Copyright © 2011 by the American Solar Energy Society Inc. All rights reserved.
The;city;has;worked;with;solar;installers;to
ensure;streamlined;solar;permitting;and;address
safety;concerns;in;PV;system;design;and;instal-lation. To date, the department has been successful in reducing solar permit costs, providing
over-the-counter;and;online;permitting;services
for residential solar projects, reaching out to
installers to provide training and information,
training;field;staff;and;maintaining;consistent
enforcement;throughout;San;Jose.;The;city;con-tinues;efforts;to;simplify;permitting;in;coordina-tion with neighboring jurisdictions.
According to Sedwick, these improvements
have;had;major;benefits;for;the;local;solar;mar-ket.;“Our;focus;on;giving;the;community;easy
access;to;solar;has;resulted;in;over;25;megawatts
of;installed;PV;capacity;in;the;residential;and
commercial sectors — the most in the state of
California,”;says;Sedwick.;“We;would;not;be
able to claim the number of installations we’ve
seen without the time and effort we invested into
improving;our;permitting;process.”
New York City Offers “100 Days of Solar.”
The;NYC;Solar;America;City;team,;as;it’s;called,
and;electric;utility;Con;Edison;are;shortening
and;simplifying;solar;permitting;in;New;York
City.;A;2010;survey;of;New;York;City;solar
installers conducted by City University of New
York;(CUNY);Solar;Ombudsman;Noah;Gins-burg;found;that;taking;the;“hassle;factor”;out;of
permitting;is;key;to;encouraging;the;mass;use;of
solar energy in the city.
It’s a challenging task. Currently, it can take
nearly;six;months;to;get;the;necessary;approvals
for a solar installation in the city.
Con;Edison’s;“100;Days;of;Solar”;initiative,
which;began;last;spring,;seeks;to;reduce;to;100
days the amount of time from when a customer
initiates;a;request;for;a;solar;permit;until;the
system is connected to the grid and generating
electricity.;The;NYC;Solar;America;City;Partner-ship;has;been;working;with;Con;Edison,;the;city
Department of Buildings, the New York State
Energy;Research;and;Development;Authority
and the Fire Department to improve inter-agen-cy communication, reduce paperwork and come
up;with;a;better;process.
“We;took;a;look;at;the;permitting;process
and;found;that;there;were;more;than;90;steps,”
said;Margarett;Jolly,;the;solar;specialist;at;Con
Edison.;“We’ve;already;made;some;improve-
ments and shortened the process by about four
weeks. We’re still working on it, and we think we
can;shave;off;even;more;time.”
After a CUNY study uncovered that admin-
SUZANNE OLSEN, MR. SUN SOLAR
Portland enabled installers to email the permit application, eliminating an average three-hour office wait.
Mr. Sun Solar, which installed the solar water system at Headwaters Apartments, above, is one that finds
the city’s process easier than other jurisdictions’.
CIT Y OF SAN JOSE
Staff at the San Jose City Development Services assist customers with PV system permitting. The city
worked with the solar industry to create a permitting and inspection checklist for installers.
