![Chicago](http://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/shutterstock_143073040.jpg?w=250)
ShutterstockMore solar is on its way.
The Windy City is blowing red tape and roadblocks out of the way for new solar-panel owners.
It used to take a month to receive a city permit needed to install a small solar array. That’s being reduced to one day. Meanwhile, the price of the permit is falling 25 percent to $275. These improvements are thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
“It will encourage more and more people to have solar here in the city of Chicago on a residential and commercial level,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said as he announced the changes at a solar event. “It will be cheaper, quicker and more efficient for people to put solar in.”
Chicagoans can apply for their permits through a new website, Chicago Solar Express.
![wildfire](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/wildfire_flickrlouangelidigital.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=500)