How to permit for solar photovoltaic system installs

A structural permit is required for all qualifying Solar/PV Installs. Solar/PV Install permits are one of the record types in the system most often setup incorrectly. Automated fees on Structural permits are not applicable for Solar/PV Installs, as well as the Category of Construction and Type of Work values indicated are typically not input correctly. A new 'Detailed Issued Permits' report to come has underscored some of the pervasive issues in permitting for Solar/PV Installs.

Permiting process in ePermitting:

1. Applicant applies for a Commercial or Residential Structural permit, they will be required to enter the submitted job value for the project. Note: this valuation entry may or may not be considered ultimately depending on the install type – prescriptive or non-prescriptive.
   
   
2. Category of Construction (CoC) would be the structure type the system is being installed to. The Type of Work (ToW) would be related to the structure's status – if the structure is being newly constructed, Type of Work = New – but if the structure already exists, Type of Work = Alteration (and if the system is being installed along with a newly constructed addition, then Type of Work = Addition). Solar is not considered 'Other' under CoC or under ToW.
   
   
3. Fees – fees will be automated for a standard Structural permit based on the submitted job value that was provided by the Applicant. Automated NEW fees should be reviewed and assessed based on the Solar/PV system type.
   
   
• If the system type is non-prescriptive, all automated fees should be selected and deleted. Then, go to Fees > ADD > add '1' each of Non-Prescriptive Photovoltaic fee and '1' each of Structural Plan Review > Submit. The system will add the Non-Prescriptive Photovoltaic fee item, Structural Plan Review, and State Surcharge – the fees for non-prescriptive systems are valuation-based structural fees, just like the standard structural permit fees, but using the named fee in this case assists greatly in reporting, specifically on solar install data.
  
  
• If the system type is prescriptive, all automated fees should be selected and deleted. Then, go to Fees > ADD > add '1' each of Prescriptive Photovoltaic fee > Submit. The system will add the Prescriptive Photovoltaic fee item and State Surcharge – the Prescriptive Photovoltaic fee already includes plan review, so plan review is not separately charged with this system type. Use of this required named fee again assists greatly in reporting, specifically on solar install data.
  
  
4. Plan Review and Issuance – both prescriptive and non-prescriptive qualifying installs both require plans to be reviewed. Workflow is initiated as with any other structural application, moved though plan review to Completeness task. Issuance fees are collected at issuance and the permit is issued.
   
   
5. Inspections – appropriate and required inspections are then scheduled by the Applicant and inspected. Once final inspection is approved – the permit is finaled. No Certificate of Occupancy (COO) is indicated for Solar/PV installs – however, a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion (CSC) is best practice and can be very helpful in providing formal documentation that the install project has met requirements and is complete.  Go to Summary tab > Reports dropdown > generate the CSC – this report will automatically attach to the record Documents tab. The Applicant or other parties associated to the permit are then able to download the CSC report, or any other attached documents, online through ACA at BuildingPermits.Oregon.gov.