Solar applications pile in at City Hall to beat deadline

In a race to the finish, 244 applications for solar permits came through Maricopa City Hall in June.

Electrical District No. 3 initiated a policy for new solar customers that started July 1. Local solar consultants tried to get new customers under the wire before the deadline. The city issued 73 permits by the end of the month.
Many of the applications came in the final week, said Saira Flores, the city’s permit technician.

“Most of these permit requests were received towards the end of June, therefore a large percent of these will be reviewed and issued in July,” she said Wednesday. “So far we’ve issued an additional 99 permits in the last couple of days.”

ED3 announced in June it would increase its fixed cost recover charge from 70 cents to $3 and would limit new installations to 30 per month. Customers were given until July 1 to apply for a permit. Initially, ED3 required installations to be complete by Sept. 1, but that date was changed.