As we speak, the Photo voltaic and Storage Industries Institute (SI2) launched mannequin coverage that encourages the adoption of automated rooftop photo voltaic allowing software program. This launch comes because the U.S. hits 5 million photo voltaic installations, over 97% of that are on residential rooftops, and appears poised to double that complete within the subsequent six years.
The mannequin coverage offers states a template to encourage native governments to undertake automated rooftop photo voltaic allowing software program. The software program helps decrease the price of rooftop photo voltaic allowing and inspection to governments, owners and photo voltaic companies by standardizing, streamlining and automating the allowing course of.
“As states grapple with assembly their clear vitality objectives, one of many best and most cost-effective steps they will take is to extend the effectivity of their rooftop photo voltaic allowing course of,” stated David Gahl, government director of SI2. “Because the business progresses to putting in 1 million rooftop programs yearly, native governments might want to discover methods to effectively deal with greater volumes of allow functions, and this mannequin coverage supplies the instruments to do exactly that.”
The comparatively excessive price of rooftop photo voltaic allowing and inspection within the U.S. has lengthy been cited as a key issue holding residential photo voltaic prices within the U.S. greater than they’re in different nations. In response, the Nationwide Renewable Power Laboratory together with non-public and public companions developed SolarAPP+, an automatic rooftop photo voltaic allowing software program package deal that’s free to native governments. The software program has since been adopted by 183 communities the place it has been used to course of 41,000 photo voltaic permits, saving greater than 33,000 hours of native authorities employees time.
Along with encouraging the adoption of automated rooftop photo voltaic allowing software program, the mannequin laws contains provisions that forestall native governments from unreasonably proscribing residential photo voltaic programs and residential vitality storage programs, restrict the photo voltaic allowing cost to the precise price of processing the allow, and permit candidates to hunt variances from the allowing ordinance.
The mannequin coverage is the second such launched by SI2 underneath their Middle for Mannequin Coverage Improvement, following launch of mannequin coverage round large-scale photo voltaic siting final fall.
Information merchandise from the Photo voltaic and Storage Industries Institute
