The New Economics of Home Energy: A Message to Our Neighbors

Over the past 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of helping hundreds of homeowners throughout Marin and the North Bay take control of their energy costs. Along the way, I’ve watched California’s energy landscape change dramatically. Today, we’re entering another major transition—one that will have a lasting impact on nearly every homeowner.

PG&E has already announced plans that will result in electricity rates increasing by more than 30% over the next handful of years. Even more concerning, many energy analysts believe this is only the beginning. Across the country, utilities are preparing for unprecedented demand as artificial intelligence, electrification, and massive new data centers require enormous amounts of electricity. While no one can predict exactly where rates will land, there is broad consensus within the energy industry that future increases are likely to outpace historical trends.

For homeowners, that means the cost of doing nothing continues to rise.

At the same time, our industry has experienced one of its most challenging years in decades. Following the expiration of the federal residential solar tax credit, many well-known solar companies have closed their doors. Unfortunately, we’ve all seen stories of homeowners left without support after their installer disappeared.

Earthwise Energy has weathered this storm because we have never tried to be the biggest solar company—we’ve simply worked to be the company our neighbors can trust.

From the day we opened our doors, we’ve remained a locally owned, family-operated business focused on quality over volume. We believe in using premium equipment, following installation practices that exceed minimum code requirements, and providing the kind of client experience that earns referrals from friends and neighbors. That commitment has never changed.

Like many businesses in our industry, however, we’ve also seen a significant slowdown this year. Rather than waiting for the market to recover, we’ve spent our time searching for better solutions for our clients.

The good news is that those solutions now exist.

Working with new partners and leveraging the current tax code, we’re now able to offer programs during 2026 and 2027 that allow homeowners to purchase solar and battery systems at prices comparable to—or in many cases even better than—what customers paid in 2025 when the federal tax credit was still available.

These programs are available for homeowners who prefer to purchase their systems outright, as well as those who would rather preserve their cash and make affordable monthly payments. Either way, the goal remains the same: lower monthly energy costs, protection from future PG&E rate increases, and greater energy independence.

As a small local business, we’ve always believed that our best advertising is a satisfied customer telling a friend.

So this month, I’d like to ask for your help.

If you have friends, family members, or neighbors who have been thinking about solar or battery storage—but assumed they had “missed their chance” after the tax credit expired—please let them know that isn’t necessarily the case. The economics have changed again, and many homeowners are pleasantly surprised by what’s available today.

Thank you to everyone who has trusted Earthwise Energy over the years. Your referrals, support, and confidence have allowed us to continue serving this community through changing markets and changing policies.

We’re proud to be your neighborhood energy company, and we look forward to helping many more local families take control of their energy future.