Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill formally legalizing so-called balcony solar panels that are smaller, cheaper and easier to install.
Supporters said the new law will make renewable energy more accessible for renters and other households that can’t — or don’t want to — install conventional solar setups.
Bernadette Del Chiaro, with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, spoke in support of balcony solar during a press conference in the Bay Area on Thursday.
“This is one of the most immediate, concrete, tangible, real and affordable things that we can do to start to get control of our high energy costs — but also save the planet,” she said.
In San Diego, electric bills have almost doubled over the last decade and are more than double the national average.
California’s law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, will allow households to install balcony setups without going through the complicated interconnection application process currently needed for solar panels of all sizes. Arrays will be permitted up to 1,200 watts, roughly equivalent to the power needs of a window air conditioner.
A flurry of states have legalized balcony solar over the past year after watching it take off in Europe. Most households can plug their panels into a standard wall outlet — no installation required.
In comparison, California’s law includes some compromises.
Balcony setups must be certified under a new national safety standard that doesn’t yet cover many products in the market. Depending on what manufacturers release, a household may need to hire an electrician to connect panels above a certain wattage to a special wall outlet.
Unless lawmakers extend it, California’s balcony solar statute is also set to sunset in 2030 as a way to protect against unintended consequences for the power grid.