The California City of Vacaville Launches Instant Solar Permitting, powered by Symbium

VACAVILLE, CA - August 15, 2023 - Symbium and the City of Vacaville are proud to announce the launch of instant permits for residential solar and battery storage systems. Powered by Symbium – the Complaw® company whose technology translates complex laws and regulations into simple workflows – this groundbreaking platform verifies code compliance in real time and automates the issuance of solar and energy storage permits, lowering the costs for permit applicants and homeowners and increasing the speed of installing residential solar energy systems in Vacaville.

About California’s SB 379 Solar Permitting Mandate:

Symbium’s development of its solar permitting platform was catalyzed by Senate Bill (SB) 379. SB 379 is a recent California law that requires most California cities and counties to implement a platform that checks for code compliance and automates the issuance of permits for residential solar energy and storage systems. Such mandates to streamline the permitting of decarbonization projects are likely to proliferate as California and other States strive to meet the United States’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035.  

Uniquely Symbium:

Real-Time Code Compliance. Symbium automatically verifies compliance with State and local regulations, ensuring that every residential solar and battery storage system adheres to the required standards. Symbium’s solution is SB379-compliant. 

Instantaneous Regulatory Analysis. Symbium provides immediate, substantive feedback on why a scope of work meets or fails to meet regulatory requirements, allowing solar installers to quickly and easily revise their proposals to comply with the code.

Streamlined Permitting Process. Symbium provides a beautifully designed, user-friendly interface for solar installers to submit their permit applications. Installers can apply for permits and pay permit fees directly through Symbium, which integrates seamlessly with Vacaville’s permit tracking system. Symbium also automatically checks for a valid contractor’s and business license, instantly ensuring that only qualified professionals are submitting applications. 

California jurisdictions are invited to get in touch with Symbium to learn more about how Symbium can help streamline solar and other decarbonization permit processes in their communities. Symbium is currently enrolling California cities and counties in two free, pilot programs for solar permits and express, no-plan permits. 

Benefits of instant solar permits:

The automatic analysis of code compliance requirements and instant permit issuance not only ensures that every application meets the necessary safety and regulatory standards, decreases costs for homeowners and permit applicants, and increases the speed of solar installations. It will also help Vacaville residents decrease their energy emissions, which, in turn, will assist the City in achieving its Energy and Conservation Action Strategy goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to approximately 50% below 1990 equivalent emissions by 2035. 

City of Vacaville’s Director of Community Development, Erin Morris, expressed enthusiasm for the launch, stating, "We are thrilled to introduce this state-of-the-art online platform for our customers, which marks a significant step towards promoting renewable energy adoption and enhancing the ease of doing business in Vacaville. Our partnership with Symbium shows a commitment towards the City’s vision of providing excellence and innovation in customer service and advances several City Council’s strategic goals and initiatives such as strengthening the local economy and maintaining effective and efficient services. Symbium made the adoption of their well-designed platform easy and without requiring much staff time, even as the team integrated with our permit tracking system and customized the platform to respond to our local processes and code requirements.”

Vacaville will comply with California’s SB379 solar permitting mandate with the launch of this online platform, and Vacaville positions itself as a leader in fostering renewable energy adoption while prioritizing efficiency, safety, and sustainability. This initiative sets the stage for continued growth in the residential solar and battery storage sector, benefitting both the community and the environment. 

How to apply for instant permits in Vacaville using Symbium:

To get started with applying for a residential solar permit in Vacaville, visit https://www.ci.vacaville.ca.us/government/community-development/building/residential-solar-or-energy-storage-system-permit.

About Vacaville:

Vacaville, California is located in northern Solano County, midway between San Francisco and Sacramento on Interstate 80. Vacaville is a fast-growing City with a population of over 103,000 residents, where about 63% of the population own their homes. Due to its attractive location, notable biotech companies have chosen Vacaville to either operate or expand their operations including Genentech, Synder Filtration, Polaris Pharmaceuticals and more. The City of Vacaville also offers a vibrant historic Downtown and a family-friendly atmosphere with attractions such as the iconic Nut Tree along I-80. The City’s unique location has enabled Vacaville to build a solid base of housing, businesses with well-paying jobs, robust retail, and tourism opportunities. 

About Symbium:

Symbium is a San Francisco-based company that is reinventing the citizen-to-government experience, with an initial focus on permitting and incentives for residential decarbonization projects (e.g., installation of solar panels, energy storage, heat pumps). Homeowners and contractors use Symbium to instantly understand and visualize what’s possible on a property, and then submit and manage permit and rebate applications. Key to this disruption is Symbium’s proprietary Complaw® technology, which enables a Turbotax-like mechanization of regulatory analysis and was initially developed by the founding team at Stanford AI Lab. Symbium has earned the following awards and recognitions: a 2022 ALP Alain Colmerauer Prolog Heritage Prize finalist, a GovTech 100 company every year since 2021, the technology solution in the 2022 American Planning Association Northern Section Award of Excellence, a 2021 American Bar Association Women of Legal Tech award recipient, a 2020 Ivory Prize awardee for innovations in regulation and policy to achieve housing affordability, and a 2019 Hive 50 Honoree for fast-tracking construction feasibility. 

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