Can government agencies develop programs to help reduce bureaucratic administrative red tape through automated applications? The answer is “Yes,” according to the promising results achieved by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which has managed to save thousands of hours of work for local governments by creating a tool called SolarAPP+ (Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus) for home solar permits.
Saving Time and Money
The SolarAPP+ application secures over 100 compliance checks in the permit process that are typically the responsibility of city, town, or county staff, according to Jeff Cook, SolarAPP+ Program Lead at NREL and the report’s lead author. It can be more accurate, comprehensive, and efficient than a time-constrained local government employee. Sometimes, the cost of the permit can exceed the cost of solar equipment, Cook stated. It depends on the project details.
Challenges of Solar Permits
The SolarAPP+ application is seen as a solution to solar permitting challenges in the United States. The volume of solar energy on rooftops is increasing across the country, meaning that every system needs to be reviewed for compliance with regulations. Thus, if a human review is needed, there are a million applications. When legislation unnecessarily complicates the process for people to quickly install solar and storage systems, it harms everyone. We need to make it easier for people to use renewable energy, and that is clear. Accelerating the solar permitting process is something we can do to achieve this goal.
Program Development
NREL asked for program development from a consortium of companies interested in the solar energy industry, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the building code development community. The consortium includes companies like UL Solutions and the International Renewable Energy Council. NREL developed the program to meet the community’s needs and bridge the gap in the private sector. There was no incentive for active private sector members to develop the program, but there is a real opportunity for the public good if such a program is available to the public and free for local governments to adopt.
Improving the Solar Permitting Process
Cook estimates that hundreds of thousands of plan review hours were necessary to manually approve all home solar permits in the United States in recent years. Approving a permit for a home solar project can take 15 minutes to an hour, with about 30% of applications later modified. This puts significant pressure on local government staff.
Local governments face an increasing number of solar permit applications, with about 750 applications submitted in the past 12 months, double the number received two years ago. The industry seeks to accelerate the deployment of solar energy and requests a quicker permitting process. They want to obtain permits as quickly as possible but do not want to sacrifice safety, seeking to ensure that the process is handled quickly and well. This partnership has thus been very attractive to them.
Up to five separate departments review the permits, which are responsible for structures, electricity, fire, planning, and regulation, according to Cook. There is typically a waiting list, and it is not necessary to have it reviewed on the same day. Assessment can take up to seven days but can take longer. It varies depending on the volume of solar energy in that area.
.lwrp .lwrp-title{
}.lwrp .lwrp-description{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-container{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container{
display: flex;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-double{
width: 48%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-triple{
width: 32%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container{
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container .lwrp-list-item{
width: calc(12% – 20px);
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item:not(.lwrp-no-posts-message-item){
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item img{
max-width: 100%;
height: auto;
object-fit: cover;
aspect-ratio: 1 / 1;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item.lwrp-empty-list-item{
background: initial !important;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
}@media screen and (max-width: 480px) {
.lwrp.link-whisper-related-posts{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-title{
}.lwrp .lwrp-description{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container{
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container ul.lwrp-list{
margin-top: 0px;
margin-bottom: 0px;
padding-top: 0px;
padding-bottom: 0px;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-double,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-triple{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container{
justify-content: initial;
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container .lwrp-list-item{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item:not(.lwrp-no-posts-message-item){
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
};
}
Leave a Reply