Municipalities across the state supporting solar’s growth

It’s no surprise to us that Florida now leads the nation in new residential solar. There are many reasons why. Chief among them is the leadership we’ve seen from officials across the state. They’ve put solar on the front-burner of new construction, lowered permitting costs, and have even gone solar themselves.

Last year, the city of South Miami passed first-of-its-kind legislation in Florida to support solar. New residential buildings over a certain size must be built with solar. Mayor Phil Stoddard worked with high school student Delaney Reynolds to move the legislation through the city commission.

South Miami is also one of five Miami-Dade County municipalities that have waived permitting fees: Miami Beach, Coral Gables, the City of Miami, Miami Shores, and South Miami. Waiving these fees can save homeowners hundreds of dollars on their installation.

Further north, Orange County Mayor not only kicked off the local solar co-op, she was also a participant.

“My husband Bruce and I were so excited to join Orange County’s solar co-op in 2016. Not only is solar energy good for our environment, it contributes to Orange County’s overall sustainability efforts,” said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.

St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver hopes to join Jacobs as a fellow solar homeowner soon. She’d originally looked into solar 35 years ago, but “it wasn’t practical. Now it is… I am excited to be a member of the solar co-op, and I am excited for our community.”

Solar co-ops have now spread to every corner of the state.

“I fully endorse this solar co-op, and am encouraged by our community coming together to take full advantage of the benefits of using solar energy to power our neighborhoods” said Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.

While this outpouring of municipal support has been terrific, there’s much more work to be done. Click here to download sample ordinances you can share with your local elected officials to encourage them to support solar.