Putting the green back into green technology

In another step in its continuing effort to go green, the Town of Hempstead recently passed a cap on the permit application fees for solar panel installations, hoping to spur the growth of the energy- and money-saving technology.

The new legislation — passed at the Town Board’s Oct. 5 meeting — caps the permit fee for installing solar panels at $100. The old fee used to be 1.2 percent of the total cost of the project. The average price for solar panel installation runs in the tens of thousands of dollars, so he new cap can save residents hundreds of dollars in permit fees.

“The town is trying to encourage residents to go green. And one of the most important things that residents can do is convert to solar energy,” said Town Councilman Anthony Santino. “And we want to make sure those residents that do go in that direction, that they’re not faced with an additional economic burden when it’s something we’re trying to encourage residents to do.”

Santino said the town hopes the money-saving measure will encourage more residents to add solar panels to their homes. “[Permit applications] have been growing in recent years,” he said. “It’s gone from a trickle to a pretty good stream, but it’s really still a drop in the bucket considering how many homes we have in the Town of Hempstead.”

David Schieren, CEO of the Island Park-based solar power company EmPower, firmly believes that the measure will increase his company’s business.

“We are very encouraged by yet another signal from the Town of Hempstead that they support renewable energy and they want to do everything they can to promote it in the township,” Schieren said. “So it’s a very positive development for residents and solar contractors — all stakeholders.”

The permit fee would come from the gross cost of the installation, before money-saving rebates and tax credits are applied.

The fee cap applies to anyone applying for a solar panel installation permit, whether it be homeowners, businesses, or even churches or synagogues — anything that falls under the governance of the town. The only entity that it doesn’t apply to, Santino said, is schools, which are governed by the state education department.

“We certainly expect to see an expansion in the number of homeowners who are taking advantage of solar energy, who are going in that direction,” Santino said. “Capping it at a flat $100 is certainly going to be something of an inducement. It’s more money in the resident’s pocket.”

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