In 1977, Real Goods President and cofounder John Schaeffer was 29 years old and living in an off-grid community in Mendocino County, California.

Steve Troy left Real Goods and focused his company Jade Mountain (founded in 1979) on appropriate technology and renewable energy systems.

[6] In August 2008, Real Goods Solar acquired Santa Cruz, California-based Independent Energy Systems for $3.6 million.

[6] In October 2008, Real Goods Solar acquired Campbell, California-based Regrid Power for $3.8 million in cash and stock.

The combined company retained the Real Goods Solar name, Nasdaq ticker RSOL, and Louisville, Colorado headquarters.

[8] In December 2014, John Schaeffer purchased 100% of the Real Goods retail, catalog, and e-commerce business from RGS Energy for $1 million.

Deri has stated that "As a teenager, I actually remember reading the Real Goods catalog and Solar Living Sourcebook and being inspired by them.

It is a popular tourist attraction and rest stop along U.S. Route 101, and is notable for some unique features like its "grow-through car" tree grove and its self-proclaimed "weird restrooms" made from recycled plastic bottles and repurposed toilet tank lids.

In October 2015, a solar-powered cannabis dispensary, Emerald Pharms, opened on the property, focusing on the medical, non-psychoactive CBD strains, and on education.

It was a 5,000 square foot building made of strawbales and pneumatically impacted stabilized earth (PISE), and was designed using passive solar principles so that it requires little additional heat and light beyond what is provided by the sun.

The company tracked its progress through regular updates in its mail order catalogs, and in 1997 the goal was completed three years early.

[14] In 2007, Real Goods earned Forest Stewardship Council certification when it increased the post-consumer recycled paper content for its catalogs from 20% to 30%.

Real Goods made a contribution that allowed Go Zero to plant nearly 1,500 trees, which offset the company's operations at its headquarters and fulfillment center for that year.

[18] Real Goods has received three Rodale Awards, as well as news coverage in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Time and numerous other publications.