The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is partnering with the city of Elk Grove,California in a new program that should make the process faster and less expensive for residents wanting to install solar electric systems on existing homes. The city of Elk Grove will waive the permit fee, use a standardized application packet, review the building application in one day, and conduct the postinstallation inspection of the solar electric system within 24 hours.
The SMUD/Elk Grove partnership is a three-year pilot program that will run through 2009. While Elk Grove is the first local government to join SMUD's solar partnership, the electric utility is working with other governments in its service territory to establish similar agreements.
In addition to lowering permit costs, SMUD has a program that reduces the initial cost of installing a solar electric system. Costs are reduced as much as 25 percent for residential customers. In addition, the homeowner is eligible for a $2,000 federal tax credit.
Solar-powered homes use California's most abundant natural resource, sunshine, to produce clean, renewable energy. In combination with energy efficiency practices and equipment, owners of solar-powered homes can see drastic reductions and even credits on their SMUD bills.
SMUD has been a local, national and international leader in solar energy for more than 20 years. SMUD has installed about 10 megawatts of solar power in its service territory on residential, commercial and government buildings and in larger, utility-scale arrays. Ten megawatts of electricity is enough to power about 9,000 average-size single family homes in the Sacramento region. Recently SMUD has partnered with local homebuilders to construct Zero Energy Homes that combine the latest energy
efficiency features with solar in new home construction.
For more information about SMUD's solar program, visit www.smud.org.