Yes—you can often add more solar, but the right way to do it depends on which PG&E program your current system is under. That part matters because it determines whether you can expand your system normally or if you need to approach it differently.

If your system is on NEM 2.0, you generally have more flexibility. PG&E allows you to increase the size of your system (typically up to about 10% or 1 kW, whichever is greater) without changing your current agreement. If your added usage is small, that may be enough to offset your new true-up bill. However, if you need a larger increase than that, PG&E will usually require you to move to the newer NEM 3.0 structure for the entire system—which changes how your excess energy is credited and can reduce the value of exporting power back to the grid.

If your system is already on NEM 3.0, you can still add more solar, but the economics are different. Under NEM 3.0, exporting extra energy back to PG&E doesn’t pay much, so simply adding more panels isn’t always the best strategy. Most homeowners in this situation benefit from pairing additional solar with a battery, so you can store energy and use it during peak-rate hours instead of sending it back to the grid at a lower value.

There’s also a third option that comes into play, especially for homeowners on NEM 2.0 who don’t want to lose their current benefits. In many cases, you can install a separate non-export system. This means the new solar produces power for your home but doesn’t send excess energy back to PG&E, allowing you to keep your original NEM 2.0 agreement intact. It’s a more advanced setup, but it can be a very effective way to cover increased usage without giving up favorable terms.

The key is understanding how much your usage has increased and then designing the right solution around your current NEM status. That’s exactly what a proposal will show you—whether a small expansion works, whether a non-export add-on makes more sense, or whether a solar + battery upgrade under NEM 3.0 gives you the best long-term outcome.

You can install solar without a battery, but with how PG&E pricing works today, solar by itself usually doesn’t deliver the level of savings most homeowners expect.

PG&E’s highest rates are in the late afternoon and evening—right when your solar system isn’t producing much power. During the middle of the day, your system may generate more electricity than you can use, and that excess gets sent back to PG&E. Under today’s rules, they credit that power at a much lower value than what they charge you later. So you’re effectively giving them power cheaply during the day and buying it back at a premium at night. That gap is what limits the savings with a solar-only system.

A battery changes that equation. Instead of exporting your extra solar during the day, you store it and use it in the evening when PG&E rates are the highest. That means you’re using more of your own energy and relying less on the grid when it’s most expensive. In practical terms, it allows you to avoid those peak charges that drive most of your bill.

For many homeowners, the difference isn’t small. Solar-only might reduce your bill, but a properly sized solar + battery system is what’s designed to maximize savings under PG&E’s current structure. It gives you more control over when and how you use your energy, rather than being at the mercy of utility pricing.

The best way to see it clearly is to look at both options side by side. A good proposal will show you what your costs look like with solar only versus solar with a battery—using your actual usage and PG&E rate plan—so you can see which one truly puts you in the strongest financial position over time.