Simi Valley joins a growing number of cities and counties to adopt SolarAPP+ for their residents and communities

Simi Valley, CA – This week the City of Simi Valley became the third municipality in California - and one of the first jurisdictions in the nation -  to formally launch SolarAPP+, an automated application to speed up and error-proof the process for permitting new residential rooftop solar and storage systems. This plan will not only expedite but also lower costs for solar installation.

To date, installing rooftop solar is about twice as expensive in the United States as it is in such country as Australia or Germany -- despite similar wages and equipment costs. This difference is caused by the “soft costs” associated with residential solar installations, which includes paying for a local building department permit. For a solar customer, these added expenses can amount to as much as $1 per watt of the installation, or $5,000 for a typical residential solar system. 

The SolarAPP+ program offers an integral way to cut permitting costs. Developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy and in the public interest, SolarAPP+ provides a web-based portal that streamlines and automates permit reviews, which makes it easy to integrate into existing local government permitting software and is free for local jurisdictions to adopt. A recent report by SPUR, a California-based think tank, found that the nationwide deployment of solar permitting tools like SolarAPP+ will lead to $7.5 billion in soft cost savings, $111 million in increased annual permit fee revenue for cities and counties, a three-fold increase in solar installations critical to meeting California’s clean energy targets, and the generation 780,000 jobs in the solar industry.

“SolarAPP+ will be a win-win for Simi Valley residents and our staff,” said Simi Valley Mayor Keith Mashburn. “By allowing our residents to go solar more efficiently, it will free up staff to focus on other permitting areas.”

The number of SolarAPP+ adopters is projected to dramatically expand in the coming year on the heels of the California state budget, signed by Governor Newsom on July 13, including $20 million for technical assistance targeted for local jurisdictions planning to adopt expedited permitting software such as SolarAPP+.

The move to make solar more affordable to all communities was applauded by state leaders as an important step in the local and national fight against climate change. 

“I was excited to help craft a climate budgetary package that included $20 million to streamline local solar and storage permitting, which will allow more Californians to make their homes climate-resilient and supports thousands of good-paying jobs," said Senator Henry Stern (D-Calabasas), who serves on the Senate Budget, Environmental Quality, Judiciary, and Energy, Utilities, and Communications and chairs the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management. “I applaud Simi Valley for leading the way in answering a national call to adopt more rooftop solar and storage, faster.”

The SolarAPP+ program offers an integral way to cut 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, making it easier to integrate into existing local government permitting software. NREL introduced SolarAPP+ in late 2020 and, since then, has rapidly expanded the program’s capabilities.

Simi Valley joins the Southern California cities of Menifee, which was the fifth local jurisdiction in the nation to deploy SolarAPP+ (July 2021), and Beaumont, which is poised to commence piloting SolarAPP+.

“Streamlining rooftop solar can be a game changer for California’s move to 100% clean energy and for tens of thousands of solar installers around the state.” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director at the California Solar and Storage Association, an organization representing hundreds of contractors who build more than 430 rooftop solar systems every day in California. “Already, rooftop solar is growing fastest in low- and working-class communities and by lowering costs further, we can put solar in the hands of more people. Growing rooftop solar is extremely popular in our state, and it is encouraging to see so many local leaders eager to make solar more accessible to their constituents and maintain California’s commitment as a solar state.”