The most routine aspects of installing a solar photovoltaic system or solar thermal unit on a home or office building can also be among of the more frustrating – the permitting and inspection process. A single homeowner may encounter the bureaucratic process only once in a lifetime, but increasingly the task of obtaining permits, inspections and possible zoning variances falls to the commercial installer as part of its package of services. 

What these companies have learned is that the current permitting and inspection process – and the fees associated with them – are vastly different depending on what city or county holds jurisdiction.  This is the not-so-simple lesson learned from a recent survey of Northern California permitting and inspection processes from the Solar Tech trade group in Silicon Valley.  Conducted for Solar Tech by a group of San Jose State University Business School students, the 2011 study points to a need for standardization of fees and processes. 

In some cities, applications are taken in person over the counter, in others they can be submitted electronically.  Sometimes the approval is obtained in less than one day, but too often it can take two weeks or more. Fees range significantly, from less than $200 for a household system in many jurisdictions, to well over $1,000 in others.

The recent adoption of new state fire codes has also added to the costs and time required, according to many installers, and they not the more stringent rules are leading to an increase in the numbers of permit failures for non-compliance.

Things don’t need to be so complicated, the Solar Tech survey indicates.  In fact, as the PV industry matures and communities and installers get more experience, there can be an increased sophistication built into the permitting process that is both simpler and more efficient for all.

The report posits a “Solar Friendly Adoption Phase” that tracks the maturation of the bureaucratic process from one which has had almost no experience in siting PV units, with limited awareness of how they work, and virtually no education or available information, through several phases until there is a level of sophistication that makes everyone’s life easier.   Drawing on U.S. Department of Energy recommendations for communities encouraging solar installation, this ideal end-state is characterized by these features:

• Applications can be obtained though an online process;
• The agency offers clear and concise solar permitting guidelines online;
• Routine applications ans require materials can be submitted electronically (requiring in-person consultation only if there are problems with the filing);
• The applicant can track progress via computer;
• The turnaround time for permits is less than 48 hours; and
• The flat fee for small systems (under 15 kw) is $250 or less. 

Sounds too good to be true?  Well, thankfully many Bay Area jurisdictions are making an attempt to reach this nirvana state of bureaucracy, and there is a growing movement to get the state of California to adopt a uniform model code or at least offer a consistent set of guidelines to standardize the process.

In the Solar Tech report, the majority of respondents from both installers (83 percent) and government (63 percent) say they would welcome a uniform, statewide set of standards. In the meantime, though, several communities that are most familiar with siting and permitting PV are improving their processes – and reducing fees to reflect their more efficient and effective systems.

Among Silicon Valley jurisdictions that rate fairly highly in comments from solar installers are: Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Saratoga, Menlo Park, San Jose and Sunnyvale.  Also in the Bay Area, the cities of Oakland and Sebastopol were also cited for relatively easy processes that help encourage, not discourage, small scale solar installations.

I’d like to also point out a new initiative launched this month in Sacramento that could well serve as a role model for other jurisdictions striving to attain that level of sophistication in process idealized by Solar Tech. 

“Streamline Sacramento” attempts to put most of the solar permitting process online, and it provides a clear and concise set of guidelines for its requirements and how to go about the process. 

As it rolls out various features over the next few months, Sacramento Streamline promises:

• A flat fee of $280 for small PV systems;
• Online plan submittal and checks;
• Online appointment scheduling;
• An Express Line for routine permits; and
• Creation of an Expedited Plan Review process for “pre-approved customers” who use the system repeatedly with no problems.   

It may not be Nirvana, but for solar installers, Streamline Sacramento may come close. 

Read more here:

Solar Tech, Solar Permitting and Inspection Study (July 2011)

U.S. DOE, Solar Powering Your Community Guide (July 2009)

Sacramento Streamline, Guide to Solar Permits (August 2011)

Arthur O’Donnell, The Energy Overseer, for EcoCloud