Salt Lake City and Utah Clean Energy, a nonprofit advocacy group, have launched an online solar information resource for residents, businesses, builders and local government officials. The site, SolarSimplified.org, includes information on incentives, zoning requirements, contractor selection tips, policies and permitting processes, along with tools such as cost calculators.
‘Utah Clean Energy receives multiple inquiries about solar energy every week, and we understand it takes time and energy to track down reputable information,’ says Sara Baldwin, senior policy associate at Utah Clean Energy and director of the website project. ‘We wanted to demystify and simplify the solar process with SolarSimplified.org, with the end goal of getting more solar installed more quickly.’
The new website includes a solar resource mapping tool for Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County.Â
‘We know that Utah gets a lot of sun, but individuals don't often have a good understanding of their own solar resource potential,’ says Kevin Bell, geographic information systems coordinator with Salt Lake City's Information Management Services. ‘The hope is that this mapping tool will help everyday citizens of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County get one step closer to installing solar on their home or business.’
The website was created with contributions from Salt Lake County and the Utah Automated Geographic Reference Center, and is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative's Rooftop Solar Challenge and the Wasatch Solar Challenge.
