State officials want to clear the path for plug-in solar—but utilities are blocking the way. (NPR)
Utah recently passed a law greenlighting the practice, and Virginia’s governor is expected to sign off on a bill soon. ~30 other bills have cropped up around the country to exempt these devices from rooftop solar interconnection rules.
The hold-up: Utilities have persuaded lawmakers in 5+ states to delay votes, largely by raising concerns about shock hazards and power seeping back onto the grid during outages.
Yes, but: Those risks can be managed through UL certification and anti-islanding features. That’s the case with Germany’s 1.2M+ registered DIY solar systems, where no safety incidents have been reported when used as directed.