Solar panels in Lee County, FL

• Lee County publishes a Solar Photovoltaic Guide (updated December 2023) for unincorporated areas. It lists the 2023 Florida Building Code, the county's development code and the 2020 National Electrical Code, and requires a licensed contractor registered with the county.
• The morning after Hurricane Milton in October 2024, about 39% of FPL's Lee County customers were without power, per the Public Service Commission.
• In unincorporated Lee County, the FEMA 50% rule doesn't apply if the home, including its machinery and equipment, already meets current flood rules.
• FPL's 2025 report to the Public Service Commission lists 4,909 customer-owned solar systems on its lines in Lee County, 694 of them connected in 2025, by our count. See Florida solar by county.

Permits and zoning rules are set town by town. Highlights from each town's own rules:

• Boca Grande: Much of Boca Grande sits in a Lee County historic district, so exterior work goes to the Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board. In September 2024 the board unanimously approved two rooftop solar installations, one with its panels on the rear of the house, out of view from Gilchrist Avenue. See solar on historic homes in Florida.
• Bonita Springs: Bonita Springs homes are on FPL, not the LCEC co-op that serves nearby Cape Coral and Marco Island. The city lists FPL as its electric utility.
• Estero: The Village of Estero runs its own building and permitting office at 9401 Corkscrew Palms Circle, and its trade permit form says solar applications must include a Solar Roof Truss Affidavit at the time of application.
• Fort Myers: FPL serves the City of Fort Myers, while most of the rest of Lee County gets power from LCEC, an electric co-op. If you're near the city's edge, check the name on your bill.
• Fort Myers Beach: Fort Myers Beach applies a stricter version of FEMA's 50% rule: the value of repairs or improvements must include every permit pulled on the home in the past five years.
• Gateway: Gateway is run in part by the Gateway Services Community Development District, a special district created in 1986; most of it is unincorporated Lee County, with a portion inside the City of Fort Myers, so check which one issues your permit.
• San Carlos Park: San Carlos Park has Fort Myers mailing addresses but is unincorporated, so Lee County, not the City of Fort Myers, issues solar permits, and contractors file them through the county's eConnect system.
• Whiskey Creek: In February 2026 Lee County confirmed the final assessments for dredging Whiskey Creek; a trade publication reported more than 350 waterfront owners being charged about $2,190 each, with some saying the channel still shows only about 2 feet at low tide.

Each town page has the full details and sources.

No. Under Florida law (s. 193.624), the value a solar system adds to a home isn't counted in its assessed value. If you're unsure whether anything needs to be filed, ask the Lee County Property Appraiser.

Solar equipment is also exempt from Florida sales tax, so it's already left out of the installed price.

FPL credits the solar you send to the grid as a kWh credit at the full retail rate. Unused credits roll forward for up to 12 months, and anything left at year-end is paid out at only a few cents per kWh, so systems are sized to cover a year of use. Solar can't take a bill below the monthly minimum ($30 at FPL).

See the full FPL solar guide.

Choosing a company? Check each installer's Florida license, compare at least two quotes and run them through our solar quote checker.