Bakersfield Makes History: First City in the Nation to Launch Instant Permitting Across Multiple Project Types
Bakersfield has become the first city in America to offer instant AI-powered permitting across solar, energy storage, EV charging, reroofs, BIPV, and electrical panel upgrades–processing over 500 permits in under 4 months and setting a new standard for municipal innovation.
The packed launch event at Bakersfield’s Development Services Building on Friday showcased what happens when cutting-edge technology meets real-world municipal needs. City Manager Christian Clegg captured the moment perfectly: “Every once in a while, you come across a possibility that is a total game changer. A possibility that’s going to really put you on the mark. And that possibility for us is Symbium.”
A Game-Changing Partnership That Actually Delivers
What makes Bakersfield’s achievement truly historic isn’t just the speed–it’s the unprecedented scope. While other instant permitting solutions focus narrowly on a very limited type of solar and battery storage installations, Symbium’s platform handles the full spectrum of clean energy projects that matter most to homeowners and contractors. The system enables instant permits for retrofits, solar installations (new and additions to existing systems), energy storage, EV charging stations, new service panels, reroofs, and more, making Bakersfield the first jurisdiction anywhere to offer this comprehensive instant permitting coverage.
Chief Electrical Inspector Pete Jackson emphasized a crucial distinction: “This isn’t about just doing things faster. We actually increased compliance checks with this process. It’s my responsibility as Chief Electrical Inspector to make sure that all installations meet minimum code requirements, and the first part of that is the plan review or design validation.” This isn’t automation for automation’s sake–it’s better government through technology.
Industry Leaders Rally Around Innovation
The event brought together an impressive coalition of industry leaders who see instant permitting as transformational for their businesses:
- UL Solutions — The world’s leading safety science company and standards organization, validating the platform’s compliance capabilities
- Siemens — Global technology powerhouse signaling enterprise confidence in Symbium’s approach
- GAF Energy — Showcasing their innovative BIPV Timberline Solar® low-profile solar roofing technology that benefits from streamlined permitting
- BSW Roofing — Local contractor serving Bakersfield since 1942, representing established businesses embracing digital transformation
- Solar Maintenance Pros — Specialized solar service provider demonstrating the platform’s value for ongoing maintenance projects
- Encharge Energy — Battery storage systems company highlighting instant permitting for residential resilience
- NEMA — National Electrical Manufacturers Association lending credibility to electrical code compliance.
- Ilum Solar — Local solar installer, with offices in Sacramento, Bakersfield, and Anaheim, representing the contractor community driving adoption.
Mark Brewer from Solar Maintenance Pros captured the practical impact best: “You submit it on a Monday, you’ve got it on a Tuesday.” This isn’t theoretical efficiency–it’s real-world transformation that contractors experience daily.
Massive Scale, Immediate Impact
The numbers tell an incredible story of rapid adoption and real results. Since April, Bakersfield has approved roughly 500 permits using Symbium, processing between 100 and 200 applications weekly. This scale proves the platform’s reliability under real-world conditions while delivering massive time savings to the clean energy industry.
Symbium expanded to 60 California cities in 20 months, all without a marketing team, mostly through word-of-mouth between local government officials. This organic growth demonstrates genuine product-market fit – cities are choosing Symbium because there’s nothing else like it (not even close!) to automate compliance checks across so many project types.
Supporting Bakersfield’s Climate and Sustainability Leadership
The instant permitting launch aligns perfectly with Bakersfield’s Sustainable Opportunities Advancing Resilience (SOAR) initiative, which aims to address climate challenges while fostering economic growth and community development. By eliminating bureaucratic barriers to clean energy adoption, Symbium directly accelerates the city’s sustainability goals while supporting local economic growth.
The ripple effects extend far beyond individual permits. Faster project deployment means more solar installations helping residents combat high electricity costs, more EV charging stations supporting transportation electrification, and more energy storage systems building grid resilience. It’s municipal policy in action through technological innovation.
Press Coverage Validates Historic Achievement
The launch generated significant media attention, with representation from the following networks in attendance: Bakersfield Now (KBAK/KBFX) highlighting the first-in-nation achievement, Yahoo News featuring the game-changing impact for contractors and residents, Turn To 23 emphasizing the “no lines, no paperwork” transformation, and The Californian covering the industry partnership aspects. This comprehensive media validation reflects recognition that Bakersfield has achieved something genuinely significant – not just for the city, but for the future of municipal government nationwide.
Effortless Adoption for Building Departments
What makes Symbium’s rapid expansion possible is how easy it is for building departments to adopt the platform. Symbium is public-facing only, meaning building department staff don’t need to learn anything new or change their existing workflows. The technology supercharges jurisdictions’ existing permitting processes without requiring staff training, system replacements, or workflow disruptions. This seamless approach enables accelerated adoption by cities everywhere, particularly crucial given increasing regulatory mandates for automated permitting across multiple states.
A Call to Action for Municipal Leaders
Bakersfield’s success proves that instant permitting isn’t just possible–it’s inevitable. The question isn’t whether your city will eventually need automated compliance checks, but whether you’ll lead or follow. Municipal leaders can contact Symbium today to understand how automated compliance checks can supercharge existing permitting workflows at no cost to the jurisdiction, transforming weeks of waiting into minutes of efficiency while actually increasing compliance verification.
Are you a government official who wants to see Symbium in your jurisdiction? Contact us: hello@symbium.com
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About Symbium
Symbium is the leader in automated compliance checks for instant or accelerated permit issuance across a range of project types in the energy saving space. The company partners with local building departments to enable instant permitting, which is used by high volume and independent installers everywhere. Symbium is currently a resident at Autodesk and has achieved significant recognition and growth as a proud portfolio company of climate impact leaders such as Elemental Impact and RMI’s Third Derivative. The company continues to receive numerous awards for its breakthrough tech and success with instant permitting from the Association for Corporate Growth, GovTech 100, the ALP Alain Colmerauer Heritage Prize, the Ivory Prize, BuiltWorlds Maverick, and the Hive 50.
