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How to Start a Solar Business in Florida

Florida’s cities have a lot of flat commercial roofs, parking lots, and self-storage sites. A solar business there also has to plan for state licensing, utility interconnection, and wind design before the first project.

This page is about selling and installing solar equipment and installation services. It is not an offer to sell electricity, and it does not describe a power purchase agreement.

1. Decide what kind of solar business you are building

GoBien licenses a brand and platform to independent businesses. Read how an independent solar business works with GoBien. Any customer agreement used in Florida should be reviewed by a Florida attorney before anyone signs it.

2. Form your company

Register an LLC or corporation with the Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), get an EIN, open a business bank account, and set up books and records. Work with a Florida attorney and accountant from the beginning.

3. Understand Florida licensing

Solar contracting is licensed at the state level. Florida Statutes section 489.105(3)(o) defines a “solar contractor” as a contractor whose services consist of the installation, alteration, repair, maintenance, relocation, or replacement of solar panels for potable solar water heating, swimming-pool solar heating, and photovoltaic systems, and the appurtenances and equipment used with them. The Construction Industry Licensing Board, under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, issues the certified solar contractor credential.

The same statute says a contractor who is already certified or registered under chapter 489 does not have to become a solar contractor, or subcontract with one, in order to perform solar work that is already within that contractor’s own scope. Electrical contractors are licensed separately by DBPR’s Electrical Contractors’ Licensing Board. Confirm with DBPR, before work starts, whether the utility interconnection on a project can be done under the solar contractor certificate or must be done by a licensed electrical contractor.

4. Florida limits retail sales of electricity

Florida Statutes section 366.02 defines a “public utility,” in relevant part, as a person or company supplying electricity to or for the public within the state. Municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives are excluded from that definition. A business that supplies electricity to the public is in public-utility territory, which is regulated by the Florida Public Service Commission.

Public Service Commission Rule 25-6.065, titled Interconnection and Metering of Customer-Owned Renewable Generation, says the term “customer-owned renewable generation” does not stop the customer from contracting with a third party to purchase, lease, operate, or maintain an on-site renewable system, if the terms do not include the retail purchase of electricity from that third party. Selling and installing equipment, and performing licensed installation work, is a different activity from supplying electricity.

Whether a specific contract crosses that line is not decided on this page. The Commission’s declaratory statements about particular residential equipment leases were limited to the facts in those petitions.

5. Know the utility rules

Much of Florida is served by investor-owned utilities, including Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida, and Tampa Electric, plus municipal utilities and cooperatives. Rule 25-6.065 is the PSC rule for interconnection and metering of customer-owned renewable generation served by electric public utilities. Because section 366.02 excludes municipalities and rural electric cooperatives from the definition of public utility, those utilities set their own interconnection and credit terms. Check the utility on each property. How net metering works explains the general idea.

6. Build for hurricanes

Installations have to meet the Florida Building Code wind design for the site. Design wind speeds are higher along the coast than inland. Use racking and attachments engineered for that site, and confirm the roof is sound first. See should you replace your roof before solar?

7. Choose a first market and customer

Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville are the largest markets. A practical first customer for an installation or sales business is often a property owner with a large, simple roof, such as a self-storage facility. Sites with parking lots may also fit solar covered parking. Browse the GoBien directory.

How GoBien fits in

GoBien licenses a brand and platform to independent businesses that do their own installation and sales work. You do not have to be the person holding the contractor license if a properly licensed contractor performs the work. This Florida page does not offer to supply electricity to a customer. Start a conversation if you want to ask about the brand license.

Looking for a job in Florida solar instead? See solar power jobs in Florida.

Questions

What license do I need to install solar in Florida?

Florida Statutes section 489.105(3)(o) defines a solar contractor as a contractor who installs, alters, repairs, maintains, relocates, or replaces solar water-heating, pool-heating, and photovoltaic systems and the equipment used with them. The Construction Industry Licensing Board, through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, certifies that license. A contractor already certified or registered under chapter 489 does not have to obtain a separate solar contractor license to do solar work that is already inside that contractor’s scope. Electrical contractors are licensed separately by the Electrical Contractors’ Licensing Board. Whether a particular interconnection must be performed by a licensed electrical contractor, rather than under a solar contractor certificate alone, should be confirmed with DBPR before the work starts.

Does Florida limit who can sell electricity?

Yes. Florida Statutes section 366.02 defines a public utility, in relevant part, as a person supplying electricity to or for the public within the state. Municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives are excluded from that definition. Florida Public Service Commission Rule 25-6.065 states that a customer may contract with a third party to purchase, lease, operate, or maintain an on-site renewable system only on terms that do not include the retail purchase of electricity from that third party. This page is about installation and sales of solar equipment and installation services. It is not an offer to sell electricity.

Does Florida have net metering?

Rule 25-6.065, Florida Administrative Code, is the Public Service Commission rule on interconnection and metering of customer-owned renewable generation. It applies in the PSC’s rules for electric public utilities. Municipal electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives are not public utilities under section 366.02, and they set their own interconnection and credit terms. Check the utility that serves the property.

Do solar installations in Florida have to meet wind requirements?

Yes. Photovoltaic installations have to meet the Florida Building Code wind design for the site. Design wind speeds are higher in coastal areas than inland, so the racking and attachments have to match the site, not a generic inland design.

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