Sierra Club study
examines residential solar permit fees

By Ari Burack

August 22, 2007

Amid a growing push for clean and renewable energy sources, some city governments in Northern California are helping to encourage solar power to residents by lowering permit fees, a Sierra Club study concludes.

In a study published Aug. 12 by the Sierra Club's Loma Prieta Chapter, a survey of 131 Northern California cities in the nine-county Bay Area, as well as Sacramento, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Yolo counties, revealed an average permit fee of $282 to install a 3-kilowatt rooftop solar electric system in a single-family home.

The study updated a 2005 Sierra Club survey of San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Benito counties, since which cities' solar permits in those counties dropped on average from $652 to $252.

Study co-authors Kurt Newick and Carl Mills said their goal was to convince other city governments to reduce solar permit fees and lengthy permit approval times in order to encourage more residents to invest in solar technology in their homes.

The study recommended most cities charge no more than $300 in permit fees to ensure contractors properly install residential solar energy systems.

"I'm very pleased at the city leaders who are making these changes to help promote solar power," Newick said.

"Many of the more expensive ones have said that they will reduce their fees," Mills added.

At $85 and $206 respectively, San Francisco and Marin counties as a whole ranked the lowest in terms of solar permit fees, while Napa and Yolo counties, at $444 and $445 respectively, were the most expensive on average, according to Newick.

The study singled out the cities of Belmont, Foster City and San Carlos in San Mateo County; Berkeley and El Cerrito in Contra Costa County; Fairfax and Ross in Marin County; and Los Altos Hills in Santa Clara County for offering free solar permits to residents.

Also commended were the cities of San Jose, Novato, Saratoga and Walnut Creek, for issuing "over-the-counter" permits immediately, according to the study.

The average solar energy rooftop system costs about $18,600 after a state rebate, can provide almost all of the power a typical middle-income household consumes, and can last about 35 to 40 years, according to Newick.

With typical household energy usage, that cost can often be recovered in 10 to 12 years, Newick said.

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