Tampa is receiving a Bronze designation from the national SolSmart program for making it faster, easier, and more affordable for homes and businesses to install solar.
This designation recognizes Tampa for taking bold steps to encourage solar energy growth and remove obstacles to solar development. For companies looking to expand, a SolSmart Bronze designation is a signal that Tampa is “open for solar business.”
“To Transform Tampa’s Tomorrow, it’s our job as city leaders to facilitate deployment of renewable energy projects,” says the City of Tampa’s Sustainability & Resiliency Officer, Whit Remer. “While we continue exploring ways to transition municipal operations to 100% renewable energy, the SolSmart designation helps streamline the process for homeowners and businesses to install solar. Step-by-step, we look forward to helping our entire community move towards a clean energy future.”
SolSmart is led by The Solar Foundation and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. More than 380 cities, counties, and small towns have achieved SolSmart designation since the program launched in 2016.
“It's a sign of good things to come -- that the City of Tampa is making it faster, easier, and more affordable for homes and businesses to go solar. Residents will save money, create local jobs, and help to protect our environment,” said Susan Glickman, Florida Director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
As a SolSmart designee, Tampa is helping reduce the cost of solar installations and pass those savings on to consumers. This allows more local homes and businesses to obtain affordable, clean, and reliable electricity through solar.
As part of the process to achieve the SolSmart designation, Tampa streamlined its permitting process and developed an easy to follow applicant checklist for solar installations. In addition, city planning and zoning staff underwent training to understand permitting concerns and resolutions that frequently arise during the application process.
SolSmart uses objective criteria to award communities points based on the actions they take to reduce barriers to solar energy development.
For additional information, contact:
Whit Remer, Sustainability & Resilience Officer
813-274-3290