Resources for Municipalities
Training and Education
SolSmart is a national program that provides municipalities with no-cost expert technical assistance to adopt programs and practices that facilitate the adoption of solar locally. Using the Program's objective criteria, participants earn recognition through levels of designation (bronze-platinum) signifying their efforts to remove barriers to solar adoption.
Solar Ordinance Guidance for Chester County Municipalities
- The Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research has developed a comprehensive Municipal Officials' Guide to Grid-Scale Solar Development in PA, including issues related to land use, land conservation, tax implications, and ordinance considerations.
- SolSmart's Zoning best practices guide
- Chester County Planning Commission's Solar Ordinance Do's and Dont's for Accessory Use and Utility Scale solar ordinances
- Chester County Solar Power Guide provides guidance to the county's municipalities on regulating solar power facilities. The guide is focused on larger grid-scale solar facilities, but includes information on accessory use solar power.
- Sample and Model ordinances
- Chester County Sample Solar Ordinances — As of July 2023, 42 Chester County municipalities have some form of solar energy regulations in place. Several municipalities also address additional types of clean energy such as wind and geothermal systems. These examples address both accessory use and principal use solar energy systems.
- Bucks County Model Alternative Energy Ordinance
View PDF or View Word Doc - Cumberland County, PA Solar Energy Systems Model Ordinance
- DVRPC's Renewable Energy Framework for Solar Energy
Permitting
The permitting process can add an unintentional barrier to solar energy development by adding unnecessary costs and time to a project. Solar-friendly permitting is simple, transparent, and efficient. This usually involves combining all permitting applications (building and electrical) into a unified application, standardizing applications across the region, and reducing permitting costs to only what is necessary to cover staff time.
Permitting Checklists
Municipalities can provide a permitting checklist for solar applications to simplify and clarify the permitting process. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission has developed a permitting checklist for our region that any municipality is encouraged to review with their code official and adopt.
- Sample Checklist — unified solar permit
- Sample Checklist — separate building and electrical permits
Instant Permitting Applications
In an effort to expedite the deployment of solar power across the county, the National Renewable Energy Labs worked with partners to develop Solar App+, an app designed to expedite the solar permitting process through standardization of permit application submissions and automation, ultimately reducing the cost and timeline of solar permits. Municipalities can explore SolarApp+ to see if it's right for their community.
Montgomery County Solar Information
The Montgomery County Planning Commission produced an informational document called Renewable Energy: a series on alternative energy sources which covers the following topics: