U.S. seeks to speed rooftop solar panels with immediate permits
18 Jul 2021, 07:31 GMT+10
WASHINGTON D.C.: To encourage the use of rooftop solar panels, the Biden administration has introduced a website to allow homeowners to receive same-day permits for the installation.
The typical period for approval has been two weeks.
The U.S. Energy Department claims this will reduce costs for homeowners.
The Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP+) platform, developed by the Department of Energy, will be an optional portal for local governments to automatically process permit applications.
Currently, permit-related costs can account for about one-third of installers' overall costs, officials said. The new site will speed up the process up by standardizing requirements, streamlining the application and automating some approvals.