Local opinion: We need more solar projects, and Pima County and Tucson are leading the way

Here in Pima County and Tucson, we have one of the best resources for solar energy in the world, with 350+ days of sunshine each year. As summer approaches, we’re reminded of the increasing need for clean energy resources that don’t use our precious water, as we experience more and more hot days. We also know that solar energy is a key strategy to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel sources of electricity, which exacerbate climate change-fueled extreme weather.

Installing rooftop solar electric systems is one of the best ways to help transition our energy sources to build a cleaner, more technologically advanced electric grid, while saving consumers money in electricity costs at the same time.

Over the past twenty-plus years working in renewable energy in Tucson, I’ve been involved in thousands of rooftop solar electric installations for homes and small businesses. I’ve seen solar grow from a niche product that only a few could afford to install, to today’s solar and storage systems that are accessible to many in our community.

Part of this increased accessibility is through significant reductions in costs for solar panels, electronics, and batteries–the physical infrastructure companies like mine install for Tucsonans. Another big part of reductions in costs comes from improvements to everything else that goes into installing a solar electric system, including building permits and utility paperwork.

For many years, obtaining a necessary building permit for a solar electric system was a time-consuming, complicated, costly process. For most building departments, we often had to go in person to their offices, submit paper forms and proposed construction drawings, wait several weeks to get the approval to install a solar electric or energy storage system, and pick up the approved paperwork in person. These processes could cause costly delays for each solar project.

Fortunately, in 2021, under Pima County’s leadership, the county’s building department as well as that of City of Tucson started implementing automated building permits for most solar electric systems through an online program called SolarAPP+, which was developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in partnership with building departments and solar installation companies across the country.

New data show that solar installations in Pima County and Tucson have grown at twice the rate of the rest of the state since adopting SolarAPP+. This is an astounding increase with benefits to consumers, installers, and government employees.

SolarAPP+ allows contractors to submit permit applications online for most solar electric systems and some energy storage systems, and receive nearly instant approval! For contractors like us, SolarAPP+ saves us money, time, and frustration on the approximately 90% of permit applications that qualify for the program. These savings reduce the cost of solar for our clients, but these homeowners also appreciate the certainty in knowing that we can obtain a building permit quickly and install their project promptly.

Over the next few years, we expect that many more Arizonans will choose to install solar electric and/or energy storage systems on their homes, for a multitude of reasons. These include energy costs savings, resiliency, and climate. As residents, cities, towns, and counties work together to build a more sustainable energy system, I believe that SolarAPP+ and similar technologies that make permitting more efficient will be an important factor in making sure solar electric and energy storage systems are available to everyone.

We are grateful that Pima County and Tucson have been issuing automated solar building permits for years and that the Town of Oro Valley is following suit. We hope that in the future many other Arizona building departments will adopt software such as SolarAPP+, continuing the trend of making solar electric and energy storage options more accessible and efficient for all in southern Arizona and beyond.