News
As part of Aurora Solar’s Empower 2022 online solar summit, Bernadette Del Chiaro, from the California Solar & Storage Association, will moderate a talk about electric utilities and how they have abused their monopoly position to discriminate against solar in the U.S. Here, she gives pv magazine a taste of the presentation.
OCTOBER 27, 2022 By BERNADETTE DEL CHIARO
Residential homeowners and solar panel installation contractors in the City of San Luis Obispo are now able to apply for permits online with the help of SolarAPP+, a web-based portal for residential solar energy system installations, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to automate project plan reviews, receive an automated permit, pay fees online, and schedule inspections.
SolarAPP+ will lower costs and expedite solar installations, encouraging property owners to invest in generating renewable and sustainable energy. Lowering the cost and increasing the speed of rooftop solar installation will have a significant impact on a system’s cost.
Despite similar wages and equipment costs, the installation of solar panels currently costs twice as much in the United States as in countries such as Australia or Germany. For a solar customer, these added expenses can amount to as much as $5,000 for a typical residential solar system. The discrepancy is partially brought on by setup expenses, such as interest on home equity loans, and other expenses incurred while waiting for applications to be approved.
Community Development’s plan to make solar more affordable will start with the implementation of SolarAPP+. Developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Energy, SolarAPP+ provides a web-based portal that streamlines and automates permit reviews. The app easily integrates into existing local government permitting software and is free for local jurisdictions.
The number of SolarAPP+ adopters is projected to expand in the coming year following the California state budget, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 13, including $20 million for technical assistance targeted for local jurisdictions planning to adopt expedited permitting software such as SolarAPP+. Thanks to this plan, the City is receiving up to $40,000 to integrate the use of SolarAPP+ reviews with current permitting software. Building and Safety staff have been piloting the process with select contractors since August 5th, and after a successful trial period, the City is now encouraging all applicants with eligible projects to use the SolarAPP+ review process.
This new system is aligned with the City’s Climate Action goals and will help us get closer to achieving our bold commitment to community carbon neutrality by 2035.
For more information, visit Solar Information | City of San Luis Obispo, CA (slocity.org)
Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) led a Congressional letter with Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) and 14 other colleagues urging the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) not to use the solar and renewable energy storage policies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as justification for cutting solar incentives in the forthcoming Net Energy Metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0) proposal. With the CPUC expected to issue an updated NEM 3.0 proposal by the end of September, the letter calls on the Commission to develop policies that will help increase the deployment of the rooftop solar and residential storage rather than stifle their viability.
“We write to share our concerns about the potential imposition of any discriminatory fees or drastic and immediate export rate reductions on rooftop solar and storage customers in the net energy metering (NEM) 3.0 proceeding, as such provisions would undermine the goals and intent of the Inflation Reduction Act,” Thompson and his colleagues wrote. “We fought hard to secure robust clean energy incentives in the IRA in order to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in California and across the United States. Multiple independent analyses have found that these incentives will reduce emissions by approximately 40% by 2030 – but those analyses assume the continuation of supportive state policies.”
See below or click here for the full letter:
The Honorable Alice Busching Reynolds
President, California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Dear President Reynolds:
We write to share our concerns about the potential imposition of any discriminatory fees or drastic and immediate export rate reductions on rooftop solar and storage customers in the net energy metering (NEM) 3.0 proceeding, as such provisions would undermine the goals and intent of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). We fought hard to secure robust clean energy incentives in the IRA in order to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in California and across the United States. Multiple independent analyses have found that these incentives will reduce emissions by approximately 40% by 2030 – but those analyses assume the continuation of supportive state policies.
The IRA contains a range of initiatives designed to complement state clean energy programs and benefit individual energy consumers, including provisions that target benefits to environmental justice and low-income communities. The extensions of the 30% Section 48 Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and 30% Section 25D tax credit are intended to make solar and storage more affordable for consumers and more cost-competitive with conventional fossil fuel generation. Individual adoption of solar and storage must accelerate for the IRA to achieve its climate goals.
It is concerning to see entities arguing that the IRA’s passage warrants weakening state-level solar and storage policies, as is happening now in the NEM 3.0 proceeding (R.20-08-020). These proposals would effectively make rooftop solar and storage more expensive for our constituents and would slow its deployment – the exact opposite of our impetus to expand and extend solar and storage incentives in the IRA. As you are aware, independent analysis estimated that the CPUC’s December 2021 Proposed Decision would have cut California’s residential solar market in half by 2024.[1]
A March 2021 report from the California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, and CPUC found that residential solar capacity will need to more than triple by 2045 in order for California to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2045.[2]
We respectfully urge the CPUC not to use the IRA’s provisions aimed at increasing deployment of rooftop solar and storage as perverse justification to impose discriminatory fees on these assets. Instead, we hope that you will consider supporting reasonable reforms that build on the IRA and ensure the solar and storage industries are poised to play an expanded role in meeting our climate and energy resilience goals.
Sincerely,
Reps. Mike Thompson, Mike Levin, Katie Porter, Jimmy Panetta, Karen Bass, Jared Huffman, Ted Lieu, Ro Khanna, Mark DeSaulnier, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Doris Matsui, Brad Sherman, Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo, Alan Lowenthal, and Barbara Lee.
The City of Dublin has launched SolarAPP+, an automated application for permitting new residential rooftop solar and storage systems. Dublin is one of only a handful of cities in California to launch SolarAPP+, which will lower costs and expedite solar installations, encouraging property owners to invest in generation renewable and sustainable energy. By using artificial intelligence, SolarAPP+ makes it possible to obtain a residential solar permit in as little as 15 minutes, entirely online. As an online plan check and permitting program, the system is available 24/7.
Research has shown lowering the cost and increasing the speed of rooftop solar installation will have a significant impact on a system’s cost. The installation currently costs twice as much in the United States as compared to countries such as Australia or Germany, despite similar wages and equipment costs. The difference is caused, in part, due to installation costs like interest on home equity loans and other costs incurred while waiting for applications to be processed. For a solar customer, these added expenses can amount to as much as $5,000 for a typical residential solar system.
SolarAPP+ helps governments and providers cut rooftop solar permitting costs. Developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, SolarAPP+ provides a web-based portal that streamlines and automates permit reviews. The app integrates into existing local government permitting software and is free for local jurisdictions.
The move to make solar more affordable to all communities has been applauded by local and state leaders as an important step in the local and national fight against climate change. “The increase in the use of rooftop solar and storage systems will not only provide a cost savings for residents, but it will go a long way in helping the City of Dublin to achieve its goals set in the Climate Action Plan,” said Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez. “I’m proud that we are making it easier for our residents to purchase and install solar through SolarAPP+.”
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