When you think of rooftop solar, the associated permits required to install such as system is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, permitting is a vital and necessary part of the installation process. Unfortunately, it’s too often a time consuming and labor-intensive procedure that adds a significant amount to the overall cost of your solar panel system. So, what if solar permitting could be streamlined and made simpler? Would it save consumers money? The answer is yes!
Usually, obtaining the required permits to install a solar panel system is handled by your solar installer and depending on where your home or business is located, this could take some time and require a lot of effort. Consequently, that increases the cost of your system. If this process is too difficult, solar installers won’t bother doing business in that location because the time and resources required would be cost-prohibitive.
To address this issue, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed a free online or stand-alone software tool that municipalities and county governments throughout the country can use to speed up the solar permitting process without taxing their already overstretched resources. It’s called SolarAPP+ and it’s one of the new technologies we alluded to last April in our blog entitled Emerging Solar Energy Trends In 2021.
Now available nationwide, SolarAPP+ has already been field tested and refined so that it operates smoothly in a variety of locations, both urban and rural. It covers all the aspects of the solar permitting process and is completely customizable to the jurisdiction where it is being used.
Given the current push toward renewable energy by the Biden administration, it is expected that rooftop solar installations will significantly increase in the coming years. With the SolarAPP+ platform, permits can be issued in as little as one day. This savings in time and labor can then be passed on by the installer to the customer, making solar even more affordable for homeowners. In addition, it will save local governments the headache of additional permit processing yet still provide the added revenue from each permit.
The SolarAPP+ platform is also very easy to use and free trials are available for any city or county government that might be interested. If your jurisdiction is interested in learning more about the SolarAPP+ platform or would like to view a product demo, visit the DOE SolarAPP+ website at SolarAPP+ or call Shine Solar at (844) 807-4463 and we’ll arrange a time to work with you.
