Webinar features legislators and advocates working to cut red tape for solar

With power outages and utility bills rising across the country, many Americans are considering solar and home energy storage. These technologies reduce pollution and offer families reliable and affordable electricity, but are often encumbered by red tape.

That’s why Environment America and PIRG hosted “More solar, less red tape: Making it easier, faster, and cheaper for families to go solar” on Tuesday; the webinar featured advocates and elected officials at the forefront of solar policy who spoke with attendees hailing from 14 states.

You can watch the webinar, sponsored by Environment America and PIRG and cosponsored by Permit Power and Bright Saver here:

Permitting delays are among the top issues causing solar projects to be cancelled in the United States. The good news is that forward-thinking legislators are advocating for policies that help cut the red tape preventing many Americans from going solar.

Advocates from Massachusetts and Alaska joined Utah State Representative Raymond Ward and California State Senator Scott Wiener, who highlighted recent state policy victories and emerging solar technologies coming to American markets.

Johanna Neumann, Senior Director of the 100% Renewable Campaign at Environment America, discussed the benefits of rooftop solar, the roadblocks that unnecessary red tape presents for constituents and solar installers, and how policies like “instant” permitting can help solve those problems.

Instant solar permitting allows solar installers to get permits online instantaneously; the process applies building codes consistently across projects. In jurisdictions that have adopted solar permitting, installations and inspections are faster while inspection failure rates decline– all while saving time and money.

Senator Wiener is a long-time champion of policies that enable solar energy. He sponsored California Senate Bill 379, which requires most of the state’s cities and counties to adopt instant permitting. The policy helped bring greater consistency to solar permitting across the state while streamlining previously cumbersome processes to enable more Californians to go solar faster.

Plug-in solar, a newer technology gaining traction in the American market, has become commonplace in Germany. During this event, Alaska Environment Director Dyani Chapman gave attendees a brief overview of plug-in solar technology – including its limitations and potential.

Plug-in solar goes by a few different names. Some call it “balcony solar” or “backyard solar”, others “plug-and-play”, but no matter what we call it, some legislators are paying attention to how it develops in the U.S.

Utah State Representative Raymond Ward recently sponsored a bill that passed unanimously through the Utah State legislature exempting plug-in solar from traditional interconnection agreements. Utility interconnection agreements are appropriate for solar installations that export power to the grid, but in the case of plug-in solar, which is designed not to power anything outside the household, those requirements add costs and administrative processes for a resoundingly safe technology.

So, Utah’s legislature voted unanimously for Representative Ward’s plug-in solar bill, opening up a new realm of solar potential in the state. New technologies bring new challenges, but they also bring new potential. 

Legislators and advocates alike discussed safety concerns and regional differences across the country during the Q and A section of the webinar. The following resources are available to legislators hoping to sponsor legislation cutting red tape for rooftop solar:

We also shared several resources for the general public, including constituents and advocates. All of those resources are available here:

Interested in other environmental and consumer policy briefings? We have more coming up this fall! Check out our upcoming and past briefings in the series today: