This bill requires counties and municipalities with over 5,000 residents to adopt an automated platform for permitting residential solar panel installations. The platform must process at least 75% of applications, ensuring quick approval for code-compliant projects on existing homes. The Colorado Energy Office will oversee compliance, provide funding and assistance, and report on expanding automated permitting to other electrification projects. The state electrical board must also implement a similar platform for electrical permits related to residential solar.

If HB25-1096 passes, the main outcomes will be:

1. Faster Solar Permitting – Automated platforms will streamline approvals for residential solar installations, reducing wait times.
2. Increased Solar Adoption – Easier permitting could encourage more homeowners to install solar panels.
3. Standardized Processes – Counties and municipalities will have uniform digital permitting, improving efficiency and consistency.
4. State Oversight and Support – The Colorado Energy Office will monitor compliance, provide funding, and explore expanding automation to other electrification projects.
5. Improved Electrical Permitting – The state electrical board will adopt a similar automated system for residential solar-related electrical permits.

This bill aims to speed up solar installations, reduce bureaucratic delays, and support clean energy adoption. Opponents of this bill say that it impedes local control of counties to determine how permitting is done, and that a one-size-fits-all approach to permitting could be detrimental to counties. Some concerns with this bill include, well, everything that comes along with nuclear energy – mining, waste, and refinement of ore are all incredibly environmentally impactful, and we have great concerns over what can of worms this could open up. However, it must also be recognized that today ⅕ of the energy our nation uses comes from nuclear sources and technology has been improving, meaning greater safety and efficiency.