Mountain View considers cutting commercial solar fees by 75 percent
Mountain View considers cutting commercial solar fees by 75 percent
By Diana Samuels
Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: 11/03/2009 12:29:08 AM PST
After a recent survey found Mountain View was charging businesses much more for solar permits than other Bay Area municipalities, the city is poised to cut its fees by 75 percent.
The Mountain View City Council tonight will consider slashing fees for commercial photovoltaic solar permits — which businesses need to obtain before they can install a photovoltaic system — to bring the cost more in line with other municipalities. The change will make it cheaper for businesses to go green while still allowing the city to recover its costs, according to city staff.
Solar installer Kurt Newick surveyed cities in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in 2008 for the Sierra Club and updated the survey in April 2009. He said Mountain View charges about $2,200 in permit fees for businesses to install an 8-kilowatt system, which he said could typically power a business the size of a doctor's office. A 49-kilowatt system would cost $5,330 while a 131-kilowatt system would cost $17,100, the survey says.
The survey shows many other Bay Area cities charge just hundreds of dollars in fees, sometimes even for a 131-kilowatt system. Palo Alto charges $520 for an 8-kilowatt system, while Redwood City charges $261, the survey found.
"As we saw that, we felt like this was a problem in where our fees were," said acting building official David Basinger. "We shouldn't have been at the higher end."
Changing the fees will cost the city about $10,875 in revenue per year, according to a city staff report. The city has issued 10 commercial solar permits since the program began in 2001, Basinger said, and has issued about 250 residential permits for a flat rate of $157 each.
Basinger said the city doesn't expect to see more businesses asking for solar permits, since many federal and state incentive programs have been discontinued.
But Newick said he believes lowering fees will encourage businesses to think about going solar.
"In businesses, it's all about the bottom line," Newick said. "Everything's money."
E-mail Diana Samuels at dsamuels@dailynewsgroup.com.
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