Gov. Ayotte has signed the bill allowing “balcony solar” – solar panels that can be plugged into a standard socket without needing an electrician or permission from the power company.
These panels are touted as a way for individuals to quickly get some benefit from solar power, cutting their electricity bills. They are especially useful for renters, who can’t install solar panels on their building like a homeowner can.
Panels can’t be larger than 1,200 watts, the power needed to run a big microwave oven, so it’s not like they’re going to zero-out a home’s power bill.
Despite the new law, you can’t buy one and plug it in today. Rules are still being being developed, including work by the state’s Building Code Review Board.
Sam Evans-Brown of Clean Energy NH, who helped push the law, celebrates the move in a Linked-In post but cautions people not to get too excited: “We should be clear-eyed about scope. Because of how U.S. homes are wired (compared to European homes), there’s a real ceiling on how much plug-in solar can contribute to the system overall. There’s no silver bullet for the energy transition. We’re going to need to build everything we can.”
Balcony solar has been a huge hit in Germany, where more than a million such panels have been installed.
Proponents have long said that a big benefit of plug-in solar is that it makes the idea of solar panels seem more ordinary. If you see panels draped over balconies as you walk downtown, you’re more likely to consider installing solar panels on your house or support a solar farm being built nearby.
Evans-Brown added one other point about New Hampshire’s move: “That puts us in a small group of just 8 states leading the way on this concept — and an even smaller group where Republicans were the party controlling the levers of power when the bill passed. (Energy Freedom, indeed! Happy fourth of July!)”
