Plug-In Solar Panels Near Approval by General Assembly

In a legislative effort to save people money and help them generate their own electricity, if only a small amount, bills allowing for portable solar generation devices are nearing the finish line to be sent to the governor’s desk.

“The big thing is it’s a way that suburban and urban areas can participate in solar,” Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, said.

Public interest in portable solar panels, often referred to as “balcony solar” panels, is growing inside and outside the state. The panels are meant to hang off balconies or the sides of homes and plug directly into the wall to put up to 1,200 watts per dwelling back into the home and offset some of the power usage.

Senate Bill 250, sponsored by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, and House Bill 395, by Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, prevent landlords who have more than four rental dwellings from prohibiting the use of balcony solar panels.

The bills do allow for the landlord to set up reasonable restrictions on the placement and size of the panels on the property. Tenants are required to alert the landlord and the utility provider of their intent to use the panels.

Utah was the first state to pass a law permitting renters to use the panels to offset some of their power use. Now, 28 states are exploring similar legislation.

The average home uses about 1,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per month during non-peak times. The panels would offset a fraction of that, but could save ratepayers an estimated $100 a year, or more.

Krizek said that due to their physical orientation, the panels can even help during high-use days, especially severe winter weather that froze much of the state in February.

“If (balcony solar) were around during that snowstorm, all of it would have worked because it’s vertical,” Krizek said.

The panels range in price from $400-$2000, depending on the size and watt output. Surovell said on the Senate floor last week that the savings from the panels  “pay for themselves in two to five years.”

The legislation exempts the small devices from needing to be signed into an interconnection agreement, such as is required when homes sign on to community solar projects that are much larger in scale.

“This bill makes clean energy more affordable, more accessible, more practical for everyday Virginians by removing the red tape for plugging, otherwise known as balcony solar,” Krizek said.

Some amendments were added to the bills to mirror each other, add safety regulations, and create a task force to review whether the panels will trigger an update of the housing code.

The House bill now rests on the desk of Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who will review hundreds of bills and sign them into law, amend them, or reject them via a veto. The Senate bill awaits a final vote in the House. The legislative session ends Saturday.

by Shannon Heckt, Virginia Mercury

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