The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) announced that it will reopen its Automated Permit Processing for Solar (APPS) grant program and award $1 million in funding, with Alamosa County and Boulder County receiving the initial round of grants. The APPS initiative is designed to help local and Tribal governments implement automated residential rooftop permitting software. Streamlined solar permitting can reduce the time and cost to go solar, benefiting families, local installers and local governments. A number of Colorado jurisdictions, including Denver County, have already successfully adopted automated permitting.
The just-reopened APPS program will award grants to applicants on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are depleted. Depending on the population of the applicant’s jurisdiction, they can apply for maximum awards between $40,000 and $100,000.
“Automating the process for rooftop solar permits offers tremendous value to Boulder County,” said Ron Flax, Boulder County deputy director of building/chief building official. “Our installers simultaneously work in many jurisdictions across the region — leading to lots of minor yet time-consuming details to manage during the permit process. By streamlining the process, it can save both installers and permitting staff lots of time. We are thrilled to have received APPS funding to help us integrate this program into our permitting process. We encourage other local governments to apply to the program.”
Automated permitting software such as SolarAPP+ or Symbium can help Colorado communities take full advantage of Inflation Reduction Act benefits and long-term clean energy savings. Data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) also shows that nationwide, SolarAPP+ alone saved more than 15,000 hours of local government staff time and accelerated solar permitting by 150,000 total business days in 2023. Symbium reports that its platform saves jurisdictions and contractors approximately three weeks of permitting per project, for approximately 1 million hours saved.
“By making this technology accessible through grant funding, we’re helping to ensure that more communities can benefit from the efficiencies of automated permitting,” said Mike Kruger, executive director at the Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA) Institute. “This not only accelerates solar adoption but also contributes to job creation and economic growth in the solar industry.”
News item from the Colorado Energy Office