Kelsey Brown at the San Antonio Express-News recently wrote about an important new state law that makes it easier for homeowners and business owners to get solar systems inspected and operational.
The article quoted a number of industry leaders, including Freedom Solar Power CEO Bret Biggart, about how the law will help Texans — as well as uncertainties about its implementation. Here’s an excerpt:
Before the new law, said Freedom Solar Power CEO Bret Biggart, the permitting and inspection process typically took as much as a month to complete — two weeks for inspection and two more for permitting.
The new state law drafted by Sen. Phil King allows for a third party to review and inspect a property that’s adding backup power installations like solar and battery storage, eliminating the bureaucratic burdens that have varied based on municipalities. The third party has 15 days to share its results with the regulatory authority, which then has two business days to issue an approval, permit or certification.
But, Biggart said, “the devil’s in the details.”
He’s concerned about how local governments will define the third-party inspectors, because the bill references “authorized third parties, such as a licensed engineer.” The assumption is that the category also includes master electricians, but vagueness in the law remains a point of concern for Biggart and others. …
Erasure of the 30% investment tax credit (by Congress and the Trump Administration) effectively raises the price of installing solar by 30%, Biggart said. That “big looming cloud” has manifested in a “huge onslaught of projects” that need to be completed and operating by Dec. 31 to qualify for the tax break. …
Biggart said the law is a step in the right direction.
“The idea of being able to sell a customer a project on a Monday and it install it the same week is a dream,” he said. “We’ve never been anywhere close to that.”