Reduce Soft Costs

Often, there are significant regulatory inefficiencies or permitting challenges that raise costs, lengthen timelines, or discourage investment in clean technologies. These "soft costs" can take many forms: large paperwork requirements for receiving rebates, burdensome environmental quality studies, slow permitting processes, etc. In many instances there are valid reasons for these requirements. Nevertheless, there is a trade-off that occurs between regulatory burden and financial attractiveness of clean technology investments.

Pre-zoning specific areas for specific types of infrastructure can be a promising approach to reducing soft costs for large clean energy projects. For example, a large area of desert, lacking critical wildlife habitat, might be pre-zoned as “solar-ready,” and solar projects in that area have greatly reduced requirements for project-specific permitting or approvals. Another way to lower soft costs is to standardize necessary forms and allow online submission (over the internet).