While adoption of NREL’s online solar permitting platform SolarAPP+ remains concentrated in California and Arizona, it’s success to date in those areas demonstrates the potential of automated permitting, according to software developer Accela.
Released in May 2021, SolarAPP+ enables solar installers to complete applications for permits online and automatically checks those applications for errors, potentially reducing permit wait times from weeks to hours. Municipalities that have integrated the app into their permitting process have so far issued more than 4,700 permits, including 335 permits for solar with onsite storage via a pilot program currently underway. Tuscon, Arizona, is currently in the lead with 2,133 solar permits issued via SolarAPP+, according to NREL.
