The Senate energy committee on Tuesday considered a bill that would lower the cost of solar power and put the United States on track to install 10 million solar systems on homes and businesses by 2020. The bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders focuses on lowering the cost of solar energy by helping communities reduce their local permit charges, which can account for up to one-fifth of the cost to install solar units.  

The cost of manufacturing solar panels has fallen by 72 percent since 1985, but not much progress has been made in reducing permitting and other installation costs. One  report said obstacles to acquiring local permits add up to $2,500 to the cost of a typical residential solar installation. The Department of Energy also identified local permitting costs as an obstacle to further lowering solar energy costs.

The measure is sponsored by Sanders and Sen. John Boozman, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Green Jobs and New Economy Subcommittee. They were joined in introducing the solar legislation by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

"This legislation will make it more affordable for families and businesses to install solar, by helping communities reduce the costs associated with solar energy permitting," Sanders said. Boozman said the goal is to reduce unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles to American-made solar energy. "A simplified permitting process will make solar energy more affordable."

The 10 Million Solar Roofs Act of 2011 would establish a goal of powering 10 million homes and businesses with solar energy by 2020. The measure also would incorporate a Department of Energy initiative called SunShot to make solar more competitive with conventional energy technologies. The bill would provide grants to communities to help them make their solar energy permitting process less costly and more efficient, and would recognize and reward communities that have adopted common policies on solar permits.  

To read the bill, click here.