Solar advocates shared how SolarAPP+ makes it easier and cheaper for people to go solar in Santa Cruz County and across California 

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA. — On Thursday, solar advocates celebrated Santa Cruz County’s progress in adopting SolarAPP+, an online permitting system developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the Department of Energy to make it easier and cheaper for people to go solar.

Santa Cruz County is in the final stages of testing and is on track to meet California’s September 30, 2023 deadline to fully transition to an automated instant permitting process for residential rooftop and storage systems mandated by the Solar Access Act (SB 379–Wiener).  Santa Cruz County also applied for grant funding through the CalAPP program administered by the California Energy Commission to help cover any costs for implementing the new permitting process.

Once fully adopted, SolarAPP+ can issue same day permits for rooftop solar projects that meet state codes, a significant improvement from California’s current permit timeline average of 13 to 19 days, which delays solar installations and passes on costs to consumers. The California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA) estimates that the broad adoption of SolarAPP+ would lower the cost of a typical solar system for consumers by $1,200 to $2,600 across the state, and for the typical solar + storage system, consumers could see costs lowered by $2,300 to $5,100.

Local solar advocates in attendance included:

• Supervisor Manu Koenig, First District Supervisor for Santa Cruz County

• Lisette Patrice Jones, Field Representative, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin

• Ben Davis, Senior Policy Advisor, CALSSA

• Daniel Camacho, CEO, Solar Motion 

In September 2022, Governor Newsom signed the Solar Access Act into law that requires most cities and counties to automate their permitting for residential rooftop and storage systems by adopting SolarAPP+ or functionally equivalent software. 

The first compliance deadline is September 30, 2023 for jurisdictions with more than 50,000 residents. Santa Cruz County is among about 240 California cities and counties required to begin issuing instantaneous permitting for residential rooftop solar and storage projects within the next couple of months. While some jurisdictions like Santa Cruz County have begun or completed the process of adopting a fully automated and instant solar and storage permitting system, many still need to initiate the process to meet the state’s deadline. Cities and counties can apply for grant funding through the CalAPP program administered by the California Energy Commission to help cover any costs for implementing the new permitting process; the deadline was extended to June 30, 2024 and is on a first-come, first-served basis for all remaining funds.

SolarAPP+ is the easiest, one-stop solution for building departments to comply with the law. It is free and available to all jurisdictions in California and across the country. The SolarAPP+ software asks the contractor a series of questions to verify the system’s design is up to code, runs automated code compliance and plan check, and then — for compliant systems — issues a permit automatically for installation to begin. More information about SolarAPP+ including a video of how it works in practice is available here.

Fast Facts:

• On average, it takes 13 to 19 days for California building departments to issue a permit, and it is not uncommon for wait times to take 60 or more days. The result is months of delays, thousands of dollars added to solar projects that are passed along to customers, and fewer homes going solar that otherwise would.

• It is twice as expensive to go solar in California than many other developed places because of costs associated with permitting and interconnection with utilities. SolarAPP+ has the potential to dramatically bring down the cost of solar in California by cutting red tape around permitting without sacrificing safety. SolarAPP+ permits pass inspection with rates at, or better, than traditional permitting systems. 

• CALSSA estimates that the broad adoption of SolarAPP+ would lower the cost of a typical solar system for homeowners by $1,200 to $2,600 across the state, and for the typical solar + storage system by $2,300 to $5,100.

• California cannot meet its clean energy goals and bring rooftop solar and solar batteries to more people without streamlining the local building department’s permitting process—it’s one of the biggest obstacles to solar growth.

• According to NREL, solar projects submitted through SolarAPP+ are installed and inspected on average 12 business days faster than projects using the conventional process.

• Streamlined permitting through SolarAPP+ also helps overstretched city and county building departments save time so they can focus on more complex projects.