Solar PV installations in Nashua require a building permit from the Building Safety Department at Nashua City Hall (229 Main Street) under Chapter 158 (Building Code), Article II, which adopts the New Hampshire State Building Code under RSA 155-A. A separate electrical permit is also required and is reviewed under the National Electrical Code as adopted by the NH State Building Code. Nashua's Permit Fee Schedule sets the residential building-permit fee at $0.18 per square foot of area affected, plus a $35 filing fee and a $25 Land Use review fee; commercial solar energy systems are billed at $0.65 per $100 of construction cost. Nashua administers the state-authorized Solar Energy Systems Property Tax Exemption under RSA 72:62, with applications due to the Assessing Department by April 15.
The Nashua Building Safety Department reviews residential and commercial solar PV permits under Chapter 158 of the Nashua Revised Ordinances and the New Hampshire State Building Code adopted by reference under RSA 155-A. Permit applications can be emailed to permits@nashuanh.gov or mailed to P.O. Box 2019, Nashua, NH 03061. Counter hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A typical residential roof-mount submittal includes a site plan showing the array footprint, an electrical one-line diagram, structural information for the mounting system (manufacturer's UL-listed racking with engineering data showing the existing roof framing supports the added dead load and wind/snow uplift), and manufacturer specifications for the modules, inverters, rapid-shutdown device, and disconnects. Separate plumbing, electrical, and mechanical permits are required as applicable; for PV that means an electrical permit covering the modules, inverter, rapid-shutdown device, conductors, combiner, disconnects, and meter-side work. The residential building-permit fee is $0.18 per square foot of area affected, plus a $35 filing fee and a $25 Land Use review fee. Commercial solar energy systems are billed at $0.65 per $100 of construction or installation cost. Interconnection with the serving electric distribution utility (Eversource New Hampshire for most Nashua addresses; Liberty Utilities and NH Electric Co-op serve other parts of southern New Hampshire) is governed by RSA 362-A:9 (Limited Producers; Net Energy Metering), Puc 900 rules of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, and the utility's interconnection tariff. Nashua administers the New Hampshire Solar Energy Systems Property Tax Exemption under RSA 72:62 — the value of a qualifying solar energy system (defined in RSA 72:61) is exempt from the assessed property value. The exemption application is filed with the Assessing Department at City Hall (229 Main Street, lower level) by April 15 of the tax year for which exemption is sought; a property inspection is required. The Assessing Department contact is 603-589-3040, AssessHelp@nashuanh.gov.
Installing solar PV without a building or electrical permit violates Chapter 158 of the Nashua Revised Ordinances and the New Hampshire State Building Code (RSA 155-A) and is enforceable by stop-work order, after-the-fact permitting (typically at doubled fees), denial of final inspection, and civil penalty. Energizing an unpermitted electrical system or doing electrical work without a licensed electrician violates RSA 319-C (Electricians) and is enforceable by the NH Electricians Licensing Board. Interconnecting an unapproved generator with the Eversource (or other utility) distribution system violates the utility's tariff and RSA 362-A:9 / Puc 900 net-metering rules and can result in service disconnection. Filing a fraudulent RSA 72:62 property-tax exemption application can result in revocation of the exemption, recovery of back taxes, and penalties under RSA 76:17-a.
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