The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is encouraging local governments to sign up for free technical assistance to bring solar power to their communities.
SolSmart is a no-cost program to help local governments by training staff, offering guidance on solar permits, and technical advice. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
“We provide training to local government staff. We provide training for inspections as well. What are they going to look for (regarding) the safety of a solar installation? We also do storage,” said Theresa Perry, Program Director of SolSmart.
She says power storage is important to have in case the power company’s distribution system fails as it sometimes does when storms hit.
Perry says many local governments struggle with the permitting process, which often causes long delays in installation of solar panels at homes and businesses.
“So, just helping communities understand what the technology is, what they should be looking for, and then making it faster so that citizens who want to put solar on their rooftop don't have to wait, you know, an inordinate amount of time to get a permit.”
Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Ann Arbor are among the 489 municipalities across the nation to sign up for SolSmart.
The idea is to move from businesses and homeowners experimenting with solar to making solar a significant portion of a town’s power supply.
