"Renewable energy'' will be given the stamp of respectability by having its very own chapter in the new Queenstown Lakes District Council district plan.
The new plan will be adopted after the local authority elections in October, but work already under way on the renewable energy section suggests an easier ride for those wanting to install photovoltaic panels or solar hot-water heating.
According to an analysis done for the council, the aim of its renewable energy policy should be to provide ''a more permissive framework'' for small and community-scale renewable energy generation schemes.
That means installing photovoltaic panels and solar hot-water heating panels on a house will be a ''permitted activity'' and not require a resource consent.
At present, the cost of obtaining a resource consent is between $800 and $1000.
Deputy mayor Lyal Cocks told the Otago Daily Times it was ''crazy'' for the council to require a homeowner to get resource consent for panels on their roof, provided the panels met certain building standards.
Mr Cocks said too many ''small things'' required resource consents and part of the district plan review, being slowly worked through by the council, was aimed at simplifying processes.
Local authorities are required to assist in the development of renewable electricity generation under a Government policy statement.
