Solar panels in Palm Beach County, FL

• More than 22,000 Palm Beach County customers had been moved to underground power lines under FPL's Storm Secure Underground Program by January 2026, WFLX reported.
• A tornado damaged homes in Wellington on October 9, 2024, ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall on the Gulf coast.
• FPL's 2025 report to the Public Service Commission lists 10,790 customer-owned solar systems on its lines in Palm Beach County, 1,029 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:

• Arden: Arden is a roughly 1,200-acre master-planned community approved for more than 2,300 homes, with lakes, trails and a community farm; it calls itself South Florida's first agrihood.
• Atlantis: The City of Atlantis runs its own building department, and any exterior work, solar included, must be approved by the city's Architectural Review Committee before a permit is issued; roof repairs and hurricane protection are exempt.
• Boca Raton: Boca Raton says its turnaround time for solar permit approval is three days or less.
• Boynton Beach: Boynton Beach's Energy Edge program offers a city rebate of up to $1,500 per property in a 10-year period for solar systems of 5 kW or larger with panels at least 17.5% efficient, installed by a certified solar contractor. Rebates are first come, first served while funding lasts, and you apply within 90 days of the final permit inspection.
• Delray Beach: Delray Beach earned a SolSmart Bronze designation in October 2017 after working to streamline its solar permit process.
• Glen Ridge: The Town of Glen Ridge issues its own building permits; the town says almost anything you do to your property needs one. Applications need a notarized signature, product spec sheets and signed and sealed plans, and the town manager notarizes free for residents.
• Golf: The Village of Golf sets a seasonal construction moratorium from fall to spring, with exact dates set each year by the village council, and village code bars construction before April 1. Check with the village before scheduling a solar install.
• Greenacres: Since April 2026, Greenacres accepts new permit applications and plans only electronically through the MGO Connect portal, which also handles inspections and fees.
• Gulf Stream: Since 2022, Gulf Stream has had an agreement with the Town of Highland Beach to handle all building permits and inspections, while Gulf Stream keeps its own zoning and architectural review.
• Haverhill: The Town of Haverhill runs its own building department at Town Hall and requires permits for home repair work; permits aren't issued by Palm Beach County.
• Highland Beach: Hurricane Nicole and king tides in November 2022 took out large sections of Highland Beach's dune line, and some homes lost 10 to 20 feet of backyard.
• Hypoluxo: Hypoluxo contracts its building department out to Hy-Byrd Incorporated, and contractors have to register with the town before pulling permits.
• Juno Beach: Juno Beach is home to the headquarters of NextEra Energy, FPL's parent company, on Universe Boulevard.
• Jupiter: Jupiter's building department publishes a "Solar Panels - Photovoltaic" permit handout (revised January 2022). Rooftop solar is created online as a Residential Alteration permit.
• Jupiter Farms: In 2024 FPL was working to bury 45 power lines in Jupiter Farms under its Storm Secure Underground Program. Buried lines cut storm damage, but a battery is what keeps a home running in a wider outage.
• Jupiter Inlet Colony: In February 2024, beach erosion in Jupiter Inlet Colony left drop-offs up to 10 feet high and damaged fences, pool structures and patios at several of the town's 25 beachfront homes. The town closed its beach and planned to extend its granite barrier wall and add sand.
• Lake Clarke Shores: Lake Clarke Shores issues its own building permits, and solar work needs its own sub-permit application on top of the main permit. Contractors register on the MGO portal.
• Lantana: Lantana publishes its own solar checklist: solar projects have to meet the town code, including its chapter on buildings and building regulations, and permits go through the Building Division at 504 Greynolds Circle.
• Loxahatchee Groves: The Town of Loxahatchee Groves publishes its own solar panel permit packet, revised in May 2024 for the 2023 Florida Building Code, which asks for sealed plans and a solar PV worksheet. The town also has a separate permit packet for generators.
• Manalapan: The Town of Manalapan has its own PV solar array application (revised January 2025), and solar permits and inspections are filed through the MGO Connect online portal.
• North Palm Beach: The Village of North Palm Beach takes building permit applications online through its MGO Customer Portal, and contractors must register with the village before applying.
• Ocean Ridge: Ocean Ridge's building forms include a Solar Panel Inspection Affidavit, and the town offers expedited permit review for an extra 50% of the permit fee plus $50.
• Palm Beach: The Town of Palm Beach has been burying its power lines since 2017, in a project estimated to cost up to $150 million. In the latest update, work was complete in 11 of 15 zones, and the final phase was is expected in late 2027 after FPL redesigned it.
• Palm Beach Gardens: Palm Beach Gardens takes permits through its online Civic Access portal, and its Building Division publishes a permit fee estimator and fee schedule.
• Palm Beach Shores: Palm Beach Shores runs its own building department, with walk-in permit intake on weekdays.
• Riviera Beach: FPL's Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center, a natural gas plant of about 1,250 megawatts, was commissioned in April 2014.
• Royal Palm Beach: The Village of Royal Palm Beach issues its own building permits through its Building Division at 1050 Royal Palm Beach Boulevard, and it says most construction work needs a permit.
• Tequesta: The Village of Tequesta posts its own "Solar Panel Permit Submittal Requirements": a building permit application plus signed and sealed engineered plans, with more documents possible during review.
• The Acreage: The Acreage is unincorporated, so solar permits go through Palm Beach County's Permit Center, which accepts applications online through ePZB.
• Wellington: On October 9, 2024, a Hurricane Milton tornado that the National Weather Service rated EF3 started in Wellington and moved across the Lakefield West, Meadowwood and Binks Forest neighborhoods, damaging homes and trees.
• West Palm Beach: West Palm Beach earned a SolSmart Gold designation in 2018, and it offers an expedited residential solar permit for systems of 10 kW or less through its online Enterprise Permitting and Licensing system.
• Westlake: The City of Westlake runs its own building department. Permit packages are submitted as PDFs through the city's CityView portal under the 2023 Florida Building Code and 2020 National Electrical Code, and contractors must register with the city first.

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 Palm Beach County Property Appraiser. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's FAQ says renewable energy devices installed on residential properties are exempt from ad valorem taxes (pbcpao.gov).

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.