Rooftop solar is a great way to cut pollution, save consumers money and boost resilience, but too often red tape gets in the way. A report from Brown University’s Climate Solutions Lab published in January found that permitting can add $3,800 to $4,500 to the cost of a typical rooftop solar system in New Jersey. Thankfully new legislation unanimously adopted by New Jersey’s State Senate promises to lower costs and speed up the process.
To address delays and costs with permitting, on June 30th, the New Jersey State Senate unanimously passed “smart solar” permitting legislation (S4100) on Monday, June 230th. If signed into law by Governor Murphy, this legislation will require the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to make an online, automated permitting platform for rooftop solar and battery installs available statewide within a year of the bill’s signing.
Smart solar permitting could unlock tremendous benefits for New Jerseyans and our electric grid. The Brown University report estimates that adopting smart permitting statewide could result in an additional 200,000 residential solar systems installed in New Jersey by 2040.
“Speeding up solar permitting and bringing it into the 21st century makes sense for New Jersey – we should follow the lead of other states and cities that use smart solar permitting,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “Thank you to State Sen. McKeon and State Asm. Karabinchak for shepherding this legislation to unanimous passage. This should be a solar slam dunk and we urge Governor Murphy to sign this bill into law as quickly as possible to allow more homeowners to go solar during the intense heat of this summer.”
More rooftop solar, less red tape
Solar power
More rooftop solar, less red tape
In many communities, it can take days, weeks or even months to get a straightforward rooftop solar installation approved. It doesn’t need to be this way.
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