Research Analyst National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL Lakewood, Colorado, United States
Description and Background: This session covers NREL's work evaluating residential PV adoption timelines and permitting/interconnection processes. The work utilizes project-level data covering 10-25% of U.S. installs each year 2017-2021, along with surveys of jurisdictions and installers. Questions of interest include: which challenges impact adoption timelines, how have timelines changed over the last 5 years (especially during COVID-19), and which processes offer “best practices” for widescale improvements.
Background: residential PV projects in the U.S. typically require several weeks to several months from contract signing to operation. Integral to PV adoption timelines is the permitting, inspection, and interconnection (PII) processes administered by the local jurisdiction and utility. The PII process ensures safe and reliable system installation, but can be a major contributor to project timelines and costs.
