Department of Energy Secretary Granholm Urges Local Leaders to Adopt SolarAPP+ to Lower the Cost of Installing Solar
August 20, 2021
Berkeley, CA – On Friday, August 20, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm visited a solar-powered Berkeley home, joining national, state and local leaders along with clean energy advocates in an effort to urge local cities and counties to adopt the Biden Administration’s newly launched SolarAPP+ to help lower the cost for consumers to go solar — a step many Bay Area leaders are already taking.
Livestream footage from today's event is available here (beginning at the 16:30 minute mark).
Identified by the Biden Administration as a priority, the consumer-friendly tool is an automated application to speed up and increase the accuracy of the process for permitting new residential rooftop solar and storage systems. As noted by DOE Secretary Granholm, SolarAPP+ will not only expedite but also lower costs for solar and storage installation.
Jurisdictions across the Bay Area are quickly moving towards the adoption of SolarAPP+ to help local consumers save money, including Berkeley and Oakland, whose Mayors were on-hand for Secretary Granholm’s event.
“As the first city in the nation to electrify new buildings, Berkeley takes its role as a climate leader very seriously,” said Jesse Arreguín, Berkeley Mayor and President of the Association of Bay Area Governments. “I am excited to bring SolarAPP+ to our community, as it is a vital tool for us to continue our city's and the larger Bay Area's work in combating climate change while generating thousands of good-paying local jobs.”
“We’re excited to engage with Secretary Granholm on combating climate change," said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. "Oakland is committed to achieving a carbon-free future and we are looking for every way to accelerate the electrification of buildings with renewable sources."
On May 12, Pleasant Hill became the first California city to adopt SolarAPP+, and several California cities and counties are on track to formally adopt it later this year. In the Bay Area, in addition to Berkeley and Oakland, nearly two dozen Bay Area jurisdictions, including the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, and San Mateo County, are taking steps towards SolarAPP+ adoption. SolarAPP+ is expected to be available to Sonoma County residents within the next two months. Additional Bay Area cities moving to adopt SolarAPP+ include Richmond, Newark, Emeryville, El Cerrito, Hayward, San Leandro, San Pablo, Calistoga, Palo Alto, Dublin, San Ramon, Danville, Livermore, Gilroy, and Morgan Hill.
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, included $20 million for technical assistance targeted for local jurisdictions planning to adopt expedited permitting software such as SolarAPP+.
“I am thrilled that this year's budget includes $20 million to help streamline rooftop solar and storage permitting, which will allow more Californians to make their homes climate resilient and supports thousands of good-paying jobs," said Senate Budget Chair Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), who authored a bill that included this provision. “California's cities and counties are now poised to answer the national call to adopt more rooftop solar and storage, faster.”
The move to make solar more affordable to all communities was applauded as an important step in the local and national fight against climate change.
“Climate change is not just an emergency that we have to address on a national level – it’s also a real, personal tragedy for so many of us here in this state,” Congresswoman Barbara Lee said. “We have lost lives, homes and even entire towns to wildfires driven by the climate crisis. Lives of Californians are at stake right now. We need bold action on every level – from the federal government to individual residents – to transition to a green and sustainable energy future, and to protect our planet for generations to come. As President Biden has said, justice has to be at the heart of this transition. Increasing access to residential solar in communities like Oakland and Berkeley that have experienced decades of environmental racism helps to keep us on the path to justice.”
To date, installing rooftop solar is about twice as expensive in the United States as it is in countries like 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, 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.
“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.”