SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
U.S. seeks to speed rooftop solar growth with instant permits:
The Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP+) platform, developed by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, will be an optional portal for local governments to process permit applications automatically.
Approvals typically take a week or more currently, and permit-related costs can account for about a third of installers' overall costs, DOE said. The software speeds the process up by standardizing requirements, streamlining the application and automating some approvals.
Administration officials said the software will help speed adoption of rooftop solar and achieve President Joe Biden's goal of decarbonizing the U.S. electricity grid by 2035, a key pillar of his plan to address climate change. DOE has said that solar energy will need to be installed at a pace as much as five times faster than it is today to realize that goal.
[...] The portal performs an automatic review of permit applications, approving eligible systems instantly. Complex or ineligible systems are re-routed for additional review.
Local governments will not have to pay for the portal, DOE said. DOE is challenging 125 mayors and local officials to sign up for the SolarAPP tool before the end of the summer.
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Wednesday July 21 2021, @06:42PM (3 children)
I thought I was cynical, but if one third the cost of installing solar panels is not materials or labor but red tape and bribes then maybe I have a ways yet to go. Although they don't say whether this is for residential or commercial installations. Covering a Walmart store with solar panels is certainly a much different project than covering a two-car garage.
(Score: 2) by fakefuck39 on Thursday July 22 2021, @02:51AM (2 children)
The government does take fees. They also give you a 3-4k tax credit, which for a regular tax bracket saves you 10% of the solar panel's cost - so now we're down from 1/3 to 1/4.
Now, a place like OR, your permits are $200. In IL the cost is estimated using (.5% of total +$50 processing +$50 electrical permit) + 10% of permit cost for the technology fee. for a $15k install, it's, wait for it, $200. This pays for the permit review - them checking your diagrams for the structure and electrical.
but that's not all. you also need an electrical inspection and a structural inspection, by a certified inspector. Those are about $250 each. It takes only a couple of days to get your permit approved. So we're looking at total costs of about $700 - nowhere near 1/3 of the cost to get that solar panel on the roof.
But they're not talking about that cost. They say "about a third of installers' overall costs." That doesn't include the cost of the solar panel, which you buy. That's the labor and the wires and the screws. If it costs $2k to install a solar panel you bought, 1/3 of that is going to be $700.
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Thursday July 22 2021, @06:36AM (1 child)
OK, I thought the overall costs included the panels themselves. Withdrawing that assumption does make the cost breakdown more reasonable. But is $2K a typical price point? Seems like it would have to be higher than that, based on the numbers from random website A [thumbtack.com] and random website B [energysage.com].
(Score: 2) by fakefuck39 on Thursday July 22 2021, @07:33AM
2k is a number I pulled out if my ass, based on 50 man hours, at 40/hour. it's what you pay when you have hourly contractors doing work on your house and you ask them to add solar panels.
now, let me give you another example. you take a huge shit (in progress right now.) you then get into the bowl and start dancing while it flushes. fun -right? well, you broke the toilet skippy, need a new one. you go to lowes, buy a toilet and a $5 wax cylinder. you try to put the new toilet on, but it keeps leaking, because that wax is impissible for an amateur to not fuck up. so you call a plumber, and he wants $200 to install your toilet, which cists $200.
then you ask the contractor whom you're paying hourly for some remodeling. He gets it done in 20 minutes, and it's only cost you an extra thirty bucks.
so, you're right, and you can call a solar panel place. they'll sell you the panel, and they'll charge you 7k for labor. which will be estilated at 10 hours of work, for 3 people, but only 2 will show up and still get it done in a day. solar panels should be put in while you're already working on your house for something else, by general contractors and an electrician.