Feb. 6: The Spokane City Council reinstated fees for installing solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations in the city.
The ordinance to end the disparity, sponsored by council members Jonathan Pingel and Michael Cathcart, passed unanimously and will go into effect in June.
Permit fees to install solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations were suspended in early 2018 to encourage the construction of renewable energy systems throughout the city.
The exemption of duties was accompanied by an explosion of new solar installations in the city, which went from 73 in 2019 to 605 in 2022, although installations fell slightly in 2023 to 435.
The rise of solar installations has increased the burden on urban development departments and fire departments that process permits and conduct inspections, among other services. These costs are not reimbursed.
“Many of them need to be inspected because they were not installed correctly,” Tammy Palmquist, director of the city's Development Services Center, said at a commission meeting in April.
The city estimates it would not have raised more than $200,000 in 2022 because of the tax break.
At least one group initially opposed ending the exemption, arguing that the city should do more, not less, to encourage the adoption of renewable energy generation.
A letter issued but not yet delivered by the 14-person steering committee of the city's Sustainability Actions Subcommittee says the climate crisis poses a growing threat and could worsen if fossil fuel-based electricity production is not quickly abandoned.
"Economically, it does not make sense to eliminate one of the few modest incentives the municipality offers to adopt renewable energy," the letter said. "Short-term economic thinking is partly responsible for the existential crisis we find ourselves in."
Kelly Thomas, city staff liaison to the steering committee, did not respond to a request for comment.
Pingel said Monday that he heard the letter but did not see it, and has since spoken with Larry Lawton, chairman of the steering committee, and thought he would allay Lawton's concerns with the amendment introduced Monday.
Actual fees for plan review, inspection and electrical service depend on the facility where the solar panels or electric vehicle charging systems are installed. Before the fee was waived, solar panels installed on single-family residences, duplexes and attached structures, for example, would have incurred a $75 inspection fee and a $150 fire department inspection fee.
Permit fees vary depending on the value of the permitted improvement.
Pingle's amendment reduced permit fees by 80% for solar panel installation and noted that the city is working to implement the use of Solar App+, an app that will significantly speed up solar plan review, at $25 per installation .
"We will continue to see a 60 to 75 percent reduction in the cost of tolls," Pingel said. "That's still enough to pay employees for their time."
Lawton testified publicly Monday that he supports the amended law, but added that he does not speak for the steering committee.
In addition to fees for solar panels and electric vehicle charging, the ordinance imposes a new $50 tax on the installation of energy storage systems, batteries used to store and discharge the energy produced by solar panels, for example overnight. These systems are becoming increasingly popular along with solar panels, Palmquist said in April.
Editor's Note: This story was updated on February 6, 2024 to correct the number of people who serve on the City's Sustainability Actions Subcommittee Steering Committee.
