OF R ESIDENTIAL S OLAR PV IN NH Overview of New Hampshire - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

NHOEP S PRING C ONFERENCE 2015 P ERMITTING , Z ONING & I NTERCONNECTION OF R ESIDENTIAL S OLAR PV IN NH Overview of New Hampshire Residential Rooftop Solar PV Permitting, Zoning and Interconnection Guide

T OPICS TO BE C OVERED  Project Background  NH Residential Rooftop Solar PV Permitting, Zoning and Interconnection Guide Purpose and process  Review of Guide  Review of checklists and technical appendices  Insights from the field   Questions and Observations from Participants 2

P ROJECT B ACKGROUND R ESIDENTIAL R OOFTOP S OLAR PV  Rooftop Solar Challenge II – US DOE grant o Clean Energy States Alliance and regional partners o Reducing soft costs associated with residential rooftop solar PV installations  NH focus: o Permitting process & Zoning requirements o Utility interconnection process 3

T HE G UIDE R ESIDENTIAL R OOFTOP S OLAR PV  Purpose and Process of Guide development o Purpose – to provide information and tools for municipalities, installers and others, to help them reduce soft costs for residential solar PV. o What we did – stakeholder input, data collection, researched best practices, New Hampshire Residential Rooftop Solar PV Permitting, Zoning and Interconnection Guide studied and adapted regionally- January 2015 developed resources. 4

E XAMPLES OF “S OFT C OST ” Example of Project Soft Costs: Here is an example of the soft costs incurred for one professional installation. These figures were provided by a New Hampshire solar PV installer and show how the permitting and inspection costs may play out in a New Hampshire community with value-based permitting – they are not meant to be representative of typical permitting costs for residential solar PV systems in the State. Sample Permit Costs for a $20,000 residential rooftop array: $200 Building Permit ($10 per $1,000) $100 Electrical Permit ($5 per $1,000) $500 Structural Analysis and Professional Engineer’s (PE) stamp $150 Installer Office labor (compiling and submitting permit materials) $300 Installer Labor costs (Licensed professional required to pick up permit in person, and return for final inspection) $1,250 in associated permitting costs = 6.25% of project cost. 5

K EY E LEMENTS I NCLUDED IN THE G UIDE T ABLE OF C ONTENTS Make information available for 1. Acknowledgements and Disclaimers........................................................................................................................................................ I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ municipalities, residents, installers, Potential benefits of utilizing the resources in this Guide ................................................................................................ Process steps ........................................................................................................................................................................................ Guide results and resources ................................................................................................................................................................ and utilities II. Current Laws, Regulations and Codes that Impact Rooftop Solar PV .............................................................................................. Laws, Regulations, Codes and Zoning ................................................................................................................................ 1. New Hampshire Building Code Requirements ................................................................................................ Simplify permit application, 2. 2. Planning and Zoning Laws ................................................................................................................................ 3. Homeowners Association Restrictions ................................................................................................................................ 4. Solar Access Laws ................................................................................................................................................................ submission, review and inspection 5. Relevant State Policies ........................................................................................................................................................... 6. Zoning Regulations ................................................................................................................................................................ processes Current Municipal Permits & Fees ....................................................................................................................................................... 1. Permits ................................................................................................................................................................ 2. Fees ....................................................................................................................................................................................... Understand utility interconnection 3. Potential Permitting Barriers ................................................................................................................................ 3. 4. Zoning ................................................................................................................................................................ Utility Interconnection Rules .............................................................................................................................................................. requirements III. Residential Rooftop Solar PV Strategies................................................................................................................................ Make Permitting Information Available ................................................................................................................................ 1. Review and document the existing permitting process ................................................................................................ Pursue training and other resources 2. Provide resources on Municipal websites ........................................................................................................................... 4. Simplify Permit Application, Submission, Review and Inspection Processes ..................................................................................... 1. Permit Application ............................................................................................................................................................... 2. Permit Submission ............................................................................................................................................................... 3. Review and Inspection Processes ................................................................................................................................ Available for download at http://www.nh.gov/oep/ Understand NH’s Residential Solar PV Electric Utility Interconnection Requirements ................................................................ Pursue Training and Other Resources ................................................................................................................................ 6

T HE G UIDE – S ECTION I R ESIDENTIAL R OOFTOP S OLAR PV * As with any significant purchase, shop around when considering purchasing a solar PV system. Gather as much information as possible, check contractor references and obtain multiple quotes. 7

T HE G UIDE – S ECTION II: S TATE P OLICIES L AWS , R EGULATIONS , C ODES AND Z ONING  Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)  Net Metering  Group Net Metering  NH State Building Codes 8

T HE G UIDE – S ECTION II: P ERMITS & F EES L AWS , R EGULATIONS , C ODES AND Z ONING No standard application or fee for obtaining a permit  to install solar PV Each of New Hampshire’s 234 municipalities have their  own permitting process, application & fee structure including: Solar specific permits with flat fees. o Solar PV check box on the building permit and a $25 o permit fee. Just requiring an electrical permit and/or building permit. o Minimum fee and then a fee calculation based on the o construction cost. 9

T HE G UIDE – S ECTION II: Z ONING & L AWS L AWS , R EGULATIONS , C ODES AND Z ONING  Zoning Ground mounted arrays – setbacks o Rooftop arrays – historic district provisions o Solar Access Laws  NH RSAs provide legal basis for protecting o solar access – Including Chapter 53-F, 477:49-51, and 674:2III(n) Important concept – comes into play at o the time of subdivision, but can be incorporated into solar setbacks for new structures. Homeowners Associations  10

T HE G UIDE – S ECTION III R ESIDENTIAL R OOFTOP S OLAR PV S TRATEGIES Make Permitting Information Available  Review and document the existing permitting o process. Provide resources on municipal websites. o Resources include:  Sample Permit Checklist o Sample Permit Application o  Sample Application Form  Sample Drawings – Electrical, Site Plan and Solar PV • Attachment Detail Sample Structural Review Worksheet o 11