This week, at the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, SolSmart was proud to recognize new county governments achieving SolSmart designation. Maricopa County, Arizona and Summit County, Utah were designated SolSmart Bronze, while Charleston County, South Carolina, was upgraded from a SolSmart Bronze designation to SolSmart Silver.

These designations show that county governments have done the hard work to make it faster, easier, and cheaper to go solar. Solar is a rapidly growing industry that was responsible for 1 in every 50 new U.S. jobs in 2016, according to the National Solar Jobs Census 2016. By cutting red tape and reducing obstacles to solar energy development, these counties are clearing the way for more economic growth and new jobs.

A total of 31 communities have now been recognized as SolSmart Gold, Silver, or Bronze. Congratulations to these counties!