The New Jersey State Senate has unanimously passed “smart solar” permitting legislation (S4100) by a 39-0 vote.
According to Environment New Jersey, the bill will speed up the approval process for residential solar and storage, resulting in more solar installations and energy savings for homeowners in the state.
The legislation requires the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to create an online, automated permitting platform for rooftop solar and battery installations that will be available statewide within one year of the signing of the bill.
Residences with code-compliant projects are expected to be able to avoid costly red tape and obtain the permits needed to begin construction almost instantly.
Cities throughout the country have been using smart solar permitting to fast-track solar and battery projects for some time. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimated that in 2023, in areas where SolarApp+, the federal government-created smart permitting platform was utilized, 15,400 hours of local government staff time was saved. It also sped up permitting by an average of 14.5 days.
“In the middle of summer heat and rising utility bills, this is a moment for solutions to provide more clean energy to our electric grid and provide more savings for ratepayers. Smart solar permitting can bring permitting into the 21st century, reduce costs and burdens on towns and cities and get more clean energy onto the electric grid and save ratepayers money,” said State Sen. John McKeon (D-27). “We should put people over paperwork so we can get more solar on our rooftops and more savings for ratepayers in our wallets –that’s a win for our environment, our electric grid and for all of us.”
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