1. PROJECT PERMIT
Simplifying Municipal Solar Permitting Practices
Vote Solar ‘Get Some Sun’ Webinar
June 5th, 2013

2. AAgenda
Galen Barbose, Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory
Sky Stanfield, Interstate
Renewable Energy Council
Annie Lappé, Vote Solar
Sean Milch, Clean Power
Finance
Project Permit
Webinar
Agenda

3. The Importance of Reducing “Soft”
Costs for PV Market Development
Galen Barbose and Ryan Wiser
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Vote Solar Webinar
June 5, 2013
This work was funded by the Solar Energy Technologies Program, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of
the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

4. Residential PV Price Trends in the US:
There’s More than Just Hardware!
4
$0
$2
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Installation Year
Total Installed Price (Median)
Global Module Price Index
Implied Non-Module Costs
Residential & Commercial PV Systems ≤10 kW
2012$/WDC
Source: Preliminary results from LBNL’s forthcoming “Tracking the Sun VI”. The Global
Module Price Index is Navigant Consulting’s module price index for large-quantity buyers
(Mints, 2012). Implied Non-Module Costs are calculated as the difference between the
Total Installed Price and the Global Module Price Index.

5. PV Pricing in Germany Reveals Potential
for Soft Cost Reductions
• The installed price of residential PV is significantly lower in Germany than in the
United States, due primarily to differences in ―soft‖ costs
• Potential factors contributing to low soft costs in Germany:
– Widespread deployment and market longevity  greater installer experience
– Regular declining FiT and high competition among installers
– Simple, certain value proposition leads to low customer acquisition costs
– Lower market fragmentation
– Less onerous permitting-inspection-interconnection processes
0.01 0.22 0.24
0.36
0.62
0.12 0.09 0.21
1.17
3.00
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
German system module inverter other hardwareinstallation laborcustomer acquisition and system designPII permitting fee sales taxoverhead, profit and other resid
$2011/W
Cost
difference
of $3.04/W
Sources of US-German residential system price differences in 2011
5
Source: LBNL, “Why Are Residential PV Prices in Germany So Much Lower Than in the United States?”

6. Non-Hardware ―Soft‖ Costs Dominate
Prices, Consist of Multiple Elements
• Permitting fee and labor hours vary across 18,000 jurisdictions
• Total PII labor hours/install cluster around 15 to 25 hours
• Permit fees can be as high as $2000 per install
6
Source: RMI, based in
part on data from NREL
Permitting, inspection, and
interconnection

7. With Broader Definition of Permitting
Impact, SunRun Report Shows that…
• Local permitting and
inspection can add:
– $0.50 per watt for residential PV
– $2,516 per residential install
• Installation delays from
permitting procedures
average 3.5 weeks
7

8. Clean Power Finance Installer Survey
Further Demonstrates Impact
• Permitting processes vary
widely among locales and
usually involve 2 distinct
agencies (and up to 5) each
with different processes
• AHJs require, on average,
nearly 8 work weeks to
complete their tasks
• The staff time of the installer
averages 14.25 hours
• More than 1 in 3 installers
avoid selling in an average of
3.5 jurisdictions because of
permitting difficulties
8

9. Analysis of U.S. DOE’s Rooftop Solar
Challenge Adds Further Evidence
Based on a detailed analysis of 44
California cities participating in the
Rooftop Solar Challenge, the cities
with the highest-scoring permitting
practices for residential PV:
• Have lower average system prices:
$0.27 to $0.77/W (4%-12%)
• Have shorter development times:
around 24 days (25%)
Both relative to the lowest-scoring cities in the
California sample
9

10. Germany Demonstrates the Benefits of
Streamlined Permitting Procedures
10
8.5
1.7
3.2
0.3
4.3
0.2
2.9
3.0
3.7
0.06
0.01
0.03
0.03
0.01
0.02
0.02
0.09
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0
5
10
15
20
25
USA 2010
[h/system]
Germany 2011
[h/system]
USA 2010
[$/W]
Germany 2011
[$/W]
$2011/Wh/system
Permitting, Inspection, Interconnection
requirements Permit Fee
Incentive Application
Completing
Interconnection
Completing Permit
Inspection
Submitting Permit
Package
Preparing Permit
Package
$.24/W
$.03/W
22.6h
5.2h

11. The Bottom Line…
• For residential PV, the only viable path to
dramatically lower costs & increased deployment
is to focus on non-hardware ―soft‖ costs
• Streamlined local permitting procedures is one
critical leverage point for reduced cost and delay
• The Vote Solar’s Project Permit is one of many
important resources and efforts targeting this
critical issue
11

12. Sky Stanfield
Interstate Renewable Energy
Council
Project Permit: Best Practices
in Residential Solar
Permitting

13.  Nine Best Practices by Vote Solar and IREC
 Developed following review of permit process
improvements across the country
 Available at www.projectpermit.org, under
―best practices’
 Sharing Success: Emerging Approaches to
Efficient Rooftop Solar Permitting
– http://www.irecusa.org/wp-
content/uploads/FINAL-Sharing-Success-w-
cover-revised-final052012.pdf
Project Permit: Best Practices
in Residential Solar
Permitting

14. 1. Permitting information is available and easily
accessible online at a single location
– Checklists, Solar Guidebooks
– http://www.irecusa.org/wp-
content/uploads/permitting-handoutv6-1.pdf
2. Expedited review for simple systems
– Solar ABC’s Expedited Permit Process
– Over-the-Counter or Electronic Processing
– Within One Day
3. Electronic and online permit processing
4. No more than one trip to the permit office
Best Practices in Residential
Solar Permitting
Vote Solar/IREC Permitting Best Practices: http://votesolar.org/best-practices/

15. 5. Fair, flat permit fees that reflect the time
needed to process permit applications
– Calculate actual review time on 80%
– Aim for less than $400 for residential permits
6. No community Specific Installer Licenses
– Standard certification for installers (NABCEP)
Best Practices in Residential
Solar Permitting
Vote Solar/IREC Permitting Best Practices: http://votesolar.org/best-practices/

16. 7. Reduced inspection time windows
– Exact time or Windows Below 2 Hours
– Call ahead, online tracking or other tools
8. Only one inspection—eliminate unnecessary
review and inspections
– See IREC Inspection Guidelines
– Combine structural, electrical and fire
9. Permitting staff trained in solar—plan check
and review staff as well as inspectors
– PVOT training is free and accessible
– https://www.nterlearning.org/web/guest/course-
details?cid=402
Best Practices in Residential
Solar Permitting
Vote Solar/IREC Permitting Best Practices: http://votesolar.org/best-practices/

17. PROJECT PERMIT
A tool to empower citizens to work with local governments to improve solar
permitting practices.

18. Introducing SolarPermit.org
a Wiki for Solar Permitting
Requirements
Sean Milch
Clean Power Finance

19. Introducing SolarPermit.org: The National
Solar Permitting Database
• Free, online database that hosts permitting
information and data for cities and counties
across the nation
• Funded by a $3MM grant from the
Department of Energy
• Aims to reduce addressable inefficiencies in
the permitting process
• Database is ‘crowd sourced’ -- populated by
installers, building department employees, and
civic-minded individuals

20. Get Involved with SolarPermit.org and Project
Permit Today
• Help us simplify the solar
permitting process and drive
down the cost of residential
solar by adding permitting
data to the database
• Data that you contribute to
SolarPermit.org will populate
Project Permit’s website and
enable jurisdictions with the
best permitting practices to
gain recognition

21. Questions?