A new report from several U.S. industry groups claims that millions of homeowners are facing unnecessary hurdles to owning rooftop solar and battery projects. Frontier Group, Environment America Research & Policy Center and Permit Power published “Solar Permitting Scorecard,” which grades all 50 states on solar permitting policy and also recommends changes to make residential rooftop solar and batteries more feasible.
Credit: Werner Slocum/NLR
“Home solar and batteries can reduce a family’s electricity bills by over 80%. Yet, the savings of rooftop solar are out of reach for many because of costly red tape,” said Nick Josefowitz, founder and chief executive at Permit Power. “If American families could install rooftop solar and home batteries at the price that families can in other countries, it would enable tens of millions more families to install rooftop solar and lower their utility bills.”
Permit Power stated in a press release that bureaucratic barriers in solar permitting can increase residential solar project costs by $6,000 to $7,000. The National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) estimates that 10 to 20% of residential solar projects with permission to build still do not complete construction.
Of the 50 states graded in “Solar Permitting Scorecard,” only four were graded above a “D” — California (B), Texas (B), New Jersey (C) and Colorado (C). No state received an “A” grade. The rest received “D” or “F” designations.
These grades were determined based on a criteria of how states handled residential project permitting: Do they reduce costs and streamline the process? Are the processes standardized statewide? Do they use permitting software?
“This report makes it clear: cutting solar permitting red tape is a low-cost way to help families lower their electricity bills,” said New Jersey Sen. John McKeon and Asm. Robert Karabinchak in a joint statement. “Through unanimous bipartisan legislative action, New Jersey passed practical reforms that save time and money for homeowners, installers, and local governments. This is one of the most immediate, low-cost steps states can take to deliver real ratepayer relief while strengthening the grid.”
Permit Power estimates in a recent report that the country could save customers $1.2 trillion in utility costs by streamlining residential solar permitting.
“Millions of Americans want to power their homes with plentiful, reliable, solar energy; most states have done little to adopt common-sense permitting practices that reduce costs and delays,” said Emily Rusch, senior director of state offices for Environment America Research & Policy Center. “Unreasonable red tape burdens residents, installers and local authorities. States should make ‘going solar’ as quick and smooth as possible, without compromising health and safety. Opportunities to do that abound.”
News item from Permit Power
