The first step to increasing solar deployment is organizing and developing a strategic approach to increasing the deployment of and accessibility to solar. Local governments should work to understand local priorities that inform solar target setting, identify contextual issues such as local land use and historical inequities, and develop resources to educate the public about solar. To increase solar deployment effectively and equitably, it is critical to engage a diversity of local stakeholders—including members of underserved communities—in decision-making using appropriate strategies for gathering public input.

A good starting point is to create an advisory committee or task force that includes a diversity of stakeholders in decision-making. An advisory group and other forms of stakeholder engagement can help local governments gain the perspectives of and obtain buy-in from local solar energy market participants. Including key community members and organizations on solar advisory committees and task forces, can increase the effectiveness, equity, and inclusiveness of the local solar effort.

Resources

• Clean Energy Equity Examples – This resource from the Low-Income Solar Policy Guide is a list of clean energy equity examples at the state and city level, which includes equity advisory, oversight, and working groups.
• SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments: Stakeholder Engagement – This chapter from the SolSmart Toolkit for Local Governments provides guidance to local government staff on stakeholder engagement.
• Energy Transitions Playbook – This resources from DOE includes a stakeholder matrix and stakeholder mapping template to help identify and categorize stakeholders for creating an advisory committee or task force.
• Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network: Getting Started – This resource covers the creation and operation of committees focused on renewable energy and climate change solutions.

In addition to a solar advisory committee and/or task force (see previous question), other relevant organizations that could be involved in developing a solar development plan include:

• State Energy Offices
• Utilities
• Community-Based Organizations
• Tribal Communities
• Higher Education Institutions
• Labor Unions

Resources

• Community Outreach and Solar Equity: A Guide for States on Collaborating With Community-Based Organizations – This guide from the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) is aimed at state energy agencies that are looking to strengthen relationships with local under-resourced communities or that are beginning to engage in energy justice work. The guide is a collection of best practices, ideas, and principles that provide states with a foundation for building equitable relationships with CBOs and working with them on solar development.
• Working Effectively With Tribal Governments – This guide from the state government of Michigan provides information about tribal communities, including an introduction to concepts, federal law, and tips for working more effectively with tribal governments.

Setting solar installation targets helps clarify the role solar energy will play in achieving a community’s broader environmental, climate change, or sustainability goals. Setting targets helps create momentum for a solar program, with stakeholders working toward common goals. It also guides the strategy for increasing solar installations in a community and enables leaders to track progress against a published goal.

Solar target setting should begin with the development of an installation baseline that provides insight into a community’s experience with solar energy. After an installation baseline has been developed, it can be used to establish realistic local solar targets. To identify realistic targets, a community may consider the following:

• Identifying programs and policies that support or hinder solar deployment at the state, local, and utility levels.
• Identifying potential space available in the community for rooftop and ground-mounted solar installations.
• Understanding the local solar market, including the price and availability of solar technologies, tax incentives, subsidies, and the operations of local solar developers and installers.
• Considering current grid electricity costs and the amount of electricity used by different sectors (residential, commercial, industrial).
• Understanding community priorities for solar deployment, such as reducing carbon emissions, lowering electricity bills, and improving public health.

To see the complete list of considerations, see Section 1.5 of the complete Solar Power in Your Community guidebook.

Tools to Assist in Solar Target Setting

Resources

• Advice for States on 100% Clean Energy Planning – This resource was developed by CESA to assist states (and other entities) that have 100% clean energy goals by providing knowledge-sharing activities and analysis so that together they can address program challenges and opportunities.
• Cities Renewables Accelerator – The American Cities Climate Challenge is a program from Bloomberg Philanthropies to help cities meet carbon-reduction goals. The Cities Renewables Accelerator, which is part of this program, supports cities with procurement.
• CELICA Toolkit: Clean Energy Solutions for Low-Income Communities – This toolkit from DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative provides tools, resources, and models for developing low-income energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.
• Energy Equity for Renters – This initiative from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) offers many resources, including a guide for local governments, energy burden research, building performance standards, and more.
• Equitable Clean Energy Planning – This series of webinars from the World Resources Institute guides local government staff through equity-centered, scenario-based planning for community-level energy policy.
• Guidelines for Community Commitments to 100% Renewable Energy – This document from the Sierra Club provides guidelines for creating an equitable and just transition to 100% clean, renewable energy, and includes options for integrating solar into these goals.
• How To Set Renewable Electricity Goals That Align With Community Priorities – This article from the Great Plains Institute discusses how a community can set electricity goals. It has a solar calculator tool to help communities set rooftop solar goals based on available resources.
• Local Government Project Portal: Goal-Setting Guidance – This guide from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides information on why and how to set a renewable electricity goal and the considerations that should be taken into account. There is also a worksheet for users with actionable steps.
• Local Government Strategies for 100% Clean Energy – This webinar from SolSmart provides an overview for setting clean energy goals, including considerations related to COVID-19.
• Low- and Moderate-Income Solar Policy Basics – This web page from NREL gives an overview of LMI solar, including barriers to LMI solar uptake, financing mechanisms, and information on community solar, as well as providing additional resources.
• Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool – This DOE tool provides estimated low-income household energy data at state and local levels. Data include energy burdens, housing units, and income levels.
• Low-Income Solar Policy Guide – This guide—developed by GRID Alternatives, Vote Solar, and the Center for Social Inclusion—summarizes barriers to low-income solar and provides information on successful programs, policy tools, and models.
• Map and Timelines of 100% Clean Energy States – This map from CESA tracks states’ 100% clean energy commitments and timelines.
• Ready for 100% Interactive Map – This map, provided by the Sierra Club, details which states and communities have set 100% renewable energy or 100% carbon-free goals.
• Shared Accountability Framework: For Community Implementation of 100% Clean Energy Goals – This tool for evaluation from the Sierra Club helps leaders prioritize equity and justice while evaluating a community’s process toward the transition to 100% clean energy. The Companion to the Shared Accountability Framework can help jurisdictions use the framework effectively.
• Solar With Justice: Strategies for Powering Up Under-Resourced Communities and Growing an Inclusive Solar Market – This guide from CESA provides recommendations for how to accelerate solar implementation in under-resourced communities.
• Tracking the Sun – This report and interactive data visualizations from LBNL summarizes installed prices and other trends among grid-connected distributed PV systems in the United States.

Despite substantial market growth, barriers to solar adoption disproportionally impact low- to moderate-income (LMI) households and under-resourced communities. The access of LMI households to PV is hindered by several factors, including the inability to afford the upfront cost of PV systems, lack of home ownership, and inadequate income or credit to qualify for solar financing. Households and businesses alike may face additional barriers, such as complicated procedures for permitting and connecting systems to the grid, financing challenges, and a lack of awareness of solar energy solutions. Local governments are uniquely positioned to remove many of the barriers to widespread solar adoption and make solar energy more affordable and accessible for their residents and businesses.

There are many ways that local jurisdictions can help create a more equitable local solar market. To work toward equitable local solar adoption, especially in underserved communities, a community may consider setting racial equity goals, creating a specific LMI solar program or LMI carve outs in existing programs, accounting for historical injustices, ensuring diversity and representation on local advisory committees, working with local minority-owned businesses, deploying solar for multifamily buildings, and including underrepresented minorities in decision-making about solar.

Resources

• A Guidebook on Equitable Clean Energy Program Design for Local Governments and Partners – This guide from the Cadmus Group helps local governments design equitable clean energy programs.
• Achieving Cooperative Community Equitable Solar Sources (ACCESS) – This project from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association shares research on how to make solar energy affordable for LMI communities. This page has tools and resources on equitable and affordable solar deployment.
• Affordable and Accessible Solar for All: Barriers, Solutions, and On-Site Adoption Potential – This NREL report reviews the market and regulatory barriers to low-income solar access and affordability, and summarizes current solutions to those challenges.
• Clean Energy Equity Examples – This resource from the Low-Income Solar Policy Guide is a list of clean energy equity examples at the state and city level, which includes equity advisory, oversight and working groups.
• Community Outreach and Solar Equity: A Guide for States on Collaborating With Community-Based Organizations – This guide from CESA is aimed at state energy agencies that are looking to strengthen relationships with local under-resourced communities or that are beginning to engage in energy justice work. The guide is a collection of best practices, ideas, and principles that provide states with a foundation for building equitable relationships with CBOs and working with them on solar development.
• Designing Community Solar Programs That Promote Racial and Economic Equity – This white paper from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance provides guidance for creating community solar programs that promote racial and economic equity. It defines what makes a community solar program equitable and states objectives that community solar programs striving to be equitable can pursue, including objectives related to program structure, consumer participation, compensation, and other policy areas.
• Directory of State Low- and Moderate-Income Clean Energy Programs – This directory from CESA describes state clean energy programs for LMI residents and communities.
• For more information on local engagement, see Best Practices for Meaningful Community Engagement and Public Engagement: The Key To Building Inclusive Communities. For more information on solar-specific local engagement, see the American Planning Association’s Solar Community Engagement Strategies for Planners.
• Greenlink Equity Map (GEM) – GEM is an online map to help users visualize equity-related issues. It includes data on income, energy burden, water burden, internet access, and more.
• IREC Guidance for Advancing Solar Equity – The SolSmart program has created guidance that shows how to apply an equity lens to the best practices identified for SolSmart designation.
• National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) – NCSP is a coalition of community solar stakeholders working to expand access to affordable community solar to every American household by 2025. Technical assistance is available to members. NCSP also includes focused collaboratives and educational materials.
• Working Effectively With Tribal Governments – This guide from the state of Michigan provides information about tribal communities, including an introduction to concepts, federal law, and tips for working more effectively with tribal governments.

In addition to utilizing the many publications available, local governments should consider taking advantage of the various forms of support available when organizing their solar efforts. Technical assistance is one example; it can take the form of information, skills training, technical data, or consulting services, and it can be obtained during any stage of local solar development. There may also be localized funding opportunities, such as grants to address barriers to solar installations for LMI households, grants to local governments that demonstrate leadership in clean energy, funding for training programs, and more. Local governments may also consider hiring an intern or fellow for added support in pursing local solar development. See the full Solar Power in Your Community guidebook for comprehensive lists of resources for your community.

Opportunities for Technical Assistance as of 2021

Yes. Solar deployment has increased rapidly in the last 10 years, allowing more communities to access the benefits of solar PV. This increase has allowed solar to play an important role in local plans such as resilience planning, sustainability planning, and climate action planning. Some municipalities and states are already targeting 100% renewable energy or 100% carbon neutrality by a certain date, often with interim goals along the way. Solar can be incorporated into these plans by setting specific solar carve-outs within existing targets, incentivizing high energy consumers to use roof and parking-lot space for on-site solar through local tax incentives, or powering municipal operations with solar.

Solar can also play a role in energy-sector resilience, which may already be included in local planning. Resilience is the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to changing conditions, and to withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly from disruptive events. Solar can provide a foundation for grid islands by providing local power when the main grid is disrupted. Pairing PV with energy storage enables solar energy generated during the day to be used when the sun is not shining, providing power more continually during a grid disruption and thus increasing the resilience of the local energy system.

Resources

• BETTER: Building Efficiency Targeting Tool for Energy Retrofits – BETTER is a software toolkit developed in partnership with DOE and LBNL that enables building operators to identify the most cost-saving energy efficiency measures in buildings and portfolios using readily available building and energy data.
• Better Buildings Solution Center – Through the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE partners with leaders in the public and private sectors to make the nation’s homes, commercial buildings, and industrial plants more energy-efficient. Better Buildings accelerates investment and facilitates sharing of successful best practices.
• Energy Efficiency and Distributed Generation for Resilience: Withstanding Grid Outages for Less – This DOE report describes how energy efficiency can be integrated into planning and includes real-world examples.
• Energy Resilience in the Public Sector – This landing page from DOE offers resources and tools for state and local governments on energy and resilience.
• Energy Storage Implementation Guide – This guide from the Energy Storage Integration Council covers the complete life cycle of an energy storage project.
• Energy Transitions Playbook – This guidebook from DOE’s Energy Transitions Initiative provides a seven-phase process for a community-driven transition to a resilient, clean energy system. The Playbook includes worksheets, templates, and case studies to assist communities with planning at any phase.
• How Distributed Energy Resources Can Improve Resilience in Public Buildings – This DOE report provides three case studies about distributed energy resources in public buildings, as well as a step-by-step guide for how to conduct analysis using two publicly available tools, REopt Lite and the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM).
• Microgrids for Resiliency – This report from DOE and NREL discusses the value that microgrids can provide to utilities and customers.
• Owning the Benefits of Solar + Storage – This report from the Clean Energy Group describes ownership and financing models for solar plus storage in affordable housing and community facilities.
• Power Sector Resilience Planning Guidebook: A Self-Guided Reference for Practitioners – This guidebook from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and NREL introduces decision makers to the concepts and steps involved in power sector resilience planning.
• Resilience Roadmap: A Collaborative Approach to Multi-Jurisdictional Planning – This step-by-step process from NREL offers guidance for a multi-jurisdictional approach to resilience planning.
• Resilient Power Project Map – This map from the Clean Energy Group tracks resilient energy projects in the United States.
• Resilient Power Project Toolkit – This toolkit from the Clean Energy Group provides information and resources to help gain a better understanding of resilient power systems and how to approach the planning and development of a resilient power installation.
• Resources To Support Initiatives for Low-to-Moderate Income Communities (Part 1) – This webinar from SolSmart is a resource for local governments to understand how to expand solar and energy efficiency deployment in LMI communities. The second webinar in this series provides examples of projects.
• State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE) Platform – The SLOPE platform delivers jurisdictionally resolved potential and projection data on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and (coming soon) sustainable transportation to enable data-driven state and local energy planning.
• Smart Grids in Emerging Markets—Private Sector Perspectives – This fact sheet from USAID and NREL provides an introduction to smart grids, the benefits that smart grids can provide to the grid and to consumers, and policy and technical support considerations that could improve private sector investment in smart grids.
• Solar-Plus-Storage 101 – This DOE guide provides a basic overview of solar-plus-storage projects, including information on the technology and associated costs.
• SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments: Resiliency – This section of SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments explains how solar-plus-storage systems work and provides guidelines for communities on how to foster the development of this technology as well as successful examples at the local level.
• The Role of Smart Grids in Integrating Renewable Energy – This report from NREL discusses the role that smart grids can play in integrating renewable energy into a system, and discusses smart grid technology, policy, and regulation from the perspective of a decision maker.
• Understanding Solar + Storage – This report from the Clean Energy Group answers frequently asked questions about solar PV and battery storage.
• Will Solar Panels Help When the Power Goes Out?: Planning for PV Resilience – This report from NREL discusses how solar can contribute to resilience with careful design and planning.

After setting solar targets, local decision makers need to identify ways to reach those targets. Local governments may consider solar products such as on-site solar, off-site solar, or purchasing mechanisms such as virtual power purchase agreements (PPAs), community choice aggregation (CCA), renewable energy certificates (RECs), or third-party ownership models.

While solar products and purchasing mechanisms are important tools in making solar more accessible, reducing PV costs is also another important factor. Although solar costs have declined substantially over the past decade, cost can still be a barrier to adoption. PV non-hardware, or “soft,” costs now constitute more than half of residential and commercial PV system costs. For more information on cost trends see Solar Technology Cost Analysis | Solar Market Research and Analysis | NREL.

Many cities and counties have implemented incentives and financing programs for residents and local businesses to help make solar affordable. Solarize campaigns, for example, reduce the upfront cost of solar by giving groups of individuals or businesses a discounted rate for bulk purchases. Localities may also consider offering a property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing program or utilizing a Green Bank to help secure low-cost capital for clean energy projects at favorable rates and terms. There are additional mechanisms that can be implemented to help overcome solar adoption barriers specific to LMI households.

Resources

• Community Choice Aggregation Explained in Less Than 5 Minutes – This primer from Solstice discusses the pros and cons of CCA and the relationship between CCA and community solar.
• Community Choice Aggregation: Challenges, Opportunities, and Impacts on Renewable Energy Markets – This report from NREL summarizes the status of CCA in the United States, impacts of CCA on renewable energy markets, and challenges.
• Explanation of Certain Key Terms in the PPA – This interactive tool from NREL shows a mock PPA and provides definitions for terms within it.
• How Local Governments Can Buy Renewable Energy and Support Market Development – This webinar from SolSmart covers strategies that local governments can consider to procure renewable energy. It covers the impacts of the regulatory landscape.
• Non-Power Purchase Agreement Options for Financing Solar Deployment at Universities – This fact sheet from NREL discusses financing models and funding mechanisms for solar procurement, with a focus on non-PPA financing models. The fact sheet focuses on universities, but the lessons can be applied more broadly.
• Power Purchase Agreement Checklist for State and Local Governments – This fact sheet from NREL provides guidance on PPAs for local and state government entities.
• School and Municipal Solar – This page from the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network provides guides, templates, and case studies for schools and municipalities pursuing solar.
• Solar Project Development Pathway & Resources – This web page by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes seven steps for solar project development by local governments. It provides links to videos, guides, templates, reports and case studies to assist in the process at each step.
• Solar PV on Municipal Buildings: A Guide to Feasibility and Financial Analysis – This resource from C40 provides step-by-step guidance for local government staff to carry out high-level feasibility and financial analysis of PV deployment.
• Solar@Scale Guidebook – This local government guidebook developed by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) provides guidance for improving large-scale solar development outcomes.
• U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmark: Q1 2020 – This NREL report provides information on PV system costs, including information on residential and commercial soft costs. This document and future updates can be accessed on NREL’s Solar Technology Cost Analysis | Solar Market Research and Analysis | NREL page.
• NYSERDA: 2018 Resource Guide to Solarize Campaign Success (PDF) – This is a roadmap from NYSERDA for local leaders who want to make solar more accessible and affordable through a Solarize campaign.
• Planning and Implementing a Solarize Initiative: A Guide for State Program Managers – This guide by CESA features detailed cases studies of two successful Solarize programs—Solarize Connecticut and Solarize Mass.
• Solarize Campaigns: Helping Communities of Color Access Rooftop Solar – This article from RMI discusses how solarize campaigns can reduce energy burdens for communities of color by increasing access to rooftop PV.
• SolSmart Webinar: How To Develop a Solarize Campaign – In this webinar, SolSmart covers the basics of a successful Solarize campaign. Experts from Solar United Neighbors and the Philadelphia Energy Authority share how a Solarize campaign can keep more economic value in the community and how a campaign can be modified to enable participation by LMI customers.
• SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments: Market Development and Finance – This SolSmart document covers mechanisms available for local governments to increase solar financing opportunities, including loan options, PACE financing, and Solarize campaigns.
• Wherever the Sun Shines: Bringing Solar Power to All Households – This guidebook from Yale includes insights from field studies that were conducted during a series of Yale-led Solarize campaigns run by the nonprofit SmartPower.
• Solarize Campaigns: Helping Communities of Color Access Rooftop Solar – This article from RMI discusses how solarize campaigns can reduce energy burdens for communities of color by increasing access to rooftop PV.
• Solarize Your Community – This guide from Yale is based on a research project on Solarize Connecticut, a set of campaigns that were launched across Connecticut from 2013 to 2016.
• Guidelines for Residential PACE Financing Programs – These DOE guidelines outline best practices that can help state and local governments, PACE program administrators, contractors, and other partners develop and implement programs and improvements that effectively deliver home energy and related upgrades.
• New Strides in the Residential PACE Space – This NREL blog details how residential PACE financing works and addresses concerns around mortgage refinancing.
• PACENation – This web page provides information about adopting a local PACE program.
• Property Assessed Clean Energy Programs – This DOE resource provides information about commercial and residential PACE financing programs.
• Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (R-PACE): Key Considerations for State Energy Officials – This issue brief from the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) details the basic mechanism of an R-PACE program and the considerations that state energy officials should account for when enabling PACE programs at the state level.

For local government-owned land, community solar may be an ideal option. Community solar is a distributed solar energy deployment model that allows customers to buy or lease part of a larger, off-site shared PV system. Community solar subscribers then typically receive a monthly bill credit for electricity generated by their share of the solar PV system. Subscriptions are often based on the customer’s monthly load or a fixed kilowatt hour/month.

Community solar projects can be sited in a variety of spaces, such as LMI neighborhoods, public lands, or on a former industrial or commercial site that may be contaminated known as a brownfield. Communities can host a community solar project or incorporate community solar into their carbon-reduction and renewable energy goals.

Municipal utilities may offer community solar to residents and businesses without access to traditional rooftop PV via municipal utility ownership, community-developed limited liability companies (LLCs) or special purpose entities, or developer ownership. For more information about community solar for municipalities, as well as ownership and financing mechanisms, see SolSmart’s Community Solar Toolkit for Local Governments, the NREL report Lessons Learned: Community Solar for Municipal Utilities, and the NCSP’s Municipal Utility Collaborative.

Resources

• Design and Implementation of Community Solar Programs for Low- and Moderate-Income Customers – This NREL report draws from the literature and from interviews with representatives from LMI solar developers and state LMI community solar programs to provide guidance on LMI community solar design.
• Financing Community-Scale Solar – In this report, RMI’s community-scale solar program, Shine, and sustainable finance practice area illustrate how established solar financing models can easily be adapted to the community-scale solar market.
• IREC Community Solar Basics – This reference guide from IREC gives a brief overview of seven critical program design elements along with accompanying checklists and additional resources to help guide decision makers and stakeholders as they develop community solar programs.
• IREC Guiding Principles for Shared Solar Energy Programs – These guiding principles from IREC reflect the benefits of shared renewable energy programs to participants, the renewable energy industry, utilities, and all energy consumers.
• Lessons Learned: Community Solar for Municipal Utilities – This summary from NREL discusses specific case studies of municipalities implementing community solar projects, the range of approaches they are taking, and challenges other municipal utilities face in deciding to pursue community solar.
• NREL’s Community Solar web page – This web page from NREL provides information and resources on community solar, including its current market status, common barriers, overall benefits, design best practices, and pertinent publications.
• RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative: Community Solar – This EPA report discusses siting community solar on superfund sites, brownfields, landfills, and mine sites, as well as other formerly contaminated sites, under various federal and state cleanup programs.
• Shared Renewable Energy for Low- to Moderate-Income Consumers: Policy Guidelines and Model Provisions – This document from IREC provides information and tools for policymakers, regulators, utilities, shared renewable energy developers, program administrators, and others to support the adoption and implementation of shared renewables programs designed to provide tangible benefits to LMI individuals and households.
• SolSmart Issue Brief: Expanding Solar Participation Through Community Solar – This SolSmart Issue Brief describes the community solar model and highlights approaches for developing new projects. It discusses why community solar can be beneficial, the ingredients of successful programs, and case studies of successful community solar programs across the country.
• SolSmart’s Community Solar Toolkit for Local Governments – SolSmart’s Community Solar web page provides an overview of community solar, VNEM, community solar ownership models, and implementation tips for local governments.
• The National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) – NCSP is a coalition of community solar stakeholders working to have community solar projects provide 26GW of power and create US$1 billion in bill savings by 2025. Technical assistance is available to members. NCSP also includes partner collaboratives that work together to identify and address common barriers, as well as educational materials. See also the Municipal Utility Collaborative offered through NCSP.
• Utility Community Solar Handbook – This handbook from the Solar Electric Power Association provides the utility’s perspective on utility-managed community solar program development. The handbook serves as a resource for government officials, regulators, community organizers, solar energy advocates, nonprofits, and interested citizens who want to support or educate their local utility in implementing a new community solar project or improving an existing one.

The legal and regulatory framework forms the foundation for building a sustainable solar market. Effective and streamlined local rules and regulations help reduce installation costs and can significantly increase adoption rates for solar energy. In fact, some of the most critical barriers to widespread adoption of solar energy can be removed only by local governments. By incorporating solar energy considerations into zoning codes and ordinances, local governments can bring clarity to the responsibilities of various parties, achieve balance between stated government priorities, and avoid costly and time-consuming legal action.

For example, significant variability exists in PV permitting and inspection processes among U.S. communities, which can increase PV non-hardware, or “soft,” costs; delay installations; and cause customer cancellations, thus hindering deployment. Streamlining PV permitting and inspections locally can allow more residents and businesses to receive solar at a faster pace.

Resources

• Are You Solar Ready? – This article from the American Planning Association discusses seven steps communities can take to prepare for large-scale solar development.
• Best Practices in Zoning for Solar – This blog post from NREL discusses best practices for zoning for solar and provides additional resources.
• Model Zoning for the Regulation of Solar Energy Systems – This document from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources provides model zoning language and guidance to local governments to establish standards that facilitate solar energy development.
• NYSERDA Solar Guidebook – This guidebook includes the “Model Solar Energy Local Law” which local officials may use when adopting their own rules for solar development.
• Planning, Zoning & Development – This section from the SolSmart Toolkit for Local Governments discusses how communities can integrate solar into local zoning codes and planning documents.
• Solar Access: Issues and Policy Options – This blog post from NREL discusses solar energy access and the policy landscape around solar energy access.
• Solar Guidance and Model Ordinance Development – This resource, developed by the state of Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, includes two solar siting guidance reports and an informational PowerPoint for municipalities to help explain the state’s regulations.
• U.S. Climate Alliance: Solar Deployment Guidebook – This guidebook from NASEO was designed to equip state and local agencies with tools, strategies, and models on proven soft cost reduction methods in the following areas: permitting and inspection; zoning and siting; municipal procurement; and property taxes.
• What Is a Solar Easement? – This article from EnergySage discusses solar easements and lists states that allow solar easements. It also briefly discusses solar access laws.
• Becoming a Solar-Ready Community – This guide, developed by the state of Michigan for local governments, provides a 10-step process to adopting solar-ready policies at the local level. Although the guide was developed for Michigan communities, these steps can be applied by jurisdictions across the country.
• Solar Ready: An Overview of Implementation Practices – This NREL resource summarizes technical considerations for solar-ready building designs.
• Solar-Ready Building Design: A Summary of Technical Considerations – This NREL report, intended for local, state, and federal decision makers, discusses tools and methods for promoting widespread solar-ready building practices. It also includes sample legislation drafted to require that new residential and commercial construction be solar ready.

Significant variability exists in PV permitting and inspection processes across U.S. communities, which can increase PV soft costs, and delay installations. PV permitting and inspection processes can further cause customer cancellations, thus hindering deployment.

A simplified permitting process allows residential and small commercial PV applications to be approved quickly and easily. A jurisdiction can make guidelines about eligibility for the simplified process easily accessible to homeowners, businesses, and local installers. Jurisdictions may consider adopting an instant permitting process such as SolarAPP+, updating their permit fee structure, or publishing an online permitting checklist. Best practices for solar inspections include publishing inspection requirements online, developing an online system to track inspections, and allowing virtual inspections.

For the complete list of recommendations see Section 3.3 of the Solar Power in Your Community Guidebook.

Resources

• IREC Model Inspection Checklist for Residential Rooftop PV – This model checklist incorporates the best components of checklists from various leading U.S. jurisdictions.
• NYSERDA Solar Guidebook – This guidebook includes a section on ‘Solar Permitting and Inspecting’ which reviews the solar permitting and inspection process for local government officials and authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), as well as the New York State Unified Solar Permit Application and Field Inspection Checklist.
• Permitting Best Practices Make Installing Solar Easier – This fact sheet from NREL outlines seven best practices to improve permitting for PV; many include ensuring transparent processes.
• Solar TRACE – The Solar Time-Based Residential Analytics and Cycle Time Estimator (Solar TRACE) tool from NREL can help increase the transparency of soft costs like permitting, inspection, and interconnection.
• SolarAPP+ – SolarAPP+ is a free online web portal developed by NREL that automates the plan review and process for issuing permits to install code-compliant residential PV systems.
• SolSmart Program Guide – This guide outlines the criteria for being designated a SolSmart community, many of which involve process transparency. The guide also includes specific examples and templates.
• SolSmart Workshop: Best Practices for Solar PV Permitting Session 1 and Session 2 – These recorded workshops discuss how to improve PV permit review and train inspection staff on best practices for inspecting PV systems.
• SolSmart’s Solar Permitting Page – This page provides the steps necessary for a local government to implement a simplified permitting process.
• SolSmart’s Toolkit for Local Governments: Planning, Zoning, and Development – This guidebook presents information on codes, permitting, and inspection, including the benefits of simplified processes and best practices.
• U.S. Climate Alliance: Solar Deployment Guidebook – This guidebook from NASEO was designed to equip state and local agencies with tools, strategies, and models on proven soft cost reduction methods in the following areas: permitting and inspection; zoning and siting; municipal procurement; and property taxes.

Local governments may consider more innovative approaches, such as installing technologies such electric vehicle charging infrastructure paired with solar, or consider innovative siting, like floating photovoltaics or co-locating solar with agriculture (agrivoltaics). Co-located agriculture and PV can incorporate crop production, pollinator habitat, or livestock grazing beneath solar panels, providing benefits to both the agriculture and solar energy industries. Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems are sited primarily on artificial water bodies, such as reservoirs or water treatment impoundments, and avoid the issue of finding undeveloped land to utilize.

Local governments may also consider building solar installations on a local brownfield, which is a former industrial or commercial site that may be contaminated with pollutants, such as an old landfill, an abandoned gas station, or a decommissioned refinery. Former industrial sites are typically large, flat, and unshaded; have electricity and road infrastructure; and are located near areas with high energy demand—all features that are ideal for a PV system.

Resources

• AgriSolar Clearinghouse – The AgriSolar Clearinghouse is an information-sharing, relationship-building, public communications hub for all things agrisolar developed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology.
• Beneath Solar Panels, the Seeds of Opportunities Sprout and Benefits of Agrivoltaics Across the Food-Energy-Water Nexus – These articles from NREL discuss agrivoltaics and the benefits for food, water, and energy.
• Best Practices for Siting Solar Photovoltaics on Municipal Solid Waste Landfills – This guide from NREL outlines best practices for siting PV on municipal solid waste landfills.
• Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center – This organization in Longmont, Colorado, studies different types of agrivoltaics, including pollinator-friendly, grazing, and crop production agrivoltaics. The organization has the largest agrivoltaics research site in the United States.
• Community Planning Guide for Electric Vehicles – This handbook from North Carolina Advanced Energy Corporation summarizes EVs, charging, and planning for EVs.
• Floating Photovoltaic Systems: Assessing the Technical Potential of Photovoltaic Systems on Man-Made Water Bodies in the Continental United States – This report from NREL found that 24,419 human-made water bodies in the United States are suitable for FPV development. The report studies the impacts of FPV on land conservation, utility costs, and evaporation losses. The Supporting Information provides information on the benefits that FPV can provide for each state.
• Handbook on Siting Renewable Energy Projects While Addressing Environmental Issues – This handbook from the EPA’s RE-Powering Initiative provides tools for those interested in building renewable energy projects on potentially contaminated sites.
• Navigating Options for Transportation Electrification and Solar Charging – This report from the Montana Solar Energy Innovation Network Team assists communities that are considering investing in electric transportation. It includes background information, costs and benefits, and information on EVs plus renewable energy.
• NYSERDA Solar Guidebook – This guidebook includes a “Municipal Solar Procurement Toolkit,” which provides step-by step instructions on how municipalities can lease underutilized land such as landfills and brownfields for solar.
• RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative: Community Solar – This EPA report discusses siting community solar on superfund sites, brownfields, landfills, and mine sites, as well as other formerly contaminated sites, under various federal and state cleanup programs.
• Solar Power + Electric Vehicle Charging: Capturing Synergies in Minnesota – This report from the Great Plains Institute discusses market transformation opportunities and barriers for solar plus EVs in Minnesota. Lessons learned can be applied in other jurisdictions.
• State Pollinator-Friendly Solar Initiatives – This report from CESA provides an overview of state efforts to encourage solar PV development in a manner that is beneficial to pollinators.
• The Road Ahead: Planning for Electric Vehicles by Managing Grid Interactions – This report from the National Governors Association discusses transportation electrification and the steps needed to make this transition.

Yes. Local governments can show leadership by integrating solar into government facilities and properties, including schools. Solar on government buildings can directly benefit the community by adding renewable energy to publicly available communal spaces, reduce government energy costs, and provide educational opportunities. Leading by example can educate area residents and businesses and encourage them to adopt solar. Local governments often own land and facilities near electricity load centers, making them good hosts for renewable energy generation. Local governments can partner with solar developers or utilities on these projects.

Resources

• Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools – This study from Generation180 includes data and trends on solar uptake in schools.
• Procurement Guidance – This guide for cities is from the Renewables Accelerator and was developed by RMI and World Resources Institute to support the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network cities. It helps city governments understand all parts of municipal renewable energy projects.
• Solar Decision Support and Resources for Local Governments – NREL offers decision support and resources for local governments that want to go solar. Training webinars cover topics ranging from site evaluation to project financing, as well as case studies.

Local governments can engage their communities using a variety of outreach activities that promote solar energy technologies. These activities can supplement the public’s knowledge about solar energy, promote consumer confidence, and help consumers decide whether to install solar energy systems on their properties. Different groups of people have different priorities related to adopting solar, so targeted and inclusive educational materials are important for achieving broad acceptance. For these resources to be inclusive, they should be accessible in different languages, sensitive to differences in motivation for solar adoption, and tailored to the needs of vulnerable subsets of the community.

Resources

• Disadvantaged Communities – Single-Family Solar Homes Program: 2020 Marketing, Education and Outreach Plan – The Single-Family Solar Homes program is administered by the nonprofit GRID Alternatives in California. This document describes the marketing and outreach plan for the program, identifying target audiences and approaches.
• GW Solar Institute Education Center – The George Washington University Solar Institute Education Center curates information that is accessible to a wide range of audiences.
• Homeowner’s Guide to Going Solar – This guide from DOE can help homeowners make solar-related decisions. It is also available in Spanish.

A robust solar workforce is a critical pillar of developing a local solar energy industry, and education and training programs can help develop that workforce. For solar installers, training programs help ensure consistent installer competency and, through increased consumer satisfaction, can help drive additional local demand for solar installations. In many cases, solar installer training can also help transform the careers of individuals formerly employed in industries requiring relevant skills, such as the electronical and construction industries. As solar workforces are developed, local governments can work with labor unions to provide opportunities for unionized workers to support solar deployment in their communities.

Resources for Solar Job Training

Other Resources

• Diversity Best Practices Guide for the Solar Industry – This guide from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Solar Foundation outlines best practices for enhancing diversity and inclusion in solar industry companies.
• Just Energy Policies: Model Energy Policies Guide – This guide from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Environmental and Climate Justice Program identifies five policies that can advance the transition to a more inclusive, clean, and equitable energy economy. It includes a section that discusses local, people of color, and women hiring policies.
• Just Energy: Reducing Pollution, Creating Jobs Toolkit – This toolkit from the NAACP provides guidance for energy justice organizing.
• National Solar Jobs Census 2020 – The National Solar Jobs Census is a collaborative effort of SEIA, the Solar Foundation, and IREC. It tracks domestic solar employment across all solar industry market sectors.
• Solar Career Map – This map from IREC describes 40 jobs across four solar industry sectors (manufacturing, system design, project development, and installation and operations) and outlines over 60 potential routes to advance between these jobs.
• Solar Decathlon Career Resources – The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon^® fosters collaboration that mimics the real-life workplace environment among students from different academic disciplines, including engineering, architecture, building science, interior design, business, marketing, and communications. These career resources offer information about job opportunities related to competing in the Solar Decathlon, as well as building careers in solar energy, bioenergy, and wind energy.
• Solar Energy International – SEI is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to equitable solar workforce development. This website has training resources, job boards, and other resources.
• Solar Ready Vets – IREC leads the Solar Ready Vets Network, a program that connects transitioning military service members and veterans with career opportunities in the solar industry.
• Solar Ready Vets Network – This group of solar workforce development programs funded by DOE connects veterans with career training, professional development, and employment opportunities in the solar industry.
• Strategies for Workforce Development: A Toolkit for the Solar Industry – This toolkit from the Solar Foundation and the Solar Training Network describes scalable and industry-driven solutions to align training efforts with the needs of the workforce.
• U.S. Solar Industry Diversity Study 2019 – This report from SEIA  and the Solar Foundation is a study on diversity and inclusion in the solar workforce. It includes information on career pathways, wages, satisfaction, and career development. It also provides strategies that companies can use to increase diversity and inclusion.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 represents the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history, enabling America to tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, secure the nation's position as a world leader in domestic clean energy manufacturing, and make progress toward achieving the Biden administration’s climate goals, including a net-zero economy by 2050. The IRA provides a mix of federal funding and tax credits. Utilize the resources below to find out more about how the IRA can be leveraged at the local level to accelerate renewable energy and solar deployment.

• Federal Solar Tax Credit Resources – This webpage from SETO provides an overview of the federal investment tax credit for residential solar photovoltaics (PV), for businesses, and for solar manufacturers.
• Federal Solar Tax Credits for Businesses – This resource from DOE provides information on the investment tax credit (ITC), which is a tax credit that reduces the federal income tax liability for a percentage of the cost of a solar system that is installed during the tax year, and the production tax credit (PTC), which is a per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) tax credit for electricity generated by solar and other qualifying technologies for the first 10 years of a system’s operation.
• Webinar: Reaching for the Solar Future: How the Inflation Reduction Act Impacts Solar Deployment and Expands Manufacturing – The IRA has created and updated incentives for solar deployment and domestic solar manufacturing. These changes, along with other existing policies, can reduce carbon emissions to 40% below 2005 levels by 2030—a reduction equivalent to the combined annual emissions of every home in the United States. Experts from DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) discussed how these changes will impact the future of solar deployment, manufacturing, innovation, and more.
• Fact Sheet: Inflation Reduction Act Advances Environmental Justice – This fact sheet from the White House covers the environmental justice provisions included in the IRA, including several new environmental justice grant programs that will improve public health, reduce pollution, and revitalize communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution while increasing access to affordable and accessible clean energy.
• Building a Clean Energy Economy: A Guidebook to the Inflation Reduction Act’s Investments in Clean Energy and Climate Action – This guidebook from the White House provides a program-by-program overview of the Inflation Reduction Act, including who is eligible to apply for funding and for what purposes.
• Inflation Reduction Act: Clean Energy Project Eligibility for Local Governments – This article from the National League of Cities describes how the IRA provides nontaxable entities participating in clean energy incentives with a direct payment option in lieu of tax credits. These direct payments can be useful to cities, towns, and villages. 
• How Local Governments Can Use Direct Pay on Clean Energy Projects – The IRA includes a provision that provides nontaxable entities investing in and producing clean energy with a direct payment option in lieu of tax credits. This article from the National League of Cities shares information on what programs are eligible for direct pay, along with examples of projects at the local level.

Bronzeville, Illinois Microgrid Project

Bronzeville is a neighborhood in Chicago’s South Side. Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), the neighborhood’s utility, built a microgrid that includes 750 kW of solar and a 500-kW storage system. The system can run continuously for 4 hours in the event of an outage. It is designed to serve 10 critical facilities and to connect to a microgrid at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The solar installations are in the Dearborn Homes Community, a public housing project composed of 16 high-rise buildings that is part of the Chicago Housing Authority. The installation serves more than 600 families. LMI residents, like those residing in the Dearborn Homes Community, are more vulnerable during power outages. The project was supported by incentives from the Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act and a DOE grant.

For more information, visit ComEd Gets $4 Million To Build Microgrid in Bronzeville and Solar Housing Linked to Bronzeville Microgrid Provides Social Justice, Technology Research.

Solarize Philly Brings Solar to LMI Residents

The Solarize Philly campaign, led by the Philadelphia Energy Authority, was launched in 2017. It modified the traditional solar group buy structure to enable LMI residents to participate. The program lowered solar adoption costs but instituted a fee for traditional customers, which guaranteed payments to solar developers providing PV on LMI households. As of 2021, 6,500 households have signed up for the program, and 98 local jobs have been created.

For more information, see Solarize Philly’s home page and Philadelphia’s SolSmart designation page. See also the NREL report, Up to the Challenge: Communities Deploy Solar in Underserved Markets.

GreenPower Program in Madison, Wisconsin

In 2016, Madison started a new program to train underemployed and unemployed residents from underrepresented communities in basic PV installation. Trainees work alongside electricians from the city’s engineering division to install PV on city facilities and aid in energy efficiency upgrades. As of 2020, GreenPower participants had installed 16 PV projects totaling over 813 kW, helping the city offset an estimated 765 metric tons of CO₂ annually. Participants are also guided in life skills, which can aid in obtaining a permanent job after the training concludes. Participants have gone on to gain electrical apprenticeships and become certified journeymen, and some have been hired by the city.

For more information, see Madison’s GreenPower webpage.

Santa Rita Union School District Solar Plus Storage

The Santa Rita Union School District in East Salinas, California, is a preschool through eighth grade school system with four elementary schools and two middle schools. The district installed solar-plus-storage systems on each school building for power in the event of disasters and grid outages. Each system includes 1 MW of PV integrated with a 1.1-MWh energy storage system. The systems can provide up to seven hours of power at each building during a grid outage, minimizing disruptions to the school day. The systems will also provide bill savings under normal operations. The control system allows the schools to use microgrid operations and pull power from the batteries rather than the utility during periods of high demand and high pricing.

For more information, visit Solar-Plus-Storage Microgrids Installed in Santa Rita Schools.

Edina, Minnesota Hosts Local Community Solar Garden

The Energy and Environment Commission of Edina, Minnesota, set the goal of becoming a leader in renewable energy. The city created an Electricity Action Plan in 2016 that included immediate and long-term actions around renewable energy opportunities. One step toward achieving these goals is hosting a 618-kW community solar garden on the roof of the Edina Public Works Building, which is available to residents from all income levels. The solar garden serves 68 households. The project resulted from a partnership between the city, Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light, and Cooperative Energy Futures. It became operational in 2018 and is currently fully utilized, with a waitlist for potential subscribers.

For more information, see Edina’s Electricity Action Plan, SolSmart’s Edina case study, and Edina’s SolSmart designation page.

Santa Fe County, New Mexico Provides Solar to Local MFAH

In 2019, the Santa Fe County Housing Authority (SFCHA) in New Mexico worked with the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology (ICAST) to increase access to solar for local low-income multifamily affordable housing residents. At the time, community solar was not enabled in New Mexico, making it difficult to aggregate the demand from each of the individually metered units into one solar array. SFCHA and ICAST developed a plan to provide 220 kW of rooftop PV through individual solar system installations for individual apartments. These individual installations benefited residents of 196 row homes and multiplexes located at three separate locations across the county. ICAST helped SFCHA fund the program through energy performance contracting financing, allowing tenants to receive the installations at no cost.

For more information, see Access to Solar for Low-Income Residents of Multifamily Affordable Housing, ICAST Performs Income-Qualified Solar Install in Santa Fe County, and Santa Fe County’s SolSmart designation page.

Floating Solar in Sayreville, New Jersey

Lacking available land, Sayreville used a floating photovoltaic system to offset electricity use at the local water treatment facilities, Public Works Building, and Borough Hall. The 4.4-MW array of 12,700 panels on a pretreatment water retention pond produces enough electricity to offset 100% of the water treatment facility energy use. Because of permitting restrictions, the system was constructed differently than a typical system. Most floating photovoltaic systems are anchored to the waterbed, but local permitting rules required projects to be secured to the shore.

For more information, see New Jersey Town Keeps Its Water Clean With the Country’s Largest Floating Solar System and New Jersey Installs Largest Floating Solar System in North America.

Solar on Schools in Batesville, Arkansas

Energy savings allowed for investments in teachers in Batesville, Arkansas. In 2017, the Batesville School District was underfunded by $250,000 and paying the lowest teacher salaries in the county. The district partnered with solar developer Entegrity to install a 759-kW system, the largest solar installation of any school district in Arkansas. The district also implemented energy efficiency updates, like lighting upgrades. As part of the project, teachers were trained on how to incorporate solar technology into the STEM curriculum. As a result of the system and upgrades, the school district reduced energy consumption by 1.6 million kWh per year, which was projected to save more than $4 million over 20 years. A portion of those savings help fund pay increases for teachers. The district now ranks first in the county for teacher salaries. For more information, see Generation180’s Batesville case study.