Solar panels: up to one megawatt on a roof needs no permit, and the solar farm has a table

It is Chapter 9.4 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, "Design and Construction Parameters for Photovoltaic Solar Installations for Generating or Selling Energy", inside the infrastructure and environment volume. Its purpose, in the regulation’s own words, is to foster the siting and development of photovoltaic solar installations by establishing design parameters so as to minimise impacts on safety, the landscape and natural and historic resources, and to protect, improve and perpetuate those historic sites or zones representing or reflecting Puerto Rico’s social, economic, cultural, political or architectural history. This guide is the land-use and design one; equipment certification is processed under OGPe’s manual and is covered by our renewable-energy equipment guide.

The chapter orders four cases according to where and with what capacity the system is installed. Photovoltaic installations on the roofs of structures with a capacity of up to one megawatt need no construction or use permit; nor is a construction permit required for systems of up to one hundred kilowatts on the ground. Ground-mounted ones with a capacity greater than one megawatt are evaluated by the Adjudicative Board in the Consulta de Ubicación process and by OGPe for granting the corresponding permits. Those on building roofs with a capacity greater than one megawatt are evaluated by OGPe in the consulta and permit-granting process. And those with a capacity less than one megawatt not installed on roofs are evaluated by OGPe in the consulta process. All of them, whatever their capacity, must be certified by a duly licensed and colegiado engineer or perito electricista; and those that will interconnect with the AEE’s electrical system, whatever their capacity, require that entity’s evaluation and authorisation before the construction process begins.

• That every photovoltaic solar installation, whatever its capacity, be certified by a duly licensed and colegiado engineer or perito electricista, to guarantee the design’s and installation’s safety.Verified against the official source
• For systems that will interconnect with the AEE’s electrical system, whatever their capacity: obtaining that entity’s evaluation and authorisation before the construction process begins.Verified against the official source
• For a large-scale ground installation: observing the table’s parameters — occupancy not exceeding ninety-five per cent of the lot area, front, side and rear yards, and one parking space per three employees — with a deviation that may not be greater than five per cent.Verified against the official source
• Placing the installation’s connections underground as far as possible and as the soil, shape and topography of the parcel permit.Verified against the official source
• Providing local authorities — the Fire Corps Bureau, the Police Bureau and hospitals — with a project summary, electrical schematics and a fire contingency plan, with the shutdown methods clearly identified and the responsible person and emergency contact telephone numbers.Verified against the official source
• Designing and operating the installation so as to prevent the concentration of solar radiation toward properties, public roads or other areas accessible to the general public.Verified against the official source
• Building and maintaining interior streets, roads and highways and running areas in gravel or similar material, without asphalting them or building them in concrete, and minimising fugitive dust and wind erosion by watering as necessary.Verified against the official source
• Limiting removal of the vegetative layer to the minimum necessary and controlling erosion through the DRNA’s best management practices, while also minimising adverse effects on wildlife and its habitat.Verified against the official source

• A plan showing the property boundary line and physical elements, including internal service and maintenance roads, and the proposed changes to the land where the project will sit: levels, vegetation to be removed, proposed planting and exterior lighting.
• Construction plans signed by a professional engineer licensed to practise in Puerto Rico, showing the proposed layout of the photovoltaic panel system and any potential shade produced by nearby existing structures.
• An electrical line diagram detailing the installation, associated components and electrical interconnection methods with all disconnection and overload mechanisms, in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory provisions.
• Documentation of the system’s main components, including the photovoltaic panels, the mounting and anchoring system and the inverter.
• The equipment certification and the system certification, processed at OGPe, with the photovoltaic solar equipment installed by installers certified by the OEPPE.
• An AEE recommendation where the installation will be connected to the AEE’s distribution system or electrical line easements encumber the project’s land.
• An Operation and Maintenance Plan.

1. 1

   Step 1: When no permit is needed

   The chapter starts from an acknowledgement: ground-mounted photovoltaic solar generation installations are not among the uses contemplated in the various qualification districts. And then it orders things. Photovoltaic installations on the roofs of structures with a capacity of up to one megawatt need no construction or use permit. Nor is a construction permit required for systems of up to one hundred kilowatts on the ground. That is the threshold covering the vast majority of residential and commercial roofs. Bear in mind, though, two things that always apply: every installation, whatever its capacity, must be certified by a duly licensed and colegiado engineer or perito electricista; and every system interconnecting with the AEE’s electrical system, again whatever its capacity, requires the AEE’s evaluation and authorisation before the construction process begins.

2. 2

   Step 2: The four cases, and a tension in the text

   One: a roof up to one megawatt, with no construction or use permit; and on the ground up to one hundred kilowatts, with no construction permit. Two: on the ground with capacity greater than one megawatt, evaluated by the Adjudicative Board in the Consulta de Ubicación process and by OGPe for granting the corresponding permits. Three: on building roofs with capacity greater than one megawatt, evaluated by OGPe in the consulta and permit-granting process. Four: with capacity less than one megawatt not installed on roofs, evaluated by OGPe in the consulta process. It is worth noting that cases one and four sit in tension: the first exempts ground systems up to one hundred kilowatts from a construction permit, while the fourth sends every non-roof system below one megawatt to consulta before OGPe. We reproduce both as printed and do not reconcile them; if your capacity falls in that margin, ask OGPe in writing which applies.

3. 3

   Step 3: The agile process and the 25 kilowatts

   Before interconnection the AEE’s evaluation is required; the AEE shall establish an expedited process to evaluate and approve the interconnection of renewable generation projects, provided the system’s technical characteristics and the grid’s existing conditions permit, as Act 57-2014 provides. The agile interconnection process known as "Plug and Play" applies to photovoltaic solar projects or systems of up to twenty-five kilowatts installed on residential and commercial roofs, with certified equipment, as Act 17-2019 establishes; and it is processed through an expedited procedure under Section IV of the AEE’s Regulation for Interconnecting Generators with the Electrical Distribution System and participating in its net metering programmes in force. We did not read those acts or that regulation; we name them because the chapter sends readers to them.

4. 4

   Step 4: Leasing part of a farm is not segregating

   It is a short rule that settles a frequent doubt among landowners: leasing a portion of a farm to site one or more photovoltaic panels and their accessory works shall not be considered a segregation under Act No. 75 and Act 161-2009.

5. 5

   Step 5: When there is no public hearing

   Three groups are exempt from the public hearing process. First, photovoltaic systems from one point one to twenty-five megawatts installed on the roofs of structures. Second, all systems to be installed on the ground, including large-scale ones, sited and built in industrially qualified districts. Third, those installed on the ground with a non-industrial qualification but where industrial-character activities have been carried out that impacted the land, such as, without limitation, extractions of the earth’s crust, quarries or a sanitary landfill system for solid waste disposal. For the remaining qualifications, the Adjudicative Board, OGPe or the hierarchy I-III autonomous municipalities reserve the power to determine whether a public hearing is necessary, weighing the high public interest of these installations against the possible impact on the community or on resources.

6. 6

   Step 6: The large-scale installation table

   For large-scale ground-mounted photovoltaic installations the parameters are these. The panels’ height is set in consideration of the topographic and climatic conditions of the proposed locations. Occupancy shall not exceed ninety-five per cent of the lot area. The front yard is one metre, provided that where the installation faces a residential district the front yard shall be not less than five metres. There shall be two side yards, each not less than two metres wide, provided that where a side yard abuts a residential district it shall be not less than three metres. The rear yard is one metre, and not less than two where the installation faces a residential district. Administrative offices and control rooms are considered an accessory use, and adjust to Chapter 8.4’s provisions for industrial activities. One parking space per three employees shall be provided. And towers and fences adjust to Chapter 8.3. A deviation from the authorised design parameters may be considered, but it may not be greater than five per cent; greater deviations must be evaluated through the corresponding mechanism.

7. 7

   Step 7: The six conditions OGPe takes into account

   Connections: as far as possible and as the parcel’s soil, shape and topography permit, connections shall be underground. Emergency services: the owner or operator must provide a project summary, electrical schematics and a fire contingency plan to local authorities such as the Fire Corps Bureau, the Police Bureau and hospitals, and the installation’s shutdown methods must be clearly identified, as must the responsible person and emergency contact telephone numbers. Solar radiation: the installation must be designed and operated so as to prevent the concentration of solar radiation toward properties, public roads or other areas accessible to the general public. Dust control: permanent or temporary interior streets, roads and highways and running areas shall be built and maintained in gravel or similar material and shall not be asphalted or built in concrete, and during development, construction and operation the owner or operator shall minimise fugitive dust generation and wind erosion by watering as necessary. Land erosion control: removal of the vegetative layer shall be limited to the minimum necessary for construction, operation and maintenance, and during both phases erosion is controlled through the DRNA’s best management practices, to reduce sedimentation of nearby water bodies to the maximum degree possible. Wildlife resources: installations shall be designed so as to minimise adverse effects on wildlife and its habitat. And the environmental mitigation measures minimising any project impact must be presented to OGPe.

8. 8

   Step 8: The large-scale proponent’s documents

   A plan showing the property boundary line and physical elements, including internal service and maintenance roads, and the proposed changes to the land, levels, vegetation to be removed, proposed planting and exterior lighting. Construction plans signed by a professional engineer licensed to practise in Puerto Rico, showing the proposed layout of the panel system and any potential shade produced by nearby existing structures. An electrical line diagram detailing the installation, associated components and electrical interconnection methods with all disconnection and overload mechanisms. Documentation of the main components: panels, mounting and anchoring system and inverter. The equipment certification and the system certification, processed at OGPe, provided that the photovoltaic solar equipment is installed by installers certified by the OEPPE. An AEE recommendation where the installation will be connected to the AEE’s distribution system or electrical line easements encumber the land. And an Operation and Maintenance Plan. A detail from the source we prefer to flag: in referring to the filing requirements for that AEE recommendation, the chapter cites "Chapter 9.5 (Requirements for the Recommendation Request on Renewable Systems)", but Chapter 9.5 is titled "Distributed Generation Systems with Non-Renewable Energy Sources"; the renewable-sources one is 9.2. We reproduce the cross-reference as printed and flag the mismatch rather than quietly redirecting you.

Before OGPe and, for ground installations greater than one megawatt, before the Adjudicative Board in the Consulta de Ubicación process. The hierarchy I-III autonomous municipalities likewise take part in the expedited processing and in deciding whether a public hearing is needed in the non-exempt qualifications. The evaluation and authorisation prior to interconnection comes from the AEE, and the agile "Plug and Play" process for systems of up to twenty-five kilowatts on residential and commercial roofs is handled under the AEE’s interconnection regulation. Equipment and system certifications are processed at OGPe, and the installation is carried out by installers certified by the OEPPE.

• Believing no solar system needs a permit: the exemption is up to one megawatt on a roof and up to one hundred kilowatts on the ground.
• Installing without certification by a licensed and colegiado engineer or perito electricista, which applies whatever the capacity.
• Starting construction of a system that will interconnect without the AEE’s prior evaluation and authorisation.
• Assuming that leasing part of a farm for panels requires segregating: the regulation expressly says it does not.
• Taking the public hearing exemption for granted outside the three cases the chapter lists.
• Designing one-metre yards facing a residential district, where the front rises to five and the rear to two.
• Asphalting or building interior roads in concrete, which the chapter requires in gravel or similar material.
• Planning a parameter deviation greater than five per cent without going through the corresponding mechanism.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• Permit Management Office

  ogpe

  ogpe.pr.gov