A Vermont law passed late last year to make permitting for small solar projects easier and cheaper was implemented just in time to expedite end-of-the-year solar installations.

The new law went into effect at the end of November, 2011, said Andrew Savage with solar technology manufacturer All Earth Renewables in Vermont.

The law replaced a lengthy and somewhat costly permitting process with a certificate process. Homeowners or installers who want 5-kilowatt or smaller systems submit their plans to the utility company and the utility has 10 days to raise issues with the project before it automatically gets a Certificate of Public Good and the go-ahead from the state.

“It definitely expedites the process,” Savage said. “I think we’ll see installers begin to use this tool.”

All Earth has installed one new project since the law went into effect, but it wasn’t a typical grid-tied solar installation, so Savage said it wasn’t a good example of how the law works. But he knows that other installers throughout the state have seen a few projects where they were able to hurry the process along thanks to the new regulations.

A study early in 2011 from SunRun revealed that permitting adds an average of $2,500 to the installed cost of a solar array. It also amounts to a 50-cents-per-watt surcharge for permitting costs and costs associated with delays. SunRun also reported that Germany has a 40 percent cost advantage over the U.S. for installed solar because of its limited permitting charges.

Vermont joined a handful of other states in pursuing laws like this one that make it easier and faster to get approval for small-scale solar projects.

“It’s just so much more amenable and flexible,” Savage said.