The balcony solar movement is running hot in Germany, and now it is spreading into the US like gangbusters, just in time for US President Donald Trump’s war in Iran to send the cost of coal through the roof alongside oil and natural gas. Come to think of it, if coal is so great, why are so many people so eager to festoon their homes with plug-in solar panels? After all, solar panels are not particularly attractive, whereas coal power plants … oh, never mind!
Balcony solar systems are hang-able solar panels that simply plug into a household outlet, enabling the ratepayer to offset some of their electricity costs. When a ratepayer moves, the solar panel goes with them, just like any other transportable appliance.
The balcony solar movement began taking noticeable form about four years ago, when households in Ukraine adopted hang-able, plug-in solar panels to work around Russia’s attacks on their power plants. The idea quickly spread to Germany, where members of the public rushed to take advantage of government subsidies. As reported by SolarPower Europe, German households registered 276,000 balcony panels in 2023. They added another 435,000 units in 2024 and passed the one million mark last year.
The market in Germany has attracted interest from US solar stakeholders, including the California firm Enphase. Last year, the company launched its new “Enphase® IQ® Balcony Solar System” for German households. “Designed for plug-and-play installation, the new system empowers apartment dwellers and homeowners with limited roof space to generate their own clean energy from balconies, patios, and small outdoor areas,” Enphase explained in a press statement last May.
Here in the US, balcony solar has faced two significant hurdles. One is the absence of state-based enabling legislation for devices that inject electricity into a household system without the need for authorization from their utility company. The other obstacle involves property owner restrictions on tenants, and homeowner association restrictions on members.
Both of those obstacles are beginning to crumble, with Illinois providing the latest example. The state legislature is currently considering Senate Bill 3104, a proposal to remove the state’s existing pre-authorization requirement and replace it with a simple form notifying the utility company of the installation. The bill would also prohibit any other fees or installation expenses, and it would prevent property owners and homeowner associations from raising unreasonable obstacles of their own.
“Illinois has been a leader in renewable energy, and this legislation keeps us moving forward by making solar more available, more affordable, and more achievable for everyone,” explained the sponsor of the bill in the Illinois House, Rep. Daniel Didech (D-Buffalo Grove), as cited by Capitol News Illinois.
“Plug-in solar is exactly what it sounds like: small, low-cost solar panels that plug directly into a standard outlet and help offset the energy use,” emphasized the lead sponsor, Sen. Rachel Ventura (D-Joliet).
“No expensive installation, no major construction, no waiting months for approval,” Sen. Ventura added.
Bill 3104 would establish the most relaxed rules for small balcony solar systems, generally covering those in the 300–400 watt category. The legislation also provides for additional restrictions on larger systems of up to 1,200 watts.
The new rules also require balcony solar systems to be certified by a nationally recognized laboratory. As if on cue, in January, the Illinois-based, globally oriented certification laboratory UL Solutions announced that it has launched a new certification program focusing on balcony solar systems.
“The new program is an evaluation based on UL 3700, the Outline of Investigation for Interactive Plug-In Photovoltaic Equipment and Systems,” UL explained.
“It defines construction, performance and labeling criteria tailored to plug-in solar systems, also referred to as balcony solar, offering manufacturers a reliable foundation for designing products that consistently meet safety and performance requirements,” the company elaborated.
In a press statement, Ken Boyce — UL’s VP of Principal Engineering, Industrial Testing, Inspection and Certification — underscored the end goal. “By defining how these systems must be built, evaluated for safety and safely installed, UL 3700 helps mitigate potential risks, and opens a path for more people to access resilient solar power,” Boyce said.
He must have had a crystal ball. UL announced the new 3700 program on January 6, and barely two months later the resiliency of solar power is on full display as a result of Trump’s war on Iran.
For all the bleating and braying over fossil fuels by Trump and his administration, events on the other side of the world have disrupted global commodities markets, taking the US down along with them. Meanwhile, the wind blows and sun shines right here in the US, ripe for the taking.
So far, Utah is the only state to have passed a comprehensive balcony solar law for systems up to 1200 watts. UL notes that Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia are among the states considering legislation, in addition to Illinois.
As for why Trump chose February 28 to launch operation “Epic Fury” against Iran, the Epstein files explain everything. After all, there is no other explanation. Trump has yet to articulate why he launched a full-on war in the Middle East at this moment in time, leaving pundits to lob alternative titles such as “operation Epstein Fury” or simply “the Epstein war.”
Absent any other meaningful explanation, there only remains Trump’s fear of the Epstein files, a fear that runs so deep he reached for the handy go-to solution put in motion by both Republican presidents who preceded him — namely, launch a war in the Middle East (that was Bush I and Bush II, for those of you keeping score at home) to distract public attention from your own shortcomings.
Somewhat ironically, the war has also upset the apple cart on Trump’s efforts to glorify the US coal industry. Convincing the public to love coal power was always going to be a tough sell, and now Trump has just guaranteed that coal will be even less accessible and less economical than it already is.
Global coal prices have spiked on the heels of Trump’s war, partly due to a knock-on effect resulting from the sudden disruption of natural gas supplies from the Middle East. The problem is not necessarily limited to an increase in the cost of coal imported to the US, though. Domestically produced coal is also impacted. As of 2022, transportation accounted for more than 41% of the cost of coal delivered from domestic coal mines to power plants in the US, and those costs are rising alongside the spike in diesel fuel.
“Most coal is transported by train, barge, truck, or a combination of these modes. All of these transportation modes use diesel fuel. Increases in oil and diesel fuel prices can significantly affect the cost of transportation, which affects the final delivered price of coal,” the US Energy Information Agency emphasizes.
Photo: The Chinese firm HIITO is among the global PV manufacturers feeding the balcony solar frenzy, providing ratepayers with simple, easy access to clean power (cropped, courtesy of HIITO).
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Tina has been covering advanced energy technology, military sustainability, emerging materials, biofuels, ESG and related policy and political matters for CleanTechnica since 2009. Follow her @tinamcasey on LinkedIn, Mastodon or Bluesky.
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