Pinal County Solar PV Permit: What Rooftop and Ground-Mount Systems Need

Solar on unincorporated Pinal County land takes a county photovoltaic permit and a plan review before anyone climbs on the roof. Rooftop and ground-mount both. Two things set the county's review apart. It works from the 2018 code family with the 2017 electrical code, an edition behind the metro cities. And a modular or mobile home carries a requirement no stick-built house does: a sealed letter from an Arizona registered engineer. The county lists the whole package in Information Bulletin 021.

When a solar permit is required

Any residential solar install on unincorporated land needs a county PV permit, roof or ground. Pinal County Building Safety is the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) outside any city, so it runs both the plan review and the inspections. Inside Casa Grande, Maricopa, or another incorporated city, you apply to that city. Your HOA can weigh in on where the panels go, within the limits state law puts on it. That side is covered in can an HOA stop me from putting solar on my house in Arizona.

What you submit: the plan set

The county reviews a plan set with several parts before it issues the permit. For a residential PV system, plan to file:

• A site plan that shows the roof-mounted or ground-mounted arrays and the major components on the lot.
• Electrical diagrams, meaning a one-line and a three-line diagram. Each shows wire type and size, the number of conductors, conduit type and size, the modules and inverter, and the utility disconnect.
• Major component information: the inverter, modules, array, and any batteries. Give model numbers, manufacturer cut sheets, and UL listings. Array data covers the number of modules in series, operating voltage and current, maximum system voltage, and short circuit current.
• Mounting details. For a roof mount, note the weight of the array in pounds per square foot, the roof covering (comp, tile), and the roof framing, such as trusses at 24 inches on center. Show how the panels attach and how the roof penetrations are sealed. For a ground mount, detail the anchoring system.

Roof access, pathways, and fire setbacks

Rooftop arrays have to leave room for firefighters, so the county sets access pathways and clear space at the ridge. The bulletin is specific:

Provide no fewer than two access pathways, on separate roof planes; one pathway to be from the street side or driveway.

Those pathways run at least 36 inches wide, from the lowest roof edge up to the ridge. The clear space at the ridge depends on how much roof the panels cover. Take up a third of the roof area or less and you leave an 18-inch clear setback on both sides of the ridge. Cover more than a third and that setback grows to 36 inches on each side. The rules come from the International Fire Code (IFC), Section 1204 of the 2018 edition, which governs conductor marking, roof access, and spacing.

Structural and electrical review

The county confirms two things: that the roof can carry the panels, and that the wiring meets code. On the structural side, the array weight in pounds per square foot and the roof framing tell the reviewer whether the existing structure holds the load. Electrical notes cite the 2017 National Electrical Code. Equipment goes in under NEC Article 690 and carries the required warnings and signage. Arizona leaves code adoption to each local jurisdiction, and Pinal County sits on the 2018 I-codes with the 2017 electrical code.

One rule stands out for manufactured housing. A PV system on the roof of a modular or mobile home has to be structurally evaluated. The permit application must include a sealed certification letter from an Arizona registered engineer. That letter states the home can carry the loads under the county's adopted 2018 codes, and that the panel assembly and standoffs meet the manufacturer's specs. Budget for that letter before you sign an install contract, because it is engineering work no rooftop quote assumes.

What a clean Pinal submittal looks like

For example, take a homeowner near Florence adding a 7 kilowatt rooftop array to a tile roof framed with trusses at 24 inches on center. The plan set gives the array weight in pounds per square foot and both electrical diagrams. Cut sheets and UL listings cover the modules and inverter. The roof plan draws two 36-inch access pathways on separate roof planes, one of them reaching the driveway side. The panels cover under a third of the roof, so the plans leave an 18-inch clear setback along the ridge. Notes cite the 2017 NEC and 2018 IFC Section 1204. A reviewer checks the package, the permit issues, and an inspector signs off the mounting and wiring before the system goes live.

Fitting solar into the rest of the county process

If you are adding panels during a new build, the PV plans move alongside the county building permit for the house, and both get reviewed against the 2018 codes Pinal County adopted. The install is checked in the county inspection sequence like any other trade. Whether solar pencils out on a new home is a separate question, taken up in is solar worth it on a new construction home in Arizona. Have your installer pull the current submittal list from Information Bulletin 021 rather than reusing a plan set drawn for a city job.