SOLAR ELECTRIC PERMIT FEES FOR COMMERCIAL INSTALLATIONS IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY

A fall 2010 survey by the Sierra Club revealed wide variation in permit fees charged for commercial rooftop photovoltaic (PV) energy systems by municipalities in San Diego County. The survey found that fees for commercial PV projects of 131 kW in size varied from under $200 to almost $15,000. High fees can discourage businesses from making good, long-term, high-yield investments in solar power. 37 % of the surveyed municipalities are charging fees that exceed the maximum cost-recovery levels identified in this report. The time needed for city staff to review and inspect a commercial PV project does not vary linearly by system size. For instance, interviews conducted in the preparation of this report revealed that the difference in time needed to process a 100 kW PV project is about two to three times longer than a 10 kW project (not ten times as long). Basing fees on the value of the solar equipment inflates permit costs to unreasonably high levels, especially for larger, more expensive solar power projects To recover costs, therefore, permit fees should be based on specific review times and billable hourly rates and not on PV project valuations. The authors of this study have developed a free, public fee calculator spreadsheet to help municipalities determine cost recovery: www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeeCalcCommercial.xls