Mercer Island celebrates the 500th Solarize installation in the state of Washington with a ribbon cutting at the Auto-Spa car wash.

EERE SunShot Initiative awardee Evergreen State Solar Partnership (ESSP) is working to reduce the costs of installing rooftop photovoltaics through creating an online permitting system, shortening permitting processing turnaround times, and fixing fees. ESSP is one of 22 Rooftop Solar Challenge teams wrapping up year-long efforts to reduce barriers and lower costs for residential and small commercial rooftop solar systems.

ESSP convened jurisdictions, utilities, and industry partners representing a regulatory and market environment as varied as the state's diverse ecosystems to lead ground-level efforts to make processes more efficient and predictable across 285 cities, 39 counties, and 62 utilities. As a result, installers are able to complete a more straightforward permitting process with lower fees and may not have to complete a structural review or building permit for simple rooftop solar projects. This project is part of EERE’s larger effort to make solar energy more accessible and affordable, increase domestic solar deployment, and position the United States as a leader in the rapidly growing global solar market.

The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) focuses on achieving the goals of the SunShot Initiative, which seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity by the end of the decade.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) success stories highlight the positive impact of its work with businesses, industry partners, universities, research labs, and other entities.