The California Energy Commission (CEC) has just released a $20M grant program tailored to local jurisdictions looking to adopt an automated permitting system for residential solar energy systems.  CALBO’s Legislative Committee has been working to ensure the availability of funds to local building departments as the push for online permitting for green energy technology has become an annual discussion in Sacramento. As you may recall from last year, CALBO supported a budget appropriation for these funding opportunities and this program is a result of our efforts.

Through the California Automated Permit Processing Program (CalAPP) jurisdictions can qualify for up to $40,000 dependent upon population. CalAPP focuses on SolarAPP technology specifically but will allow jurisdictions to use another kind of automated permitting system so long as the technology complies with specific requirements listed in the CEC’s program description. This is an opportunity for local building departments to gain resources as the world continues to look towards new technology for quicker, more efficient permitting.  

CALBO’s support for this program stems from our efforts to avail greater resources to our member’s departments considering new technology for online permitting systems for residential solar energy systems. We can see the proverbial writing on the wall, and as mandates continue to escalate relative to permitting technology, the resources need to coincide with mandates. We will continue to advocate along these lines. As these permitting programs and associated technologies are still voluntary and at the discretion of a local jurisdiction, we wish to continue to encourage such resources that enable our members to adopt programs that meet the needs of their unique communities. 

Please click here to apply and for more information. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact CALBO’s Public Affairs Manager Brady Guertin at bguertin@calbo.org.