Port Jefferson fast-tracks home solar panels

Port Jefferson Village is the latest municipality to adopt a fast-track permit process for solar energy home improvements.

“It’s boiler plate for the county and town and Port Jefferson, to adopt an expedited permitting process for commercial and residential applicants,” said mayor Margot Garant. “There’s a fee schedule that’s affordable — for example, $50 to file if it’s a residential application. The code prescribes a 14-day turnaround time for that permit.”

The change to village code was unanimously approved at a special village board meeting last week.

The Long Island Power Authority has asked its municipalities to simplify the permit process for solar panel installations and use the same forms across the Island.

The simplified process will speed up the application timeline, reduce fees, and create a specialized application for solar energy permits.

There’s also an incentive for early adopters.

“The Long Island Power Authority has committed to providing implementation assistance of $15,000 to each township and $5,000 to each of the first ten villages in Nassau and in Suffolk that adopts the authorizing legislation” by the end of 2011, the utility said in a September news release.

Garant said if Port Jefferson receives the $5,000, the money would go toward the village’s energy-efficient initiatives.