January 29, 2026
MidAtlantic
Energy
Emily Odgers
Grid Specialist
As household electricity rates rise and supply tightens, states are exploring policies that cut costs for residents and remove barriers to building more renewable energy. As 2025 closed, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed S4100/A5264 — a residential solar permitting overhaul that the legislature passed in the fall. This first-in-the-nation law takes a unique approach to reducing costs and delays for residential solar and battery systems by developing an in-state instant permitting platform.
Local permitting and inspection processes for residential solar are often complex and time‑consuming, adding administrative burdens that raise project costs and slow adoption among households. Nearly 80% of U.S. residential solar expenses come from soft costs such as permitting and inspection processes, making systems far more expensive than in peer countries.
In New Jersey, permitting alone can add up to $4,500 to a rooftop solar system, making solar unaffordable for many families. These processes also strain local governments, whereas communities using instant permitting platforms such as the federal government’s SolarApp+ have saved more than 15,000 staff hours and cut permitting timelines by an average of 14.5 days.
New Jersey’s S4100/A5264 seeks to drive down costs and expedite the approval process for rooftop solar and home battery projects by doing the following:
States beyond New Jersey are also adopting streamlined permitting tools to cut soft costs and accelerate residential solar growth.
NCEL staff are closely tracking legislation filed this session related to reducing regulatory barriers to residential solar and batteries. Stay tuned for more information on bills related to plug-in solar, instant permitting, inspection reform, removing restrictions in homeowner and condo associations, and updating outdated codes and regulations.
To learn more about these types of policies and the other issues NCEL works on, visit our Issue pages.
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