Making it Cheap and Easy for Americans to Power Their Lives
Permit Power is a nonprofit organization making it cheap and easy for American families to power their lives. We do research, education, and advocacy to break down the bureaucratic barriers that get in the way of American families installing rooftop solar, home batteries, and other energy upgrades.
If American families could install rooftop solar and home batteries at the cost that families can in other countries, it would enable tens of millions more families to install rooftop solar, saving hundreds of billions of dollars, and generating the clean power that is desperately needed by America’s new data centers, factories and electric vehicles.
Power prices are increasing, and more families are struggling with the cost of living. There is more and more demand for electricity – AI data centers, new manufacturing, and the transition to electric vehicles. Federal tax credits are phasing out, the federal government is making it more difficult to build utility-scale clean energy infrastructure, and states are pulling back from subsidizing clean energy.
As Cheap as Our Peers: How cutting red tape can lower the cost of rooftop solar and offset rising utility bills
Cheap rooftop solar has enormous potential to save Americans money on their utility bills. Because of layers of bureaucratic red tape and soft costs, rooftop solar and batteries are unnecessarily expensive. And on top of that, OBBBA ends money-saving tax credits.
With relatively simple and no-cost state-level policies, we can make rooftop solar a lot cheaper and more accessible.
Bureaucracy and red tape are unnecessarily making solar inaccessible to American families. Nearly 20 million more families would get solar by 2040 if we could reduce costs by eliminating red tape.
Maryland's ambitious clean energy goals depend heavily on the rapid deployment of residential rooftop solar and battery storage. This expansion is critical for meeting state climate targets and for providing significant financial relief to Maryland households facing sharply rising electricity costs.
A 21st-Century Permitting Regime for Rooftop Solar and Home Batteries in Virginia
Between rising home energy consumption and the growth of data centers across the state, Virginia’s demand for electricity is threatening to outpace a consistent and affordable supply. As Virginia’s energy needs increase, solar and battery systems in homes are going to be ever more valuable for reducing grid strain and improving energy affordability, resiliency and reliability, while protecting our environment. By reducing peak demand and creating a much-needed local energy supply, residential solar and storage technologies are a cost-effective part of a community-oriented grid modernization effort. Many local governments across the country are not set up to efficiently enable this solution, however, and governments in Virginia are no exception. Antiquated steps required at the local level to obtain approval to begin installation add costs to home solar and energy storage systems and increase administrative costs for governments.
How to make rooftop solar power as cheap in the US as it is in Australia
Rooftop solar costs nearly three times as much in the US as it does in Australia, largely due to the “paperwork tax” imposed by thousands of fragmented local jurisdictions. I talk with Nick Josefowitz of Permit Power and solar veteran Andrew Birch about how to slash these soft costs through automated permitting and standardized interconnection. We discuss how these bureaucratic fixes could unlock dirt-cheap energy for American families without the need for subsidies.
Simpler Solar Regulations Would Save Americans $1.2 Trillion
By Alexander Kaufman: A new analysis by Permit Power calculates the cumulative benefits of cheap rooftop solar over the lifetime of a typical rig. Liberty-loving Americans are prone to poke fun at the bureaucratic nightmares Australians and Germans face when attempting to do just about anything. But try installing solar panels on your roof in the U.S. Americans pay a median price of $28,000 for a 7-kilowatt system. The typical Australian, meanwhile, spends just $4,000, and the German — after filling out a mere two-page application — pays $10,000 per project.
Can cutting rooftop solar costs make up for losing tax credits?
By Jeff St. John:
Slow and complex permitting and interconnection rules drive up U.S. rooftop solar “soft” costs. With tax credits going away, fixing them may be existential.
This Nonprofit is Revolutionizing Solar Permitting
Why is solar so expensive in the U.S.?
Nick Josefowitz has the receipts—and a plan to fix it. In this episode, we dig into one of the largest hidden reasons rooftop solar costs $35,000+ for the average American homeowner (while in Australia it's closer to $6K). Spoiler: It’s not the panels—it’s the paperwork.
Can the US bring solar installation to below $2 per watt?
By Lisa Martine Jenkins: Two reports, from Tesla and Permit Power, unpack how to get U.S. rooftop solar prices down — and up to $1.2 trillion is on the line.
Going solar should be cheaper and easier. Local governments are standing in the way.
Colorado doesn’t need to wait on Washington to address climate change, reduce costs for families, and make government work more efficiently. We have the power to make it cheaper and quicker for families to install rooftop solar and home batteries by streamlining local permitting processes.
