SolarAPP - The Solar Foundation

The Solar Automated Permit Processing platform (SolarAPP) will be an instant online solar permitting tool for code compliant residential systems. SolarAPP will create a low-cost, seamless process for rooftop solar and solar+storage installations, while enhancing safety and reliability and making solar energy affordable and accessible for more residents and businesses.

The Solar Foundation is proud to be a founding partner and co-leader on the SolarAPP. This initiative is a collaborative effort with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and key code officials, authorities having jurisdiction at the local level (AHJs), and the solar industry. The Solar Foundation’s participation in the SolarAPP is supported by the SolSmart program, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office.

NREL hosted a webinar on April 14 with an update on the status of the SolarAPP initiative, including an early prototype of the software platform and opportunities to get involved. View the recorded webinar here.

Visit the SolarAPP website at NREL to stay informed on the latest developments and how you can be involved with SolarAPP. Subscribe to receive updates on SolarAPP here.

Why SolarAPP?

Solar energy is now mainstream across the United States, with over 2 million U.S. solar customers. However, solar in the U.S. is a long way from realizing its full potential. Direct and indirect costs of permitting, inspection and interconnection add about $7,000 ($1.00 per watt) to the cost of a typical residential solar energy system. That is about the same as the value of the 30% federal investment tax credit for solar, which began phasing out at the end of 2019. A patchwork of permitting and interconnection processes create installation and activation delays, increase cancellations and impose costs on solar installations that are far higher than in other mature solar markets.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 public health crisis has led to even more urgency for a user-friendly, automated, and online platform to ease the process for permitting solar installations.

The SolarAPP will:

Provide a flexible, web-based PV-permitting tool for residential systems at no-cost to AHJs.
Enable standardization of instant permitting processes.
Evaluate applications for safety and code compliance.
Offer opportunities to incorporate energy storage and expand to other market segments.

SolarAPP Timeline

The SolarAPP was first announced at Solar Power International in September 2018.
In July 2019, NREL was awarded new funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and deploy the SolarAPP software platform. Learn more
The team is now working with AHJs to test and pilot the new SolarAPP software, to be completed in June 2020.
In September 2020, the SolarAPP will be launched for widespread use.

Expected Results

The SolarAPP campaign expects to achieve the following results by 2025:

Make solar energy more affordable and accessible for homeowners and businesses at a wide range of income levels.
Save a typical solar consumer more than $7,000 in red tape tied to installation costs.
Help local governments and jurisdictions operate more effectively and efficiently without compromising safety or quality of solar systems.
Save taxpayer money by reducing local government staff time and costs associated with permit review and inspections at the local level.
Open new market opportunities for solar installers, manufacturers, developers, owners, and operators, resulting in more American jobs.

Get Involved

Achieving the SolarAPP vision will require sustained commitments from policy makers, the solar industry, and proponents of solar energy and defenders of the freedom of Americans to choose how they meet their energy needs. For more information on how you can support this effort, contact Richard Lawrence, Program Director at The Solar Foundation (rlawrence@solarfound.org), who can also direct you to the other program partners.

Don’t forget to sign up on the NREL website to receive updates about the SolarAPP.

The Solar Foundation’s participation in the SolarAPP initiative is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy through the SolSmart Technical Assistance Provider Program (Solar Energy Technology Office Award Number DE-0007155). To learn more about SolSmart, visit SolSmart.org.