U.S. DOE Signs Up 125+ Local Governments to Fast-Track Solar Permits
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced it has achieved its summer goal of signing up at least 125 communities for the Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP+) tool — a free, DOE-developed web-based platform that allows local governments to instantly approve residential solar installation permits. Now that 127 localities are signed up for SolarAPP+, DOE is announcing a new challenge: to get 60 more communities to improve their solar practices and get recognized through the DOE SolSmart program by March 2022. These efforts support the deployment of more solar energy to reach the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of achieving 100% clean electricity by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050.
“Everyone has access to sunlight but not everyone has access to solar power — this Administration is committed to changing that,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “DOE’s SolarAPP+ tool and SolSmart program are helping communities tear down barriers to clean energy and unlock the health and economic benefits of solar. We are challenging communities to increase solar deployment and providing them the tools they need to succeed.”
The cost of solar power has declined 80% over the past decade and local governments have tremendous influence over the prospects for solar energy growth. However, soft costs like unnecessary paperwork, red tape, and other burdensome requirements increase costs and discourage solar companies from moving to an area. By streamlining these requirements and taking other steps to encourage solar development, DOE is supporting communities to become “open for solar business.”
In June, DOE kicked off the Summer of Solar campaign with stops throughout the country and set a goal of getting 125 communities to sign up for SolarAPP+ by September 30. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed SolarAPP+ and will continue to engage new communities while expanding and updating the tool to include fast-tracked energy storage permitting and other resources.
DOE’s SolSmart program provides selected communities free technical assistance to help streamline processes — like planning, zoning, inspection, and training — that make it faster and easier to go solar. More than 400 communities in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have received SolSmart designations. Nine million people — about 25% of the U.S. population — live in communities with a SolSmart designation. For example:
- In West Palm Beach, Florida, SolSmart assistance helped them implement one-day permitting, resulting in a 50% increase in solar installations the next year.
- In Boise, Idaho, residential solar permits increased by almost 50% in the year following their designation.
- In Orlando, Florida, the number of solar contractors working in the state doubled since the city achieved SolSmart Gold designation.
Earlier this year, DOE announced a $10 million funding opportunity to expand SolSmart over the next five years and incorporate new solar-related technologies while emphasizing assistance for underserved communities.
In addition, DOE announced a new Solar Forecasting Prize, which will incentivize innovators to develop tools that predict how much energy solar power plants will generate days in advance, and the quarterfinalists for the Solar Desalination Prize Round 2. These prizes are part of DOE’s American-Made Challenges, a set of 25 prize competitions designed to seed new innovations in clean energy and support entrepreneurs to develop new American-made products.
Learn more about SolSmart, SolarAPP+, the American-Made Challenges, and DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office.
Courtesy of Energy.gov
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![Day 1 of the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025 [Gallery]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/07/54629423281_6315c46dff_k.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Today was the official start of racing at the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025! There was a tremendous energy (and heat) on the ground at NCM Motorsports Park as nearly a dozen teams took to the track. Currently, as of writing, Stanford is ranked #1 in the SOV (Single-Occupant Vehicle) class with 68 registered laps. However, the fastest lap so far belongs to UC Berkeley, which clocked a 4:45 on the 3.15-mile track. That’s an average speed of just under 40 mph on nothing but solar energy. Not bad!
In the MOV (Multi-Occupant Vehicle) class, Polytechnique Montréal is narrowly ahead of Appalachian State by just 4 laps. At last year’s formula sun race, Polytechnique Montréal took first place overall in this class, and the team hopes to repeat that success. It’s still too early for prediction though, and anything can happen between now and the final day of racing on Saturday.
Congrats to the teams that made it on track today. We look forward to seeing even more out there tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some shots from today via the event’s wonderful photographer Cora Kennedy.
Stay tuned for more!
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The numbers are in and they are all bad for Tesla fans – the company sold just 5,000 Cybertruck models in Q4 of 2025, and built some 30% more “other” vehicles than it delivered. It just gets worse and worse, on today’s tension-building episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got day 1 coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, reports that the Tesla Optimus program is in chaos after its chief engineer jumps ship, and a look ahead at the fresh new Hyundai IONIQ 2 set to bow early next year, thanks to some battery specs from the Kia EV2.
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Tesla has launched its new Oasis Supercharger, the long-promised EV charging station of the future, with a solar farm and off-grid batteries.
Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to the Supercharger stations, and CEO Elon Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.
While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.
Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:
All of these pieces have been in place for years, and Tesla has now discontinued the Powerpack in favor of the Megapack. The Supercharger network is also transitioning to V4 stations.
Yet, solar and battery deployment haven’t accelerated much in the decade since Musk made that comment, but it is finally happening.
Last year, Tesla announced a new project called ‘Oasis’, which consists of a new model Supercharger station with a solar farm and battery storage enabling off-grid operations in Lost Hills, California.
Tesla has now unveiled the project and turned on most of the Supercharger stalls:
The project consists of 168 chargers, with half of them currently operational, making it one of the largest Supercharger stations in the world. However, that’s not even the most notable aspect of it.
The station is equipped with 11 MW of ground-mounted solar panels and canopies, spanning 30 acres of land, and 10 Tesla Megapacks with a total energy storage capacity of 39 MWh.
It can be operated off-grid, which is the case right now, according to Tesla.
With off-grid operations, Tesla was about to bring 84 stalls online just in time for the Fourth of July travel weekend. The rest of the stalls and a lounge are going to open later this year.
Electrek’s Take
This is awesome. A bit late, but awesome. This is what charging stations should be like: fully powered by renewable energy.
Unfortunately, it will be much harder to open those stations in the future due to legislation that Trump and the Republican Party have just passed, which removes incentives for solar and energy storage, adds taxes on them, and removes incentives to build batteries – all things that have helped Tesla considerably over the last few years.
The US is likely going to have a few tough years for EV adoption and renewable energy deployment.
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