Philadelphia may cut permit fees for solar projects

A Philadelphia City Council Committee has approved a break for those who want to install solar energy.  

The bill if approved would give discounted building permits for solar projects.  It would not count the cost of solar panels and power inverters when calculating a project’s value.  Kristin Sullivan, Philadelphia’s Energy Director, says that would make permits cheaper.

“For a typical residential solar installation approximately five kilowatts it would be $375  for the building permit versus the $750 you would have seen if this legislation wouldn’t have passed, for multi-megawatt projects, take the number you would have paid and cut it in half,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan says the solar market is in a slump because state and federal tax credits have been used up.

Councilman Jim Kenney, who sponsored the bill, says without it small solar projects would have a tough time being cost effective to install.