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Commercial Solar PV Permit Campaign:
San Luis Obispo County
Feb.28, 2011 Press Release Announcing Report Release
Media articles shown below for San Luis Obispo County
Executive Summary
A fall 2010 survey by the Sierra Club revealed wide variation in permit fees charged for commercial rooftop photovoltaic (PV) energy systems by municipalities in San Luis Obispo County. The survey found that fees for commercial PV projects of 131 kW in size varied from $273 to over $9,500 (survey responses are based on a $1,200,000 project valuation, current market valuations are closer to $700,000, see appendix A in the full report for survey details). High fees can discourage businesses and residences from making good, long-term, high-yield investments in solar power. Four (50% of the surveyed municipalities) are charging fees that exceed the maximum cost-recovery levels identified in this report for commercial PV projects.
Figure summarizing survey results
The time needed for city staff to review and inspect a commercial PV project does not vary linearly by system size. For instance, interviews conducted in the preparation of this report revealed that the difference in time needed to process a 100 kW PV project is about two to three times longer than a 10 kW project (not ten times longer). Some efficient jurisdictions can do plan reviews and inspections for large commercial PV projects that take only slightly longer than a medium sized commercial PV project. Basing fees on the value of the solar equipment inflates permit costs to unreasonably high levels, especially for larger, more expensive solar power projects. To recover costs, therefore, permit fees should be based on specific review times and billable hourly rates and not on PV project valuations.
The authors of this study have developed a free, public fee calculator spreadsheet for PV systems mounted on commercial rooftops to help municipalities determine cost recovery.
This report recommends best practices that municipalities can adopt to assure greater consistency, and help our society develop an energy source that leads to a healthier, safer, and more stable community. These include setting permit fees at cost-recovery levels, and instituting streamlined permit processing procedures.
You can see the detailed survey responses at: www.solarpermitfees.org/PVFeesSanLuisObispo2010.html
Solar Electric Permit Fees for Commercial Installations in San Luis Obispo County
Report: www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeeStudySanLuisObispo.pdf
Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter Solar PV Permit Fee Campaign:
www.SolarPermitFees.org
Web site for San Luis Obispo County PV permit fee report (Dec. 2010): www.solarpermitfees.org/sanluisobispo.html
This executive summary: www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeeSanLuisObispoExecSum.pdf
Key recommendations: www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVPermitFeeRecommend2010.pdf
Links to stories on solar permit fees in San Luis Obispo County:
March 8, 2011 Article in San Luis Obispo Tribune: Permit fees for solar panels vary across San Luis Obispo County)
March 9, 2011 Editorial in San Luis Obispo Tribune, Solar Permit Discrepancies must be fixed
March 12, Blue Pacific Solar Blog, Sierra Club Exposes Excessive Local California Solar Installers Permit Fees
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By the numbers:
Loma Prieta Global Warming Activists: 3025
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