In an effort to spur the growth of rooftop solar, the California Energy Commission has just announced new grants to help communities automate the approval of residential solar energy permits, with the total of $18.9 million now reaching a whopping 334 cities and counties. Experts expect the move to increase the speed of installations, lower costs and accelerate solar adoption statewide.

Roughly 10% of properties in California have solar, a figure that needs to grow rapidly for the state to meet its clean energy goals. One of the biggest obstacles to completing more solar projects is permitting. Properties that install rooftop solar first need to receive a permit from the local building department. Outdated and inefficient permitting requirements in many areas combined with staffing shortages can add months of delays and thousands of dollars to solar projects. In many cases, property owners cancel the project when permitting becomes too cumbersome or expensive. Building officials who want to improve solar permitting frequently lack the resources to do so.

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Source: Solar Power World

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