Denver adopts innovative online solar permitting platform, SolarAPP+

Published on April 12, 2023

house with solar panels

Denver adopts innovative online solar permitting platform, SolarAPP+, for single-family and duplex projects

Community Planning and Development (CPD) has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to launch SolarAPP+, a plan review software that can run compliance checks and process building permit approvals for eligible rooftop solar systems. After testing the platform earlier this year, Denver is now allowing customers to use this software to aid in processing Solar photovoltaic (PV) applications as “quick permits” without the need for a city plan review.

To use SolarAPP+, licensed contractors who have registered as an installer with SolarAPP+ simply need to submit their project details through the tool, which quickly reviews the information and returns a confirmation to the contractor. The contractor can upload the SolarAPP+ confirmation to the city’s online e-permits system, and the city will accept this as proof that the solar project has been designed to meet codes. The solar permit will be issued in real time.

“Adopting SolarAPP+ will save our customers a significant amount of time in the permitting process and help safely bring these important projects to the market quicker,” said Laura E. Aldrete, executive director of Denver Community Planning and Development. “We are always looking for ways to innovate and create more efficiency for our customers, without sacrificing the quality of what’s being built or installed in Denver. This is a great example of the hard work our team has put into making permitting simpler and faster for our customers.”

In 2022, Denver Community Planning and Development approved 3,738 solar applications. Roughly 70% of those applications may have been eligible to use SolarAPP+ to obtain a quick permit – saving city staff approximately 1,240 hours of total review time. On average, these projects experienced review times of up to 30 days before a permit was issued. By using SolarAPP+, permits for eligible projects will be issued instantly and installation can begin up to 30 days earlier.

“It's been wonderful working with SolarAPP+,” said Adam Carlson, senior permit coordinator, Sunrun. “The process is very fast and provides a better experience for the homeowner and Sunrun. I get excited every time I see a SolarAPP+ project pop up in my queue. It has really improved my day-to-day work.”

Last year, Denver was named as one of 12 communities selected by NREL to pursue this online solar permitting platform and win $15,000. Their SolarAPP+ Prize program is a two-step competition designed to help communities adopt automated processing of residential solar permits. Winners and awards are anticipated to be announced in May.

“NREL is proud to partner with Denver to make SolarAPP+ available to all licensed contractors in the community,” said Jeff Cook PhD, SolarAPP+ program lead, NREL. “The successful pilot in Denver proves that the SolarAPP+ model can be applied not just in Denver, but the rest of the state as well.”