New prize for cities seeking to cut red tape for solar

This month the Department of Energy announced $15,000 prizes to help communities cut red tape for rooftop solar.

Why do we need to cut red tape for solar?

When more and more people in a community choose to go solar,  the volume of permit applications can slow down the process. Additionally, when every community has a different process for permitting solar systems and other clean energy technology, it adds complexity.

The Solar Automated Permitting Process (SolarAPP+) was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to solve both problems by automating the solar permitting review process. Automatic permitting can free up staff time, and speed up installations, helping lower costs for everyone.

Although SolarAPP+ is free for communities to adopt, there are associated costs that arise during the adoption and implementation process. That’s why the Department of Energy created the SolarAPP+ Prize: to cover the implementation costs for communities and to accelerate the adoption of SolarAPP+. Communities can learn more and sign up here.