Developing Solar Friendly Communities

This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) provides an overview of model standards and policy design criteria for permitting, inspection, interconnection, and net metering of distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems. It aims to help local governments and utilities reduce non-hardware balance of system costs—which can account for up to 40% of installed system costs—by adopting streamlined, standardized processes. The document highlights specific model frameworks such as the Solar ABCs Expedited Permit Process and IREC Model Interconnection Procedures, while detailing the existing solar-friendly policy landscape in Colorado.

• Non-hardware balance of system costs for residential rooftop PV systems are significant and vary by source, with some reports indicating these costs can represent up to 40% of the total installed system costs.
• Rooftop solar permitting and inspection processes in the U.S. can add between $2,000 and $3,000 in costs per residential installation, largely due to a lack of standardization across thousands of local government jurisdictions.
• The Solar ABCs Expedited Permit Process provides a streamlined framework for jurisdictions, featuring a standard electrical diagram that allows for 'over the counter' or online approval, making it particularly useful for jurisdictions with little existing solar experience.
• The IREC Model Interconnection Procedures are recommended for local governments and utilities because they synthesize the best components of other standards, use direct language, and provide an expedited review process for inverter-based systems smaller than 10 kW.
• Net metering design criteria significantly impact return on investment; however, RMI notes that some rating systems, such as those from the Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC), may marginalize the challenges faced by traditional utilities by ignoring services like backup storage and transmission.
• Colorado has implemented several state-wide policies to lower solar costs, including the Fair Permit Act (HB 1199), which limits permitting fees to $500 for residential systems and $1,000 for commercial systems under 2 MW.
• Colorado's net metering standards are broad, requiring all electricity cooperatives and municipal utilities with more than 5,000 customers to offer net metering, and allowing systems up to 120% of annual on-site consumption to be eligible.
• Colorado's HB 1342 enables Community Solar Gardens up to 2 MW in size with at least 10 subscribers, allowing participants to receive virtually net metered credits on their utility bills.

APA

Morris, J. (2008). Developing Solar Friendly Communities. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2012-06_DevelopingSolarFriendlyCommunities.pdf

Chicago

Morris, Jesse. Developing Solar Friendly Communities. RMI, 2008. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2012-06_DevelopingSolarFriendlyCommunities.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Morris |first1=Jesse |title=Developing Solar Friendly Communities |publisher=RMI |date=September 2008 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2012-06_DevelopingSolarFriendlyCommunities.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{morris2008developing, author = {Morris, Jesse}, title = {{Developing Solar Friendly Communities}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2008}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2012-06_DevelopingSolarFriendlyCommunities.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }