Ponder the Trade-Offs of Streamlining the Solar Panel Installation Codes

Solar panel installation code streamlining sounds like a great idea, but as with many other standard code implementation campaigns standardization may not truly mean standardization in its pure sense not simply because one city may want to be the exception but because different cities have different needs and knowledge of solar. 

Plus on from a more realistic and historical point, the “all politics are local” mantra of the U.S. and the historical autonomy given to cities dating back to the founding days of the nation leads me to believe that even if the federal government chooses to implement basic solar installation standards, some cities will still have additional permitting forms. For some more progressive cities, which in the case of Solar tend to be located in California, the national negotiated and consensus “standards” will be basic at best, and thus they may still choose to implement their own requirements. However, isn’t the permitting process just part of the cost of doing business in the construction industry?

As the New York Times article, “Solar Firms Frustrated by Permits” by Tom Zeller Jr.  reports: a recent report released today by SunRun, one of the nation’s largest solar leasing companies (& endorsed by numerous solar service and installation firms) “urges the Obama administration to do more to encourage local officials to adopt the codes and procedures outlined by the solar ABC’s — including the creation of a prize program similar to the Race to the Top Fund, a $4.35 billion program created as part of the 2009 stimulus package to encourage and reward states for efforts to reform education.” Though this suggestion sounds like a stimulating recommendation with lots of potential, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Solar panels are only one component of the solar industry that by the way is loosing market power because of solar power technology innovation and not the permitting process. In the same vein, the solar industry is just one component (and solution) on the renewable energy spectrum. The bigger concern and probably the reason why a doing a similar program to the Race to the Top Fund for solar panel installation is controversial is such a narrowly focused program may be exclusionary and discourage innovation in other renewable energy sources that may be more cost-effective and greener.