On September 17, the City of Whitefish earned a SolSmart Bronze award, in recognition of the city’s achievements in encouraging the growth of solar in our community. SolSmart is a national program that recognizes cities, counties, and small towns for making it faster, easier, and more affordable to go solar. The City created an online permitting checklist, increasing transparency for community members and solar installers. And city engineers reviewed local zoning codes and identified restrictions that intentionally or unintentionally prohibit solar PV development.

Both of these projects were undertaken to reduce the cost to installers and pass on those savings to consumers to allow more local homes and businesses to obtain affordable, clean, and reliable electricity. Whitefish partnered with the Montana Renewable Energy Association, a Montana-based nonprofit acting as Montana’s statewide SolSmart Advisor, to achieve the designation. For more information about the SolSmart program, visit www.solsmart.org.