SOLAR ENERGY COSTS DIFFER

How much you’ll pay in city fees to put solar panels on your home depends on where you live — and some fees around Silicon Valley are so high they are placing a cloud over renewable energy, according to a new study.

Saratoga, for example, charges $95 for a permit to install solar panels on a house. Yet in Los Gatos, two miles away, city planners will sock a homeowner with a $1,287 bill for a permit to install the same system.