New York and New Jersey are national leaders in state climate goals, each aiming to have 100% clean energy by mid-century. Both grid-scale and behind-the-meter (residential) solar and energy storage are key components of this energy transition. New York is looking to install 10 gigawatts of distributed solar by 2030, and New Jersey is looking to install over six gigawatts of distributed solar by 2026. To persuade their residents to install solar and energy storage systems, New York and New Jersey offer a series of incentives, such as compensation for energy generation benchmarks or property tax exemptions. Despite incentives, there are challenges in the residential permitting system that hinders the uptake of residential solar and energy storage.

This project examines common permitting challenges in New York and New Jersey, and offers examples of municipalities where those challenges occur. The highlighted municipalities were gathered through interviews with solar installers, and represent some, but not all of the municipalities that installers experienced challenges in.

Many of the challenges described can be alleviated by the adoption of an automated permitting system. Such systems allow installers to upload all necessary information to a portal, which cross checks the application with a municipality’s guidelines, and automatically issues a permit or rejects the application. Streamlining the permitting process for residential solar and energy storage can help New York and New Jersey achieve their energy goals and allow more residents to benefit from the cost-savings associated with solar and energy storage systems.

This project was funded by Permit Power, a nonprofit organization working to reform clean energy permitting.