The East Bay Green Corridor & Sungevity Announce Streamlined Solar Permitting Across Nine-City Region
8/6/2013
Oakland, CA
Members of the East Bay Green Corridor, Sungevity, Inc., and the Governor's Office of Business & Economic Development (GO-Biz), gathered at Sungevity’s Jack London Square offices today to announce the Green Corridor’s new streamlined solar permitting process. The new process includes groundbreaking structural guidelines that cut red tape, decrease installation times and reduce overall soft costs - all factors that will support the solar industry’s downstream sector growth in the nine-city region that represents over 953,000 residents across Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Hayward, Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro. Representing the Green Corridor at the event were Oakland Mayor Jean Quan; Berkeley Vice-Mayor Linda Maio; Emeryville Councilmember Jennifer West and El Cerrito Councilmember Janet Abelson. Structural guidelines were developed by John Wolfe and Andrew Wagner of Berkeley-based structural engineering firm, Tipping Mar and inspired by Giyan Senaratne, Principal/CEO of West Coast Code Consultants, Inc. - WC3.
The collaborative effort was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, a program that seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity by the end of the decade.
“We heard the need to standardize the solar permitting process and make it more business and user-friendly,” said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, Chair of the East Bay Green Corridor. “Our new process will create high quality jobs and help our region reduce greenhouse gas emissions and maintain a healthy planet for the next generation.”
“Streamlining and increased efficiency are core to Sungevity’s business model, so we were pleased to lend our expertise and insight to this important initiative that saves time and reduces costs,” said Andrew Birch, Sungevity’s Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.
“GO Biz is committed to streamlining processes and procedures for businesses and driving innovation within our i-Hub network," said Kish Rajan Director of GO-Biz. "What the East Bay Green Corridor shows us today does both of those things - making permitting easier for businesses while moving California closer to its ambitious renewable energy goals.”
Details of New Streamlined Process
The East Bay Green Corridor’s mission is to create a thriving region of green technology innovation, commercialization and local economic development in a manner that creates high quality jobs and meets environmental and social goals. Established in 2007 by UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau, Berkeley Lab Director Steve Chu, and the Mayors of Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and Emeryville, the Corridor expanded in 2009 to include the cities of Alameda, Albany, El Cerrito and San Leandro; CSU East Bay and the Peralta Community College District; and again in 2012 with the addition of the City of Hayward. This put the structure in place for broad regional collaboration. For more information, visit www.ebgreencorridor.org.
ABOUT GO-BIZ
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) was created by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. to serve as California’s single point of contact for economic development and job creation efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information, visit http://business.ca.gov.
CONTACT:
Carla Din
East Bay Green Corridor
ofc: (510) 272-3889 c: (510) 717-2966
carla@eastbayeda.org
The collaborative effort was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, a program that seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity by the end of the decade.
“We heard the need to standardize the solar permitting process and make it more business and user-friendly,” said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, Chair of the East Bay Green Corridor. “Our new process will create high quality jobs and help our region reduce greenhouse gas emissions and maintain a healthy planet for the next generation.”
“Streamlining and increased efficiency are core to Sungevity’s business model, so we were pleased to lend our expertise and insight to this important initiative that saves time and reduces costs,” said Andrew Birch, Sungevity’s Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.
“GO Biz is committed to streamlining processes and procedures for businesses and driving innovation within our i-Hub network," said Kish Rajan Director of GO-Biz. "What the East Bay Green Corridor shows us today does both of those things - making permitting easier for businesses while moving California closer to its ambitious renewable energy goals.”
Details of New Streamlined Process
- Standardized residential solar permitting approved across 9 cities and implemented by 9/22/13;
- Rapid over-the-counter permitting in 6 cities; 3-7 day turnaround in 3 cities;
- Cost-recovery permit fees or lower in all cities;
- Innovative structural guidelines allowing homeowners, installers & cities to bypass expensive engineering assessments;
- Significant potential cost savings from allowing one to avoid engineering assessments. (Survey data from Clean Power Finance indicates that engineering fees can vary greatly. The highest reported fee in CA was $3,500.)
The East Bay Green Corridor’s mission is to create a thriving region of green technology innovation, commercialization and local economic development in a manner that creates high quality jobs and meets environmental and social goals. Established in 2007 by UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau, Berkeley Lab Director Steve Chu, and the Mayors of Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and Emeryville, the Corridor expanded in 2009 to include the cities of Alameda, Albany, El Cerrito and San Leandro; CSU East Bay and the Peralta Community College District; and again in 2012 with the addition of the City of Hayward. This put the structure in place for broad regional collaboration. For more information, visit www.ebgreencorridor.org.
ABOUT GO-BIZ
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) was created by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. to serve as California’s single point of contact for economic development and job creation efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information, visit http://business.ca.gov.
CONTACT:
Carla Din
East Bay Green Corridor
ofc: (510) 272-3889 c: (510) 717-2966
carla@eastbayeda.org
ABOUT SUNGEVITY
Sungevity is a global solar energy provider focused on making it easy and affordable for homeowners to benefit from solar power. Leveraging proprietary remote solar design technology, Sungevity can deliver a quote without a home visit and provide homeowners with visibility to potential savings on their electricity bills. The company continues to grow its global customer base and now services 12 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the Netherlands. Sungevity is also the residential solar partner to Lowe’s, and was recognized in 2015 by B Corp as one of the “Best for the World” companies for overall social and environmental impact. For more information, visit www.sungevity.com.
CONTACT:
John Ordoña
Sungevity, Inc.
(510) 496-5673
jordona@sungevity.com
