West New York, NJ Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

The only place the Town Code names a photovoltaic system is the electrical fee schedule in § 161-2B(3), part of the West New York Building Department and Code Enforcement Fee Schedule. The fee for fixtures and devices lists the photovoltaic system as $80 for 1 to 25 panels, microinverters and optimizers, then $35 for each additional 25 units. The same listing continues with kw tiers: $60 for 1 to 10 kw, $90 for 11 to 50 kw, $120 for 51 to 100 kw and $576 for greater than 100 kw. The minimum electrical permit fee is $70.

Section 161-2A requires all fees for plan review and the issuance of any permit or certificate to be collected before the review or issuance, and a copy of the schedule is posted in the Central Permit Office. Plan review is a nonrefundable 20% of the permit fee. The Construction Code Official calculates fees under the State Uniform Construction Code, and if that code requires a greater fee than the schedule, the greater fee is due. Payment to the Code Enforcement Department is by money order, certified check or cashier's check.

The permit is issued through the Code Enforcement Department created by § 161-1, which includes an Electrical Subcode Official and a Fire Protection Subcode Official and does business with the public at one office location. A lapsed permit can be reinstated for 25% of the initial permit fee if the application is made within one year of lapse, and for 100% of the initial fee after that.

Starting work without a required permit adds a fee of 15% of the permit fee, with a $50 minimum. A person who knowingly or intentionally fails to obtain a required permit, who keeps working after a written stop-work notice, or who repeatedly builds without permits receives a violation from the Construction Code Official, returnable in the Municipal Court of West New York.