From Anchorage, Alaska, to Sarasota, Florida, more than 300 local governments have now met national benchmarks for encouraging the growth of solar energy and removing barriers to solar market development.

These local governments have each received designation under SolSmart, a national program launched in 2016 that helps local governments make it faster, easier, and more affordable to go solar. SolSmart has now achieved its goal to designate at least 300 local governments as SolSmart Gold, Silver, or Bronze, for a total of 328 communities and counting.

SolSmart is led by The Solar Foundation and the International City/County Management Association, and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. All designated communities have met national criteria to prove they have streamlined local procedures to make it easier for homes and businesses to install solar energy systems. SolSmart provides intensive technical assistance at no cost to help communities meet these goals.

The 328 SolSmart designees include cities, counties, small towns, and regional organizations in 40 states and the District of Columbia, representing 82 million people. One in four people in America now live in a SolSmart-designated community.

"All across the nation, local governments are leading the way toward sustainable economic growth," said Andrea Luecke, President and Executive Director at The Solar Foundation. "SolSmart is a high performing, breakthrough program that has already helped more than 300 communities turn their goals and the demands of their constituents into reality, working with them to reduce carbon emissions, lower energy costs, create jobs, and build more resilient infrastructure. With over 18,000 communities in the U.S., we are excited to help hundreds if not thousands more reap the benefits of solar energy and compatible technologies like storage."

"Creating sustainable communities is at the heart of ICMA's mission and today's milestone demonstrates that local governments are making the transition to green energy a reality," said Marc Ott, Executive Director of the International City/County Management Association. "We are proud to partner with The Solar Foundation, the Department of Energy and most of all local governments across the United States that have stepped up and made it easier for businesses and residents to go solar."

The actions that SolSmart communities have taken help reduce soft costs, which are the non-hardware costs that today represent roughly 65% of the cost of solar installations. SolSmart helps local governments streamline permit approvals, review planning and zoning guidelines, facilitate group purchase campaigns, and improve solar financing options. Taken together, these actions help lower the overall costs of solar installations and allow the solar industry to expand more rapidly nationwide.

Anchorage, AK became the 300th community to achieve SolSmart designation, after the city installed Alaska's largest solar array at the William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center. The first SolSmart designations were awarded in 2016 and included Kansas City, MO; Milwaukee, WI; Minneapolis, MN; Philadelphia, PA; Hartford, CT; and others. As the program gained momentum, it truly became national, as many communities that are not known for being "solar friendly" or having a sizable solar market got involved.

Some of the most recent designees include Durham, NC; Elkhart County, IN; San Jose, CA; Doylestown, PA; Stevens Point, WI; Mountain Iron, MN; Miami Lakes, FL; Decorah, IA; and Haddonfield, NJ, among others.

Throughout the month of October, these 300 communities are planning events, local announcements, and other special activities to highlight their solar energy achievements. More information on these communities and their achievements can be found at http://www.SolSmart.org/solsmart300.

SolSmart | http://www.solsmart.org

The Solar Foundation | http://www.thesolarfoundation.org

ICMA | http://www.icma.org