Ask your local leaders: Please make it easier to go solar!
“Dear Mayor, City Council Members, and/or Board of Supervisors:
Please move quickly to comply with a new state law requiring local governments to streamline the permitting process for installing rooftop solar panels and batteries.
Rooftop solar and batteries help people control their energy bills and protect themselves from blackouts. Yet, it is twice as expensive to go solar in California than in many other developed countries. The major difference is that the permitting system for solar in other countries is simpler and quicker.
Solar permitting can be streamlined while still meeting building safety codes, and two free tools to do that are SolarAPP+ and Symbium. Please do everything you can to comply quickly with the new law. Make it easier and cheaper for local residents to harness the sun’s power!”
The Problem: Local permitting requirements drive up the cost of going solar in California.
It is twice as expensive to go solar in California than in many other developed places. A typical rooftop solar project costs homeowners $22,800 in California. In Japan: $13,200. In Germany: $9,600. [1]
The major difference is that in California, outdated permitting requirements and staffing shortages can add months of delays and thousands of dollars to solar and battery projects. This is not necessary. It isn’t difficult to determine if a proposed project meets local and state codes.
Solution: Streamlining solar permitting can make it cheaper and faster for you and your neighbors to install solar panels and/or batteries.
Two free software systems are already available to help cities comply: “Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus” (SolarAPP+) and Symbium. Local governments can use SolarAPP+, Symbium, or develop their own software to issue permits instantly to most residential rooftop solar projects that meet state codes to comply with the Solar Access Act. [2]
SolarAPP+ was developed by the federal Department of Energy and leading building safety organizations, and more than 20 California cities and counties already use it. [3]
A new state law requires most cities and counties to adopt streamlined permitting [4], and you can help make sure they do.