Coalition urges Colorado cities and counties to apply for rooftop solar grants

Climate & Clean Energy Leaders in Support of Streamlined Solar for Coloradans

Dear Mayors, City Council Members, and County Commissioners:

We write to urge you to apply this fall for an Automated Permitting Processing for Solar (APPS) grant to streamline your permit approval process for rooftop solar and storage.

By adopting automated rooftop solar permitting software, you can make rooftop solar and batteries more accessible to local residents–  helping families reduce their utility bills, protect themselves from blackouts, decrease pollution, and support local jobs and businesses. Additionally, automated permitting for simple rooftop solar systems can save your building department’s plan reviewers hundreds of hours, allowing them to dedicate that time instead to more complex permits.

It costs the average consumer twice as much to install solar panels and batteries in the United States as it does in places like Germany and Japan, where they have streamlined systems for issuing permits for solar and battery projects (Source: Berkeley Lab, Tracking the Sun 2021 Report). To address this, the federal government’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) worked with the nation’s leading building safety organizations to develop software that automates and standardizes the process for issuing permits for common residential rooftop solar systems and solar batteries. The software, called SolarAPP+ (Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus), is free for all permitting offices and easy to use. 

According to permitting data collected by Ohm Analytics, the median permit wait times in Colorado are the second longest in the western U.S. The Colorado Energy Office is helping jurisdictions tackle this issue by providing $1 million in first come, first served APPS grant funding for costs associated with adopting SolarAPP+ or an equivalent software. The application for these funds will re-open in September 2024 and will be available through the Colorado Energy Office.

Implementing an automated system not only allows residents to go solar faster and at a lower cost but also saves government staff time and reduces errors while ensuring code compliance. 

We respectfully ask that you take advantage of this important opportunity to fund the transition to streamlined solar and battery permitting. 

Thank you,

Jeremiah Garrick, Manager of Community Engagement, Strategy
Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA) Institute

Emerald Sage, Solar APP+ National Campaigner
Solar United Neighbors

Hannah Birnbaum, Chief of Advocacy
Permit Power

Kirsten Schatz, Advocate
Colorado Public Interest Research Group Foundation

Henry Stiles, Advocate
Environment Colorado

Rick Pike, President/CEO
Alt E Wind & Solar, Ltd.

Ryan Barnett, SVP Policy & Markets
Palmetto Solar, LLC

Mac Lewis, Principal
Mountain Power Solutions

Meghan Nutting, EVP of Government & Regulatory Affairs
Sunnova Energy Corporation

Lauren Swain, Coordinator
PSR Colorado – Physicians for Social Responsibility

Margaret Kran-Annexstein, Director
Sierra Club Colorado Chapter

Christopher Worley, Senior Director of Public Policy
Sunrun

Nicole Ebert, Sr. Process Designer
AHJ Processes & Systems

David Wyatt, CEO
BriteStreet Solar Built, LLC

Wil Gehl, Sr. Manager Intermountain West Region
Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Courtney Welch, Director of Policy
GoodLeap LLC.

Katie Belgard, Interior West Director
Vote Solar

Jen Clanahan, Co-Director
Mountain Mamas

Juan Roberto Madrid, Clean Transportation & Energy Policy
Advocate
GreenLatinos Colorado

Heidi Leathwood, Climate Policy Analyst
350 Colorado