By Steven Rodas | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The power of the sun has already meant a lot for New Jersey, but that doesn’t mean harnessing that energy hasn’t been a headache for some.
Without due diligence or because of red tape, attaching solar panels to your roof can take as long as a year in some cases or sometimes never happen at all — due to a logistical misstep in the process.
Lawmakers in the state say they want to change that.
Through a new bill (S4100) which was introduced in early February, New Jersey hopes to join California and Maryland in streamlining the process for towns to advance and approve solar installations by automating much of the permitting.
“I think that doing it on a statewide basis means that everybody is going to have the same process. We’re not going to have loads of different ones,” state Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-Middlesex — one of the legislators who sponsored the bill — told NJ Advance Media.
Those “loads of different” processes makes things complicated and costly, according to state Sen. John McKeon, D-Essex, who spearheaded the bill which as of this week has an Assembly version too.
The steps needed to ultimately add solar panels — as part of efforts to better the environment and save on energy costs — can be cumbersome because of everything from contractor permits needed, electrical grid requirements, mandated inspections and more.
According to lawmakers, who cited installers, about 1 in 5 residential solar projects are cancelled after an application is submitted largely as “a direct result of frustration experienced in attempting to maneuver through New Jersey’s permitting process.”
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