Palo Alto Heats When Solar Energy Permits | News | Palo Alto Online

On May 12, 2021, David Coale looks at the solar panels he installed in his Palo Alto home. Photo by Magali Gauthier.

Author: Gennady Sheyner / Palo Alto Weekly

Upload time: Friday, May 21, 2021, 6:59 AM 52 Reading time: about 16 minutes

Barry Cinnamon is a big believer in solar energy.

For the past 20 years, his Campbell company, Cinnamon Energy Systems, has been installing solar panels and energy storage systems across the peninsula—with one notable exception. About 10 years ago, he decided to stop working in Palo Alto-choked by high costs and long-term permit delays in the city.

“Palo Alto’s solar licensing is so bad that every reputable solar company basically gives up and refuses to do solar and solar storage work in Palo Alto,” Cinnamon told the news organization in a recent interview . "It is so expensive, time-consuming and frustrating."

He recalled the events that made him surrender in 2010. First, the city asked him to provide them with a printed installation manual of the solar inverter that his company is installing, even if the manual is available online. After he submitted one—and waited for more than three weeks for a reply—the city asked him to provide a specification for a bracket that he would use to connect the inverter to the wall. He offered that, and then waited for a few more weeks. He was then asked to provide engineering drawings of the screws used to install the brackets that fix the inverter to the wall. Then wait more.

When Cinnamon was asked to provide the specifications of the torque tool his company used to drill holes in the bracket, he had accumulated a 5-inch thick loose-leaf project plan and supporting documents.

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"I called the customer and said,'We are done.' We walked away and refunded the customer's deposit," Cinnamon said. "We see that this will never end."

Cinnamon is not alone. Contractors and Palo Alto residents are full of horror stories about the city's licensing process, whether it's solar systems, generators, or electric car chargers. Some companies, such as Cinnamon's, are now completely away from Palo Alto. According to Cobalt Power's emails seen by the Public Utilities Advisory Committee last month, other companies, such as Cobalt Power, will add a $2,500 surcharge when installing in Palo Alto.

Cobalt CEO Mark Byington told the news organization in an email: “This is a shame because Palo Alto has so many who really care about the environment, care about climate change, and want to do something. What to help the residents."

He pointed out that Cobalt has "hanged there" and continues to work in the city. Byington said that some people in the development services department really care about their work and work hard to serve the community.

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"But other times, personality gets in the way. It seems to have a life of its own and becomes a power game or confrontational situation," he said.

Although Palo Alto’s licensing confusion is far from new, it has become more apparent as more residents switch to electric cars, install solar panels, and install solar systems like Tesla’s Powerwall. ——The city encourages this trend on the surface. The City Council plans to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2030, using 1990 as a benchmark to fund the widespread electrification of cars and buildings. The city’s implementation plan includes policies: "Improve energy resilience by evaluating local distributed energy, energy storage, microgrid installations, and home-to-grid opportunities." If the cost of electricity is still prohibitively high for potential customers and regional contractors People are discouraged, so this goal, which has been regarded by many as ambitious, is actually impossible.

The Public Utilities Advisory Committee acknowledged that the city’s licensing procedures were discussed at its April 7 meeting and generally agreed that it needs to be reformed.

"The problem does seem to be serious at this point," said Chairman Lisa Forssell. "Especially considering the city's sustainable development goals-80x30, where electrification is a major component-it is very important to make it as streamlined as possible."

On May 18, 2021, Moises Gonzalez (Moises Gonzalez) handed over the tools to Ramiro Martinez to secure a facility in Hillsborough Solar panels. Photography: Daniela Beltran B.

Contractors and residents provided multiple reasons for the delay: chaotic rules; unique strict requirements; and inspectors who seemed to spare no effort to make the process as long and painful as possible.

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Several contractors, including Cinnamon, speculate that the city has an economic incentive to disapprove solar installations. After all, Palo Alto has its own municipal utility company that sells electricity to customers. This thinking believes that more solar panels and energy storage systems mean that local homeowners are less dependent on urban utilities.

"I have to give it to the city government. To its credit, Palo Alto’s electricity bill is cheaper than PG&E’s electricity bill. That’s great. But the city makes money by selling electricity, and the money is used to support what’s happening in the city. Everything," Cinnamon said.

David Cole, a solar installer and board member of the advocacy organization Carbon-Free Palo Alto, believes that these issues have more to do with city hall culture. For nearly two decades, Coale has been advocating reforms to Palo Alto's licensing procedures. He suggested at the public utility team meeting on April 7 that it was time for the city to simply outsource licenses. He said the city has proven that it either does not want to-or cannot-solve these problems.

Cole said at the hearing: "It would be difficult to solve it with the same culture and the same people that still exist." "And it's a persistent problem. It's a proven problem that should have been resolved long ago. "

In a recent interview, Coale was one of several contractors who selected inspector Rhonda Parkhurst. Rhonda Parkhurst is a national power system expert. The enthusiasm for making demands that did not exist anywhere else helped drive the contractor out of the city. Coale said that some inspectors will not leave unless they find a problem and ask you to fix it. He said that Parkhurst seemed to spare no effort to make solar installers encounter difficulties. (Several other contractors responded to this assessment.)

"They conduct torque tests on mechanical and electrical systems-no other jurisdiction will do that. If you let Ronda act as an inspector, she will point out the most difficult panel to achieve 100%," Cole said.

"This is a time-tested problem, and it should have been resolved long ago."

The city refused to allow Parkhurst to be interviewed for this article. Planning director Jonathan Lait said he could not discuss personnel issues involving individual employees, but he pointed out that the city has recently taken steps to reform and improve its inspection process. According to a recently adopted procedure, building inspectors are now working in pairs-a method that allows them to learn from each other and aims to "enhance a common approach to customer service."

The city has also taken measures to improve coordination among inspectors from different departments. For smaller projects, building inspectors can now perform inspections that previously required separate visits to development services, fire protection, and utilities. For larger and more complex situations, various departments are coordinating their visits to avoid inspections at different times of the day-he said this will save customers time.

"We want to carry out this work with a focus on customer service that is consistent, professional, and respectful of our time and their time," Wright said.

Wright also rejected any suggestion that the city's status as a power seller would prompt its inspectors to slow down the installation of solar panels. He said that delaying the installation would completely go against the city's values and its focus on sustainability, he said.

"Promoting solar energy in the city is a priority for the council. It is a common priority for utilities and planning and development services, and we are committed to serving these efforts."

On May 12, 2021, David Coale kneels next to the solar panels he installed in his Palo Alto home. Photography: Magali Gauthier.

However, environmental activists like Coale, who is working with Palo Alto to help reform its permitting process, say that the city has historically been difficult to come up with themes to relax some of its existing requirements.

"When you start, they will immediately ask,'Do you want us to make it more insecure?' This is their type of conversation. In a meeting, I was called an arsonist-like I wanted to burn down a house Same," Cole said.

However, this dialogue is beginning to develop. Last month, city officials and the Public Utilities Advisory Committee acknowledged that Palo Alto’s requirements for solar installations are indeed stricter than elsewhere, and that the city needs to reform — and speed up — its licensing procedures.

However, there is no doubt that the city’s ownership of its utilities has led to licensing barriers that customers often encounter. Palo Alto's permit approval requires coordination between development services, fire protection, and utilities, and until recently, this often required multiple inspections by representatives from different departments.

In addition to building permit applications, Palo Alto customers also need to submit an interconnection agreement containing detailed information about the photovoltaic system for review by the utility. The review included the utility company's confirmation that the system meets a long list of requirements, including the ability to turn off the power to each battery or power wall and a dedicated disconnect system for photovoltaic systems—requirements that do not exist in neighboring jurisdictions.

"We want to carry out this work with a focus on customer service that is consistent, professional, and respectful of our time and their time."

Don Jackson, who ended his term on the Public Utilities Advisory Committee last week, compared the experience of installing solar installations in Palo Alto and meeting all interconnection requirements to refinance mortgages. In the discussion on April 7, Jackson urged the city government to carefully study and modify these requirements to "optimize the cost of the complexity of electrification projects."

"We are really working hard to promote the development of electrification," Jackson said. "We have ambitious goals. We are working hard to become leaders in the region, the rest of the state, and the rest of the country, and our interconnection requirements and codes must support this.... We are really We shoot ourselves and our residents here."

For Jackson, this issue is particularly close to the family. In a recent interview, he recalled his experience of looking for contractors to install electricity storage systems at home.

"When I went to bid, I thought I thought it was a very qualified contractor in the area and said,'I won't bid for your work in Palo Alto because we don't serve Palo Alto,'" Jackson said. He spoke as an individual, not as a representative of the committee. "They did not elaborate on the reasons, but when you combine this experience with what you heard, it is easy to understand why they say that. They have easier places to do business, and they prefer to do business in these areas ."

To be sure, the customer experience is not always bad. A license to install a small photovoltaic system (up to 10 kW) can be quickly obtained through an over-the-counter procedure. However, larger and more complex systems must go through a "fast" or "regular" process, the latter being reserved for more complex projects, including those containing multiple systems (such as solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations, and storage systems) s project). Although contractors are often forced to traverse the procedural maze, many residents are still committed to powering their houses, cars, and electrical appliances and installing solar panels.

According to a report from TRC, a company commissioned by the city to review its licensing procedures, the city approved 115 PV system licenses in 2020, up from 99 in 2019 and 100 in 2018. The report does not list the number of licenses it has approved for power storage systems, although Jackson estimates that Palo Alto has approximately 20 such devices.

On May 12, 2021, Nancy Cohen stood in front of her house, where solar panels were installed. Photo taken by Magali Gauthier.

Nancy Cohen, a resident of Barron Park, said she was able to complete the permitting process for solar panels in her home in just a few weeks. The process was so simple that the only problem her system encountered was that when one of her grandsons pressed the GFCI button, it turned off the power. Cohen installed her panel in 2017, and she said that generating electricity in her own home has both environmental and economic benefits.

"I don't have electricity bills for many months of the year," Cohen said.

Jackson also pointed out that he had no problems with the municipal government's permit procedures when undertaking other projects (i.e. installing electric HVAC units and electric water heaters), but when he started planning solar projects, things became more opaque and difficult. Including panel and storage system.

He said that most of the difficulties stem from the fact that solar panels and power storage systems are relatively new technologies. He suggested that building codes are “outdated” and cannot keep up with the latest developments.

"The rapidly developing space is not something optimized around building codes," Jackson said in an interview.

Palo Alto and the World

Rails installed on the roof of the house during the installation of solar panels in Hillsboro on May 18, 2021. Photography: Daniela Beltran B.

The TRC survey of 13 counties and districts largely supports a common view that Palo Alto's licensing process is longer, more complicated, and more difficult than elsewhere. The report states that it includes a "pre-application" stage, which is lacking in other cities, and a series of requirements "beyond neighbouring jurisdictions."

These include special AC disconnect devices for photovoltaic systems; separate shutdown of photovoltaic and energy storage systems in a project that includes two components; and requirements for submitting utility applications during the building permit process, even if the key details of the new system- Including size and specifications-may not be finalized yet.

The TRC report states that the city’s checklist is also “longer than (in) other jurisdictions” and includes requirements for signs of all closed locations. The report concluded that although Palo Alto’s “over-the-counter” process is comparable to that in other jurisdictions, the timeline for “quick” and “regular” plan reviews is generally longer in comparison.

According to the report, contractors interviewed by TRC “have always reported that inspections of residential photovoltaics, electric vehicle charging, and ESS are too detailed and cumbersome compared to other jurisdictions, including requirements for reversing all connections.”

"Because of these detailed inspection procedures, the contractor also reported that electrical inspectors often divide the inspection of photovoltaic systems into two separate visits (excluding re-inspections to correct errors), which is in line with the state's requirements for small residential photovoltaic systems. The requirement for one inspection is the opposite," the report pointed out, alluding to the Parliamentary Act of 2188, a 2014 law that requires an inspection of solar installations up to 10 kilowatts to simplify the over-the-counter process. (When it comes to larger systems, the law still provides for a longer time frame.)

According to city officials and TRC, the pandemic has forced the Development Services Department to close counters and transfer its services online, thereby exacerbating licensing issues in the city. The report states that the abolition of face-to-face counter time "will inevitably slow down the review process for certain types of licenses and limit opportunities for cooperation and problem resolution with customers, within the department, and with other departments such as utilities."

Wright also stated at the April 7 meeting that the pandemic has made this process more complicated.

"For the work we do in the office, we have to do three times as much work remotely," Wright said in the discussion on April 7.

Now, in response to complaints from customers (some of whom have been trapped in the permit system for six months or more) and commissioners, the city is trying to avoid these pitfalls by encouraging more interaction between inspectors and contractors . Under a new procedure, the city is now arranging virtual meetings with contractors who need to submit multiple applications, in order to resolve any obstacles early in the process.

Wright said the city is also reviewing all the department's plan inspection requirements and posting them online to prevent contractors from being "prepared."

He acknowledged that better coordination between departments is the key. Wright said that just recently, he had a conversation with a contractor who complained that three different departments required him to include a disconnect in his system-which caused him to have three disconnects. After a dialogue with the chief construction officer and building inspector, the city determined that the project actually only requires one disconnection, but if the system is redesigned, another disconnection may be required in the future.

"These are things we are studying," Wright said. "We are not out of the predicament yet, but over time-not a long time-I expect the system will be much smoother than before, of course "last year, but better than before." Because we expect more applications will come in. "

Although COVID-19 has exacerbated the city’s licensing issues, many contractors insist that many problems — namely, the city’s onerous requirements and rigid city hall culture — occurred before the pandemic and may continue. The TRC report concluded that development service personnel “lack clear guidance on the planned review of new electrification technologies” and that Palo Alto’s excessive inspection practices failed to comply with the state’s inspection requirements for photovoltaic systems.

TRC recommends that the city “comply with the single inspection of photovoltaic systems required by the state and reduce the burden of electricity inspection by restricting the scope of inspection to the range that can be accessed during the inspection.” It also urged the city to "eliminate requirements that exceed the requirements of regulations or ordinances," and urged the city to "improve communications with customers and contractors by consolidating information files into a more accessible location."

Ramiro Martinez and Moises Gonzalez installed a solar panel on the roof of a house in Hillsboro on May 18, 2021. Photography: Daniela Beltran B.

Wright assured the committee that he was taking the report’s recommendations and the contractor’s comments "very seriously." He said he is working with utilities and fire departments to eliminate the delays that continue to plague the process. He also promised to discuss "what are their responsibilities and powers" with managers in various departments, and suggested that the recently hired inspectors will help resolve cultural issues raised by Coale and others.

"Although I admit that we still have a lot of familiar faces, these faces have been part of our plan for many years-but we also have some new people involved and motivated to make some changes," Wright said. "I'm a little optimistic, but I understand why other people may not be optimistic, because we have the ability to make some changes in this area."

The Public Utilities Advisory Committee overwhelmingly agreed that Palo Alto's licensing procedures need to be overhauled, and many committee members recommended that the city align its requirements for photovoltaic systems with other cities. Jackson said the TRC report may have underestimated the city's licensing issues.

"It is in the record to criticize Palo Alto's planning department as not in the contractor's best interests," Jackson said. "This report is decent and good-it seriously underestimates the scale of the problem."

Michael Danaher (Michael Danaher) and Jackson ended his term on the committee last week, recommending that the city "immediately suspend any requirements not implemented by neighboring jurisdictions." He said that the city should have a "high standard" to restore these requirements, or new requirements that are not available anywhere else.

Danaher said: "We need a procedural way to balance institutional tendencies to make them more cautious."

Commissioner AC Johnston agreed and stated that the city should have a procedure that requires public utilities to "certify" any requirements not imposed by other jurisdictions. Commissioner Lauren Smith also made a similar point.

"If it's okay in a nearby jurisdiction, it should be okay in Palo Alto," Smith said. "This makes sense to me. There is no reason to believe that safety is no longer a priority in other local communities."

Wright promised to return to the committee in about four months and submit a report on the city’s progress in simplifying the licensing process. He also assured the committee that the city will address the "really shocking" turnaround times that some customers have experienced in the past year of four to five months.

Wright said: "If our requirements exceed state laws, then obviously we need to study why we do this."

On May 18, 2021, Ramiro Martinez protected a solar panel installed on the roof of a house in Hillsborough. Photography: Daniela Beltran B.

Although Palo Alto is working to speed up its internal processes, state lawmakers are also exploring ways to speed up the licensing of solar installations throughout the Golden State-a key component of California's ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 Part, and 1990 as the benchmark. Senate Bill No. 617 was drafted by Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco. The bill requires cities and counties to establish online systems to immediately issue licenses for solar systems that do not exceed 38.4 kilowatts. According to the proposed legislation, cities with a population of 50,000 and above need to adopt such platforms by September 30, 2022. Wiener pointed out in a statement that many Bay Area cities, including Mount Pleasant and San Jose, have used online permits for solar installations. According to the Wiener office, the number of San Jose approvals since upgrading its permit system in 2016 An increase of 600%.

At the hearing of the Energy, Utilities, and Communications Commission on April 26, Wiener believed that SB 617 was the "climate bill" first and suggested that an automatic permit system is needed to help California achieve its climate goals.

“Currently, only 10% of taxpayers own solar energy. If we want to achieve our clean energy goals, this number needs to triple in the next ten years,” Wiener voted 12-2 in the committee to support the legislation and submit it to Said committee before appropriation.

Wright said that regardless of whether the bill is passed, he is interested in letting the city explore technologies to speed up the process. He said that conceptually, as long as the system can solve the city's safety issues, it is a good idea to license small projects online.

"I think the idea of using our licensing system in this way is positive," Wright said.

'Currently only 10% of taxpayers own solar energy. If we hope to achieve our clean energy goals, this number needs to triple in the next ten years.

Although the Public Utilities Commission praised the staff for continuing to accelerate the process, neither Cinnamon nor Coale are fully confident that these efforts will bear fruit in the short term. Last summer, Cinnamon returned to Palo Alto for solar installations after nearly a decade of interruption to see if there were any changes. To his chagrin, as of last week, the application is still approved by the city.

He compared this process to San Jose, where his company completed the entire installation within a week. He said that both San Jose and Saratoga need two to three hours to approve solar cell licenses. If Palo Alto wants to improve this situation, all it has to do is to replicate what these cities are doing.

"I have little confidence in the success of this admirable (reform) effort," Cinnamon said. "Simplifying the process is something that every community around has done. All they have to do is adopt best practices."

Wright said the city is doing this. The staff is now investigating other utility companies to understand their requirements for AC disconnection and other issues. He pointed out that energy storage "is a rapidly changing area" and the city wants to ensure that any new systems have appropriate protective measures to ensure that they can be shut down when employees check their meters or perform maintenance on their electrical systems.

"We are doing our best to keep up with technology to ensure that we have a safe energy system," Wright said.

On May 18, 2021, Moises Gonzalez carries a solar panel on the roof of a house in Hillsborough. Photography: Daniela Beltran B.

He pointed out that some issues have been resolved. The TRC report cited Palo Alto's special practice, which requires contractors to follow strict format requirements when submitting documents, including bookmarks and indexes. Wright said the city has cancelled these requirements.

Wright said construction officials are also considering relaxing some zoning rules to encourage electrification, which may include relaxing the setback requirements on property lines to allow the installation of electricity storage systems and heat pump water heaters in the side yard.

He said the city is also committed to completing work faster. Its newly adopted timetable requires small projects to be completed within two weeks and large projects approved within 30 days. He encouraged contractors facing complications to email him ([email protected]). He also recommended that contractors who tried to apply during the pandemic and encountered a lot of delays try again. They will now see "This is a different story."

"If not, then I have a bigger problem," Wright added.

As far as Cole is concerned, he believes that the city must improve the culture of the service sector as part of the reform process. Even if the city requires staff to "certify" that it is limited to Palo Alto's requirements in accordance with the Commission's instructions, expert inspectors will always find a way to prove that even the most useless requirements are reasonable. Cole said that failure to do so would imply that employees are wrong to impose these requirements. He suggested that this is unlikely to happen at City Hall.

"In any case, the city supports their people until the end," Cole said. "If they make it more difficult for the contractor, it will not be bad for the city, and it will not be bad if the contractor charges an additional $2,500 in licensing fees. They will not be affected in any way.

"The contractor or installer and the homeowner must pay the price. They must pay the price-time and money."

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Author: Gennady Sheyner / Palo Alto Weekly

Upload: Friday, May 21, 2021, 6:59 AM Barry Cinnamon is a big believer in solar energy. For the past 20 years, his Campbell company, Cinnamon Energy Systems, has been installing solar panels and energy storage systems across the peninsula—with one notable exception. About 10 years ago, he decided to stop working in Palo Alto-choked by high costs and long-term permit delays in the city. “Palo Alto’s solar licensing is so bad that every reputable solar company basically gives up and refuses to do solar and solar storage work in Palo Alto,” Cinnamon told the news organization in a recent interview . "It's so expensive, time-consuming and frustrating." He recalled the events that made him surrender in 2010. First, the city asked him to provide them with a printed installation manual of the solar inverter that his company is installing, even if the manual is available online. After he submitted one—and waited for more than three weeks for a reply—the city asked him to provide a specification for a bracket that he would use to connect the inverter to the wall. He offered that, and then waited for a few more weeks. He was then asked to provide engineering drawings of the screws used to install the brackets that fix the inverter to the wall. Then wait more. When Cinnamon was asked to provide the specifications of the torque tool his company used to drill holes in the bracket, he had accumulated a 5-inch thick loose-leaf project plan and supporting documents. He has had enough. "I called the customer and said,'We are done.' We walked away and refunded the customer's deposit," Cinnamon said. "We see that this will never end." Cinnamon is not alone. Contractors and Palo Alto residents are full of horror stories about the city's licensing process, whether it's solar systems, generators, or electric car chargers. Some companies, such as Cinnamon's, are now completely away from Palo Alto. According to Cobalt Power's emails seen by the Public Utilities Advisory Committee last month, other companies, such as Cobalt Power, will add a $2,500 surcharge when installing in Palo Alto. "This is a shame, because Palo Alto has so many residents who really care about the environment and climate change and want to do something to help," Cobalt CEO Mark Beinton told the news in an email mechanism. He pointed out that Cobalt has "hanged there" and continues to work in the city. Byington said that some people in the development services department really care about their work and work hard to serve the community. "But other times, personality gets in the way. It seems to have a life of its own and becomes a power game or confrontational situation," he said. Although Palo Alto’s licensing confusion is far from new, it has become even more complicated as more residents switch to electric vehicles, install solar panels, and install energy solar systems like Tesla’s Powerwall. Obviously-the city ostensibly encourages this trend. The City Council plans to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2030, using 1990 as a benchmark to fund the widespread electrification of cars and buildings. The city’s implementation plan includes policies: "Improve energy resilience by evaluating local distributed energy, energy storage, microgrid installations, and home-to-grid opportunities." If the cost of electricity is still prohibitively high for potential customers and regional contractors People are discouraged, so this goal, which has been regarded by many as ambitious, is actually impossible. The Public Utilities Advisory Committee acknowledged that the city’s licensing procedures were discussed at its April 7 meeting and generally agreed that it needs to be reformed. "The problem does seem to be serious at this point," said Chairman Lisa Forssell. "Especially considering the city's sustainable development goals-80x30, where electrification is a major component-it is very important to make it as streamlined as possible." Contractors and residents provided multiple reasons for the delay: chaotic rules; Unique strict requirements; and inspectors who seem to spare no effort to make the process as long and painful as possible. Several contractors, including Cinnamon, speculate that the city has an economic incentive to disapprove solar installations. After all, Palo Alto has its own municipal utility company that sells electricity to customers. This thinking believes that more solar panels and energy storage systems mean that local homeowners are less dependent on urban utilities. "I have to give it to the city government. To its credit, Palo Alto’s electricity bill is cheaper than PG&E’s electricity bill. That’s great. But the city makes money by selling electricity, and the money is used to support what’s happening in the city. Everything," Cinnamon said. David Cole, a solar installer and board member of the advocacy organization Carbon-Free Palo Alto, believes that these issues have more to do with city hall culture. For nearly two decades, Coale has been advocating reforms to Palo Alto's licensing procedures. He suggested at the public utility team meeting on April 7 that it was time for the city to simply outsource licenses. He said the city has proven that it either does not want to-or cannot-solve these problems. Cole said at the hearing: "It would be difficult to solve it with the same culture and the same people that still exist." "And it's a persistent problem. It's a proven problem that should have been resolved long ago. In a recent interview, Coale was one of several contractors who selected inspector Rhonda Parkhurst, Rhonda Parkhurst, a national power system expert. He was keen to make demands that did not exist anywhere else, which helped drive contractors out of the city. Coale said that some inspectors will not leave unless they find a problem and ask you to fix it. He said that Parkhurst seemed to spare no effort to make solar installers encounter difficulties. (Several other contractors responded to this assessment.) "The torque tests they performed on mechanical and electrical systems-no other jurisdiction did that. If you let Ronda act as an inspector, she would point out that it is the most difficult to reach 100 % Of the panel at the time," Cole said. The city refused to allow Parkhurst to be interviewed for this article. Planning director Jonathan Lait said he could not discuss personnel issues involving individual employees, but he pointed out that the city has recently taken steps to reform and improve its inspection process. According to a recently adopted procedure, building inspectors are now working in pairs-a method that allows them to learn from each other and aims to "enhance a common approach to customer service." The city has also taken measures to improve coordination among inspectors from different departments. For smaller projects, building inspectors can now perform inspections that previously required separate visits to development services, fire protection, and utilities. For larger and more complex situations, various departments are coordinating their visits to avoid inspections at different times of the day-he said this will save customers time. "We want to carry out this work with a focus on customer service that is consistent, professional, and respectful of our time and their time," Wright said. Wright also rejected any suggestion that the city's status as a power seller would prompt its inspectors to slow down the installation of solar panels. He said that delaying the installation would completely go against the city's values and its focus on sustainability, he said. "Promoting solar energy in the city is a priority for the council. It is a common priority for utilities and planning and development services, and we are committed to serving these efforts." However, coale like Coale is working with Palo Alto to help reform its license The environmental activists of the program said that the city has historically had difficulty proposing themes of relaxation of some existing requirements. "When you start, they will immediately ask,'Do you want us to make it more insecure?' This is their type of conversation. In a meeting, I was called an arsonist-like I wanted to burn down a house Same," Cole said. However, this dialogue is beginning to develop. Last month, city officials and the Public Utilities Advisory Committee acknowledged that Palo Alto’s requirements for solar installations are indeed stricter than elsewhere, and that the city needs to reform — and speed up — its licensing procedures. However, there is no doubt that the city’s ownership of its utilities has led to licensing barriers that customers often encounter. Palo Alto's permit approval requires coordination between development services, fire protection, and utilities, and until recently, this often required multiple inspections by representatives from different departments. In addition to building permit applications, Palo Alto customers also need to submit an interconnection agreement containing detailed information about the photovoltaic system for review by the utility. The review included the utility company's confirmation that the system meets a long list of requirements, including the ability to turn off the power to each battery or power wall and a dedicated disconnect system for photovoltaic systems—requirements that do not exist in neighboring jurisdictions. Don Jackson, who ended his term on the Public Utilities Advisory Committee last week, compared the experience of installing solar installations in Palo Alto and meeting all interconnection requirements to refinance mortgages. In the discussion on April 7, Jackson urged the city government to carefully study and modify these requirements to "optimize the cost of the complexity of electrification projects." "We are really working hard to promote the development of electrification," Jackson said. "We have ambitious goals. We are working hard to become leaders in the region, the rest of the state, and the rest of the country, and our interconnection requirements and codes must support this.... We are really We shoot ourselves and our residents here." For Jackson, this issue is particularly close to the family. In a recent interview, he recalled his experience of looking for contractors to install electricity storage systems at home. "When I went to bid, I thought I thought it was a very qualified contractor in the area and said,'I won't bid for your work in Palo Alto because we don't serve Palo Alto,'" Jackson said. He spoke as an individual, not as a representative of the committee. "They did not elaborate on the reasons, but when you combine this experience with what you heard, it is easy to understand why they say that. They have easier places to do business, and they prefer to do business in these areas . "To be sure, the customer experience is not always bad. A license to install a small photovoltaic system (up to 10 kW) can be quickly obtained through an over-the-counter procedure. However, larger and more complex systems must go through a "fast" or "regular" process, the latter being reserved for more complex projects, including those containing multiple systems (such as solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations, and storage systems) s project). Although contractors are often forced to traverse the procedural maze, many residents are still committed to powering their houses, cars, and electrical appliances and installing solar panels. According to a report from TRC, a company commissioned by the city to review its licensing procedures, the city approved 115 PV system licenses in 2020, up from 99 in 2019 and 100 in 2018. The report does not list the number of licenses it has approved for power storage systems, although Jackson estimates that Palo Alto has approximately 20 such devices. Nancy Cohen, a resident of Barron Park, said she was able to complete the permitting process for solar panels in her home in just a few weeks. The process was so simple that the only problem her system encountered was that when one of her grandsons pressed the GFCI button, it turned off the power. Cohen installed her panel in 2017, and she said that generating electricity in her own home has both environmental and economic benefits. "I don't have electricity bills for many months of the year," Cohen said. Jackson also pointed out that he had no problems with the municipal government's permit procedures when undertaking other projects (i.e. installing electric HVAC units and electric water heaters), but when he started planning solar projects, things became more opaque and difficult. Including panel and storage system. He said that most of the difficulties stem from the fact that solar panels and power storage systems are relatively new technologies. He suggested that building codes are “outdated” and cannot keep up with the latest developments. "The rapidly developing space is not something optimized around building codes," Jackson said in an interview. The TRC survey of 13 counties and districts largely supports a common view that Palo Alto's licensing process is longer, more complicated, and more difficult than elsewhere. The report states that it includes a "pre-application" stage, which is lacking in other cities, and a series of requirements "beyond neighbouring jurisdictions." These include special AC disconnect devices for photovoltaic systems; separate shutdown of photovoltaic and energy storage systems in a project that includes two components; and requirements for submitting utility applications during the building permit process, even if the key details of the new system- Including size and specifications-may not be finalized yet. The TRC report states that the city’s checklist is also “longer than (in) other jurisdictions” and includes requirements for signs of all closed locations. The report concluded that although Palo Alto’s “over-the-counter” process is comparable to that in other jurisdictions, the timeline for “quick” and “regular” plan reviews is generally longer in comparison. According to the report, contractors interviewed by TRC “have always reported that inspections of residential photovoltaics, electric vehicle charging, and ESS are too detailed and cumbersome compared to other jurisdictions, including requirements for reversing all connections.” "Because of these detailed inspection procedures, the contractor also reported that electrical inspectors often divide the inspection of photovoltaic systems into two separate visits (excluding re-inspections to correct errors), which is in line with the state's requirements for small residential photovoltaic systems. The requirement for one inspection is the opposite," the report pointed out, alluding to the Parliamentary Act of 2188, a 2014 law that requires an inspection of solar installations up to 10 kilowatts to simplify the over-the-counter process. (When it comes to larger systems, the law still provides for a longer time frame.) According to city officials and TRC, the pandemic forcing the Development Services Department to close counters and transfer its services online will only exacerbate the city. Permission issues. The report stated that the cancellation of face-to-face counter time “will inevitably slow down the review process for certain types of licenses and limit opportunities for cooperation and problem resolution with customers, within the department, and with other departments such as utilities.” Wright was also in April. It was stated at the meeting on the 7th that the pandemic has made this process more complicated. "For the work we do in the office, we have to do three times as much work remotely," Wright said in the discussion on April 7. Now, in response to complaints from customers (some of whom have been trapped in the permit system for six months or more) and commissioners, the city is trying to avoid these pitfalls by encouraging more interaction between inspectors and contractors . Under a new procedure, the city is now arranging virtual meetings with contractors who need to submit multiple applications, in order to resolve any obstacles early in the process. Wright said the city is also reviewing all the department's plan inspection requirements and posting them online to prevent contractors from being "prepared." He acknowledged that better coordination between departments is the key. Wright said that just recently, he had a conversation with a contractor who complained that three different departments required him to include a disconnect in his system-which caused him to have three disconnects. After a dialogue with the chief construction officer and building inspector, the city determined that the project actually only requires one disconnection, but if the system is redesigned, another disconnection may be required in the future. "These are things we are studying," Wright said. "We are not out of the predicament yet, but over time-not a long time-I expect the system will be much smoother than before, of course "last year, but better than before." Because we expect more applications will come in. "Although COVID-19 has exacerbated the city’s licensing issues, many contractors insist that many problems — namely, the city’s onerous requirements and rigid city hall culture — occurred before the pandemic and may continue. The TRC report concluded that development services personnel “lack clear guidance on the planned review of new electrification technologies” and Palo Alto’s excessive inspection practices failed to comply with the state’s inspection requirements for photovoltaic systems. TRC recommended that the city “comply with the state” It also urges the city to “eliminate requirements beyond the requirements of laws or regulations” and urge the city to “pass Consolidate information files into a more accessible location to improve communication with customers and contractors. Wright assured the committee that he is taking the report’s recommendations and the contractor’s comments "very seriously." He said he is working with utilities and fire departments to eliminate delays that continue to plague the process. He also promised to work with various departments. Managers discussed “what are their responsibilities and powers” and suggested that the recently hired inspectors will help solve the cultural issues mentioned by Coale and others. “Although I admit that we still have many familiar faces, these faces over the years It has always been part of our plan-but we also have some new people involved and motivated to make some changes," Wright said. "I am a little optimistic, but I understand why other people may not be optimistic because we have the ability to do this. Make some changes. "The Public Utilities Advisory Committee overwhelmingly agreed that Palo Alto's licensing procedures need to be overhauled, and many committee members recommended that the city align its photovoltaic system requirements with other cities. Jackson said the TRC report may have underestimated the city’s licensing. The problem. “It’s not in the contractor’s best interests to criticize Palo Alto’s planning department in the record,” Jackson said. Michael Danaher (Michael Danaher) and Jackson ended his term on the committee last week, recommending that the city “immediately suspend any requirements not implemented by neighboring jurisdictions.” He said the city should have a “high standard”. "To restore these requirements, or new requirements that are not available anywhere else. Danaher said: "We need a procedural way to balance institutional tendencies to make them more cautious. Commissioner AC Johnston agreed and stated that the city should have a procedure for the utility to "certify" any requirements not imposed by other jurisdictions. Commissioner Lauren Smith also made a similar point. "If it is nearby The jurisdiction is okay, so it should be okay in Palo Alto," Smith said. "It makes a lot of sense to me. There is no reason to believe that safety is no longer a priority in other local communities. Wright promised to return to the committee in about four months and submit a report on the city’s progress in simplifying licensing procedures. He also assured the committee that the city will address some of the client’s experiences in the past year. A “really shocking” turnaround time of four to five months. Wright said: “If our requirements exceed state laws, then obviously we need to look into why we are doing this. "Although Palo Alto is working to speed up its internal processes, state lawmakers are also exploring ways to speed up the licensing of solar installations throughout the Golden State-this is the key to California's ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. The components are based on 1990. Senate Bill No. 617 was drafted by the San Francisco Democrat Senator Scott Wiener. The bill requires cities and counties to establish online systems to immediately issue solar systems that do not exceed 38.4 kilowatts. Permits. Under the proposed legislation, cities with a population of 50,000 and above need to adopt such platforms by September 30, 2022. Wiener noted in a statement that many bays, including Mount Pleasant and San Jose District cities have used online permits for solar installations. According to the Wiener Office, the number of approvals in San Jose has increased by 600% since the upgrade of its permit system in 2016. At the hearing of the Energy, Utilities and Communications Commission on April 26 Wiener believes that SB 617 is the "Climate Act" first and suggests that an automatic permit system is needed to help California achieve its climate goals. "Currently, only 10% of taxpayers have solar energy. If we want to achieve our clean energy goals, this number needs to triple in the next ten years," Wiener said before the committee voted 12-2 for the legislation and submitted it to the appropriation committee. Wright said whether the bill or not Through, he is interested in letting the city explore technology to speed up the process. He said that conceptually speaking, as long as the system can solve the city’s safety problems, it is a good idea to license small projects online. "I think in this way The idea of using our licensing system is positive," Wright said. Although the Public Utilities Commission commends the staff for continuing to accelerate the process, neither Cinnamon nor Coale is fully convinced that these efforts will bear fruit in the short term. Last summer, Cinnamon experienced After nearly a decade of interruption, he returned to Palo Alto for solar installation to see if there were any changes. To his chagrin, as of last week, the application was still approved by the city. He carried out the process with San Jose For comparison, his company completed the entire installation within a week. He said that both San Jose and Saratoga need two to three hours to approve solar cell licenses. If Palo Alto wants to improve the situation , All it has to do is to replicate what these cities are doing. "I have little confidence in the success of this admirable (reform) effort," Cinnamon said. "Simplifying the process is something that every community around has done. matter. All they have to do is to adopt best practices. Wright said the city is doing this. Workers are now investigating other utility companies to understand their requirements for AC disconnection and other issues. He pointed out that energy storage "is a rapidly changing area," and the city hopes Ensure that any new systems have appropriate protective measures to ensure that they can be turned off when employees check the meters or perform maintenance on their electrical systems. "We are doing our best to keep up with technology to ensure that we have a safe energy system," Wright He pointed out that some issues have been resolved. The TRC report cited Palo Alto’s special practice of requiring contractors to follow strict format requirements when submitting documents, including bookmarks and indexes. Wright said the city has eliminated these Wright said that construction officials are also considering relaxing some zoning rules to encourage electrification, which may include relaxing the frustration requirements on property lines to allow the installation of storage systems and heat pump water heaters in the side yard. He said the city is also committed to Finish work faster. Its newly adopted timeline requires small projects to be completed within two weeks and large projects approved within 30 days. He encourages contractors facing complications to email him ([email protected ]). He also advised those contractors who tried to apply during the pandemic and encountered a lot of delays to try again. They will now see "This is a different story." "If not, then I have a bigger Questions," Wright added. As far as Cole is concerned, he believes that as part of the reform process, the city must improve the culture of the development service sector. Even if the city is instructed by the committee to require staff to "certify" that it is limited to Palo Alto Expert inspectors can always find a way to prove that even the most useless requirements are reasonable. Cole said that if you do not do this, it will imply that employees are wrong to impose these requirements. He suggested that this is unlikely to happen At the City Hall. "In any case, the city supports their people until the end," Cole said. "If they make it harder for contractors, then the city has no disadvantages. If the contractors get permission, There are no disadvantages for an additional charge of US$2,500. They will not be affected in any way. "The contractor or installer and the homeowner will be affected. They have to pay the price-time and money."