Buckingham Township, PA

Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania earned SolSmart Bronze designation in 2025 by updating their solar permitting practices, increasing easy access to information for residents and installers, distributing solar job information to residents, providing a PACE financing program, training municipal staff, and more!

• Demonstrated local government support for local solar projects through speeches, press releases, opinion articles, etc.
• Posted a solar landing page on local government’s website with information that may include the community’s solar goals, educational materials and tools that promote solar.
• Discussed solar PV goals and/or strategies for increasing solar PV development, including large-scale solar plans, solar access, and/or solar adoption in communities.
• Posted an online solar map for the community.
• Posted online resources about residential and commercial solar PV financing options and incentives.
• Distributed solar job training and career opportunities in coordination with local colleges and/or workforce development organizations.
• Conducted feasibility analysis for solar PV on local government facilities and/or local government-controlled land.
• Provided a PACE financing program that includes solar PV as an eligible technology.
• Posted an online checklist detailing the required permit(s), submittals, and steps of the community’s permitting process for residential rooftop solar PV.
• Trained permitting staff on best practices for permitting solar PV and/or solar and storage systems.
• Required no more than one permit application form for a small rooftop solar PV system.
• Provided an online process for solar PV inspection scheduling.
• Trained planning and zoning staff on best practices in planning and zoning for solar PV.
• Included specific solar PV goals, metrics, and strategies in the most current published version of relevant local plans (e.g., energy plan, climate plan, comprehensive plan).
• Reviewed zoning requirements and identify restrictions that intentionally or unintentionally prohibit solar PV development.