A GOP bill making it easier--and more cost-effective--to install solar power on homes and businesses won a final, unanimous vote of approval from the state Senate today.
Senate Bill 117, authored by Broomfield Republican Sen. Shawn Mitchell, would cap exorbitant permit fees charged by some cities when property owners go solar.
Mitchell says that by lowering bureaucratic hurdles to a key renewable resource in the new energy economy, SB 117 encourages both energy conservation and economic development in the surging renewable-energy market--without spending tax dollars.
"It's a good thing anytime you can ease government's burden on the average citizen, encourage energy efficiency and stimulate the economy--all at the same time," Mitchell said after the vote.
The measure now goes to the House, where it will be sponsored by Rep. Frank McNulty, a Highlands Ranch Republican. McNulty, regarded as a policy expert on energy and resources issues, is a former official of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.
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Sen. Shawn Mitchell |
Solar-energy advocates, including representatives of the industry as well as environmentalists, testified in committee earlier this month to the need for Mitchell's proposal, and they pointed out that demand for alternative power sources is surging across Colorado.
They said the fees charged in Front Range cities vary dramatically--from $59 in the city and county of Denver to nearly $1,000 just next-door in Aurora--deterring plenty of home- and business owners from installing solar systems.
Mitchell's bill caps what cities and counties can charge for solar permitting fees at $300 for residential and $1,000 for non-residential permits.
Mitchell said the high permit fees in some communities add substantially to the cost of installing solar power on homes and small businesses, discouraging people from exploring this renewable-energy option.
Proponents of the bill noted that in some cities, the fees can equal 10 percent of total costs for a new system.
Additionally, the fees hinder the growth of the budding solar industry itself, Mitchell says, pointing to the proliferation of solar enterprises in the Colorado market.
Recently, a solar-energy advocate contended in a published commentary in the Rocky Mountain News that the exorbitant solar-permit fees charged by some cities can eat up one or two years worth of energy savings that otherwise would accrue to a solar-energy user.