Tell your state leaders to pass a Utah-style law unleashing balcony solar!
Major retailer IKEA is now selling integrated kits including both plug-in “balcony” solar arrays and a home battery to customers in Germany. That amounts to a fully independent household clean power plant being sold for 1,229 euros. And this new offering is a next step for an already-vibrant market: more than 500,000 plug-in solar systems have been installed in Germany, most of them on balconies, with 220,000 installed in the first half of 2024 alone. This is an inspiring vision for the future, with abundant, independent locally generated power available to the people!
Balcony solar isn’t yet widely available in the United States, but there’s a lot of work being done to try and make it happen! One big holdup is that standard U.S. electrical code regulations don’t consider the possibility of a plug-in system that can feed power into a standard outlet, and it’s taking (too much!) time to get official certifications developed. There are already some early plug-in solar deployers in the U.S. (like Bright Saver!) using a work-around based on assembling a plug-in system themselves with already-certified parts, but it’ll likely take a while for Germany-style all-in-one and ready-to-go plug-in kits to be cleared for U.S. sales.
While the certification step is happening, one other critical step is for states to pass laws clarifying that plug-in solar kits are a home appliance not requiring a burdensome permitting process, interconnection applications, or utility fees — basically allowing consumers to just buy this cool thing for their house and not have to deal with the same red tape as an entire power plant. We have some exciting progress on this front: Utah has recently passed a new law with unanimous bipartisan support that clears the way for balcony solar.
State leaders have a great opportunity here to help lead a historic movement for household energy independence and bring forward a future where all Americans can generate their own clean, abundant electricity!
Tell your state leaders to pass a Utah-style law unleashing balcony solar!