SolSmart has surpassed a historic milestone! Over 250 municipalities, counties, and regional organizations have received a SolSmart designation for making it faster, easier, and more affordable to install solar locally. The 250th designation, earned by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, was among a flurry of over 25 communities designated in past months.

As of today, there are 265 SolSmart designees across 37 states and the District of Columbia that represent 71 million Americans. Recent designees include San Francisco, California; Miramar, Florida; and St. Anthony Village, Minnesota. Illinois now leads the nation with 41 SolSmart designees, followed by California (26 designees), Colorado (21 designees), Florida (20 designees), Minnesota (19 designees), Massachusetts (14 designees), Texas (11 designees), and Missouri (10 designees). Across the country, recent SolSmart communities have taken bold actions to become more resilient, sustainable, and attractive to solar businesses that can drive job growth and economic development. Here are a few highlights:

• The city of Miami Beach, Florida, offers PACE financing and local incentives for solar PV to community members.
• Lake County, Illinois, adopted zoning ordinance language to make solar a by-right accessory use and is leading an effort to develop a model solar zoning code for the jurisdictions within the County.
• The Metropolitan Council in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission in the Northern Virginia region became the first two regional organizations to receive SolSmart designation for achievements in expanding solar across across multiple communities.
• The city of Rockford, Illinois, achieved SolSmart Gold designation with 410 points, which ranks among the top 15 communities nationally in terms of points achieved. The City received special recognition for its achievement of more than 60% of the available points in the Permitting and Community Engagement categories.

If you’re interested in learning more about SolSmart technical assistance or the designation process, request a no-cost consultation here.