Solar Permitting Tool Hits the Market to Boost Rooftop Solar Installations
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As America passes three million solar installations, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is formally launching SolarAPP+ to help state and local governments to streamline and automate rooftop solar permits. After 40 years of growth, America reached 1 million solar installations in 2016, 2 million in 2019, and 3 million in 2021. With the help of SolarAPP+, the U.S. will double its solar installations to 6 million by 2026.
Over 300 Communities in 40 States Now “Open for Solar Business”
From Anchorage, Alaska, to Sarasota, Florida, more than 300 local governments have now met national benchmarks for encouraging the growth of solar energy and removing barriers to solar market development.
Federal Legislation Will Streamline Solar Permitting, Grow Clean Energy Economy
The American Energy Opportunity Act will create jobs, make U.S. energy more resilient, and reduce carbon emissions
Is Standardized Solar Permitting Next Industry Breakthrough?
Cutting costs has been the key to solar’s rapid expansion this decade. The lion’s share of cost reductions in the solar industry has come from reductions in module prices. The $4 per watt you’d have paid in 2006 for modules alone gets you the entire residential solar system installed today.
Environmental and Economic Benefits of Building Solar in California
In this report, the authors examine California's leadership in US expansion of renewable energy electricity generation by discussing first the boom in utility-scale solar farms in California and the subsequent employment effects of having built 4,250 MW of utility-scale solar powered electricity generating facilities in California over the last five years.
How Much Do Local Regulations Matter? Exploring the Impact of Permitting and Local Regulatory Processes on PV Prices in the United States
While PV modules and other hardware costs have dropped significantly over recent years, non-hardware soft costs have also fallen, but not nearly as sharply. This research report, authored by experts from Yale University, Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin and the US Department of Energy, focuses on the impacts of city-level permitting and other regulatory processes on residential PV prices in the US. Key Findings:
NREL Report Provides Most Granular View of Soft Costs to Date
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently released a report that breaks down the ‘soft costs’ associated with the installation of residential and commercial photovoltaic systems in greater detail than ever before, with detailed looks at customer acquisition and system design costs, as well as permitting, inspection and interconnection costs.
BLM 2012 Priority Renewable Energy Projects
This factsheet provides a list of renewable energy projects to which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has given priority in 2012.
Permitted & Pending Utility-Scale Solar Power Projects on Public Lands
This factsheet provides a list of solar power projects that are pending or have received permits by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Arizona Solar Working Group Comments On the Draft EIS for the Restoration Design Energy Project
Joint Comments from the Arizona Solar Working Group to the Arizona BLM submitted May 16, 2012.