SolarAPP+

The Problem

Direct and indirect permitting costs add about $7,000 ($1.00 per watt) to the cost of an average residential solar energy system. That’s roughly equal to a third of the cost of an average-sized residential solar system. These costs include the direct cost of permit application, inspection, and interconnection fees, as well as indirect costs such as physical trips for permitting and inspections, completing, revising, and submitting permit applications, and the high cost of losing customers who are frustrated with long government or utility approval times. A one-week delay due to permitting, inspection, and interconnection processes results in a 5-10% client cancellation rate, driving up costs for other customers.

The Solution: Build a Better Permitting System

The key to addressing these costs is to make solar installation straight-forward and routine while maintaining the safety and reliability of systems. Specifically, the following actions would help hundreds of thousands more Americans to choose solar and batteries for their homes and businesses over the next five years:

• Standardized online permitting and interconnection tools; and
• Local implementation of instantaneous permitting for eligible installers on qualifying (i.e., non-complex) solar projects.

SolarAPP+ (Automated Permit Processing) was developed in collaboration with the government and the solar industry, to deliver compliant and quick plan review for local governments and contractors.

How SolarAPP+ Works:

• The simple, standardized, online platform – that is available at no cost to local governments to implement– is used by installers to easily permit qualifying systems with local government authorities.
• Installers enter system design specifications into SolarAPP+ and SolarAPP+ conducts automated checks for each data point to ensure compliance.
• Upon completion, code-compliant applications receive an instant permit.

Learn more at gosolarapp.org.