SolarAPP+ Foundation Appoints First Chief Executive Officer

The SolarAPP+ Foundation announced that Matthew McAllister will join as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organization. Matthew will oversee and accelerate the continued adoption of the SolarAPP+ software tool in cities and counties across the United States, and to expand its functionality to permit more types of clean energy equipment such as heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers.

SolarAPP+ is the online permitting tool developed by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that is used by local jurisdictions around the country to automate the plan check and permit processing for rooftop solar and battery permits. SolarAPP+ software is now managed by the SolarAPP+ Foundation, under license from NREL.

“Matthew’s vast experience with city, state, and federal government technology made him the perfect candidate to take over as the new CEO of the SolarAPP+ Foundation,” said Larry Sherwood, President of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, and Chairman of the SolarAPP+ Foundation Board. “As a co-founder of Colorado’s Digital Service, Matthew brings deep experience in government technology, and we couldn’t be more excited for him to start this new role.” 

Today, getting a permit to install solar and batteries can often take weeks or even months and cost upwards of $7,000 per project. This is why in 2021, NREL launched SolarAPP+ to automate and streamline this process. Since its start, almost 200 jurisdictions have issued more than 40,000 permits through the tool. Not only does it speed permit approval, but also NREL analysis found that permits that went through SolarAPP+ were more code compliant than those that did not. A project is 30% less likely to fail inspection if it went through SolarAPP+, than previous alternatives. 

SolarAPP+ saves cities and counties time as well, so that their employees can focus on more complicated permitting issues. This benefits local jurisdictions, individual consumers, and solar installers. One recent case study in Pima County and Tucson, Arizona found that in the two years after these jurisdictions switched to SolarAPP+, home solar installations increased at double the rate of the rest of Arizona. 

“I’m excited to join an organization with such a strong track record of success, and looking forward to scaling it to many more jurisdictions across the country,” said Matthew McAllister, incoming Chief Executive Officer of the SolarAPP+ Foundation. “I’m excited to start working at an organization that brings together my passion for improving public sector services with a tool that actively works to fight climate change and speeds up the adoption of renewable technologies.”

Matthew will begin his work at the SolarAPP+ Foundation in early July. Prior to this, Matthew most recently served as Director of the Colorado Digital Service, a team he co-founded in 2019. The Colorado Digital Service is a technology consultancy and product delivery team whose mission is to mature state agencies’ approach to delivering high-quality products and services to all of Colorado. Previously, Matthew led Smart City initiatives for the City of Denver and worked in the White House as the Special Assistant and Policy Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer in the Obama Administration. 

Matthew will bring his experience building high-impact government software and recruiting best-in-class mission-driven talent to SolarAPP+. He is a deeply respected thought leader in the civic technology field and also has entrepreneurial experience as a founder and organization builder.

Mark Rodriguez, the SolarAPP+ Foundation’s current Executive Director, will transition to Chief of Engineering. To round out its executive team, SolarAPP+ Foundation is also in the process of hiring a Chief Technology Officer.

SolarAPP+ Foundation | https://solarapp.nrel.gov/