More than 18,000 municipalities in the U.S. set their own solar permitting requirements. As a result, solar permitting requirements and costs vary dramatically city by city. Solar permitting can either be a walk in the park, or a bureaucratic headache. Vote Solar is developing a highly interactive permitting website that catalogs and scores current municipal permitting practices. The website incorporates data on current permitting practices from Clean Power Finance’s (CPF) National Solar Permitting Database (www.solarpermit.org), and scores municipalities on Vote Solar and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s (IREC) nine ‘solar permitting best practices.’ The website will include an education center with resources to empower citizens to streamline permitting practices in their communities.
Soft Costs
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A recent NREL report finds that the use of public capital (asset-backed securities, investment pools and real estate investment trusts) can lower the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) by up to $0.16 for residential projects and $0.08 for utility projects. As consumer confidence in securitization grows, prices could fall by as much as 30%.
A recent Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report finds that streamlined city permitting practices can reduce the cost of installed PV systems by $0.27-$0.77 per watt, relative to cities with less favorable permitting standards. Development times can be shorted by an average of 24 days, under favorable permitting standards.
Free Workshop in Baltimore
On April 16, 2013, SolarTech will host a one-day workshop titled SolarTech Presents Solar 3.0: Accelerating Market Adoption of PV Technology. The workshop will be help in Room 301 of the Baltimore Convention Center, as part of SOLAR 2013, and cover a variety of topics including economic development, financing options, soft costs and more.
Berkeley Lab Study on Residential PV Prices in Germany
This webinar, hosted by the Department of Energy's SunShot program on February 26th 2013 at 1PM ET, presents an update to the recent Berkeley Lab study, "Why Are Residential PV Prices in Germany So Much Lower Than in the United States?"
Why Are Residential PV Prices in Germany So Much Lower Than in the United States? A Scoping Analysis
This report looks at the reasons for cheaper PV systems in Germany comparing to the ones in the US.
This report presents results from the first U.S.