, and sealed flashing.
Witness test and meter. Where Georgia Power requires a witness test, the system must pass it before it may operate in parallel with the grid. For projects under 250 kW AC, a meter technician schedules the test. Georgia Power then programs the meter for bi-directional service where applicable; its tariff lists no charge for bi-directional metering. Cobb EMC swaps the existing meter for a net meter.
Permission to operate (PTO). Do not switch the system on before you receive the PTO letter. Georgia Power's summary says it reserves the right to disconnect service for an unapproved interconnection, and the interconnection fee must be paid before PTO.
Questions to ask any Georgia installer about permits and interconnection
Who files the utility application and the local permits, and will you send me copies of both approvals?
Which utility program (for example Instantaneous Netting or Energy Offset) did you assume, and how many kWh per month do you expect me to export?
What is your system size in kW AC (inverter rating) as well as kW DC, and does it stay within my utility's residential limit, including any battery inverter?
Does the contract make final payment depend on passing inspection and receiving PTO?
Do your savings figures assume a federal tax credit? The IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and an expenditure counts as made when installation is completed. Some older utility and sales pages still mention a 30% credit, so confirm the current position with a tax professional.
Also note that Georgia Power states that neither it nor the State of Georgia currently offers incentives or rebates for residential solar installations.
Assumptions and limits
This guide uses Georgia Power, Cobb EMC and City of Atlanta documents read on November 12, 2026. Other EMCs, city utilities and counties have different rules, fees and timelines, and none of the documents we read give guaranteed review times. The export credit example uses 2026 published rates and a hypothetical 300 kWh export; it is illustrative only, not a quote or project data. This is general information, not legal, tax, structural or electrical advice. Every system needs utility approval, local permits and a licensed contractor.
More Georgia solar analysis
Keep reading ReneEnergy's independent analysis for Georgia homeowners:
Browse more posts in our Going Solar category.
Sources
Georgia Power, Rooftop solar: How it works. georgiapower.com
Georgia Power, Rooftop solar FAQs (2026 Solar Avoided Cost rate, 10 kW AC limit). georgiapower.com
Georgia Power, Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources tariff RNR-11. PDF
Georgia Power, BTM Distribution Interconnection Summary (Residential), revision 08.15.2025. PDF
Georgia Power, Rooftop solar: Ready to install. georgiapower.com
Cobb EMC, Solar Energy Center and "I'm ready to install rooftop solar." cobbemc.com/solar-energy; cobbemc.com/im-ready-install-rooftop-solar
Cobb EMC, Distributed Generation Rate Schedule DG-1, effective January 1, 2026. PDF
City of Atlanta Office of Buildings, Express Solar Panel Install Checklist (Ver. 12/21). atlantaga.gov
City of Atlanta Office of Buildings, Express Services permit list. atlantaga.gov
IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit. irs.gov
IRS, FAQs for modification of sections 25C, 25D and others under Public Law 119-21 (FS-2025-05). irs.gov
Fact-checked November 12, 2026.
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