About

A National Platform for Process Innovation

Solar 3.0, a SunShot program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by SolarTech, is an outreach and educational initiative that delivers process innovation through standardization of local land use, zoning code ordinances, permitting processes and interconnection rules for distributed PV.

The goal of Solar 3.0 is to achieve a 50% reduction in non-hardware BOS costs in identified U.S. solar communities by 2014. Solar 3.0 will achieve this objective by identifying and implementing innovative, scalable regulatory approaches and process enhancements across multiple levels of government and industry. Click here to download the Solar 3.0 Program Overview.

Solar 3.0 By The Numbers

The Solar 3.0 initiative is a metrics-driven program that seeks to reduce solar PV soft costs by 50% in targeted communities by 2014. Our goal during this period is to reach:

  • 1,000+ U.S. cities
  • 1,600+ code officials
  • 90 utilities
  • 500 PV installers and system designers
  • 30,000+ industry stakeholders
  • 1,000,000 U.S. citizens who want to help solar energy flourish

Solar 3.0 seeks to engage with people who want to drive best practices and process efficiency in the U.S. solar PV marketplace:

  • City managers and administrators
  • Code officials and building inspectors
  • Local/state fire marshals
  • PV installers, developers, financiers, and component suppliers
  • Utility policy makers and interconnection personnel
  • Elected officials at city, county, regional and state levels
For individuals, Solar 3.0 provides these seven (7) types of resources and educational opportunities in 2012:
  • SolarTech Leadership Summit – March  7 and 8, held in San Jose, CA
  • Solar 3.0 Introduction – ten (10) informational webinars
  • Solar 3.0 Regional Workshops – three (3) events to be held in major cities in the West, Central and East
  • Solar 3.0 Inspector/Installer Workshops – five (5) educational events held in Top 100 Solar 3.0 Communities
  • Solar 3.0 Affiliate-Lead Workshops – twenty five (25) educational events held in Top 100 Solar 3.0 Communities
  • Solar30.org website containing one (1) definitive clearinghouse for solar PV best practices and standards
  • Solar 3.0 National Review – Scheduled for mid-October, to be held in Washington, DC
Solar 3.0 provides information, guidance, and assistance in these six (6) topical areas:
  • Local, regional, and state-level policy guidance on issues pertaining to solar PV
  • Software tools, techniques, and documentation
  • Permitting best practices and standards
  • Inspection best practices and standards
  • Fire Safety best practices and standards
  • Utility Interconnection best practices and standards

Our outreach goals for Solar 3.0 are as follows:

  • 2012: 100 initial cities
  • 2013: 500 cities
  • 2014: 1,000 cities

The Department of Energy has earmarked $2.5M in funding to support the Solar 3.0 initiatives. In-kind contributions by industry participants promise to add millions more to the resource pool.  Solar 3.0 welcomes your active participation as we reach our goal of reducing Non-Hardware Balance-of-System Soft Costs by 50% by 2014. If you would like to join Solar 3.0 initiative, leave us a message on the Contact Us page. Thank you for your interest.