Relates to residential solar and energy storage permitting

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic97
• Republican6

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Pete Harckham says this is needed

New York's rigorous climate goals include a mandate of 70 percent of the state's electricity to be generated by renewable energy by 2023 and 100 percent zero-emissions electricity by 2040. Specifically related to solar, the Climate Act requires 6,000 MW of distributed solar by 2025. To meet these requirements, the state must continue to enact policies that support these goals. Delays and long timelines in the permitting for residential solar and storage systems present a significant impediment to meeting New York's clean energy goals. Across the United States, 11 percent of solar projects are canceled, and installers cite the permitting process and associated delays as the top reason for cancellations. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office, has created and released SolarAPP+, which is a free automated online portal that any jurisdiction can implement locally to simplify the permitting process for residential solar and storage system installations. By automating permitting with SolarAPP+, homes receive permits as soon as the installer submits the application, allowing solar to be installed that day. This bill will require the implementation of this platform or other similar residential automated solar permitting platforms by the year 2026. By requiring certain municipalities to implement this software, local permitting processes will be significantly expedited. This legislation will make it faster, easier, and less expensive for local governments to approve solar and storage systems. This will streamline the local government approval process and will allow New Yorkers to install resi- dential solar and storage systems much faster than ever before. This bill is necessary to help New York meet its climate goals and will make the transition to renewable energy easier and less expensive for every- one.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.