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Just my 2c but I think the biggest thing we could do is to reduce the regulatory burden, cost, and complexity associated with installing roof mounted solar. Thi

Just my 2c but I think the biggest thing we could do is to reduce the regulatory burden, cost, and complexity associated with installing roof mounted solar. This should be something that can be approved and installed in a week, and should be a half the price (put another it should have a double digit roi) . Right now all of the economics of home solar are consumed by regulation/complexity and the contractors / solar installation companies.

gpm 6mo ago
At the consumer scale the biggest thing we could do is follow the german model of panels that can be plugged into an outlet and installed in an hour by any homeowner (with the same capacity limits and requirements on the panels electronics to protect the grid/line workers during power outages). That said I'm pretty sure that grid-scale solar is the future of most solar energy, not home solar. It's just cheaper to do things in bigger batches.
- balderdash 6mo ago
  This statement is 100% correct, but I think is wrong - utility scale solar is 100% more efficient and cheaper to build at scale, the problem is finding large parcels of land to put it on that are close to where the power consumption is, as well as the complexity and cost associated with grid interconnection (and transition if it not close to demand) Edit: though if we ever get to self driving cars there should be a whole lot of parking lots in metro areas that aren’t needed.
- therealdrag0 6mo ago
  Balcony solar legislation is well underway in dozens of states. But the capacity is still very small. Like 10% of a household.
hamdingers 6mo ago
There's been a wave of legislation[1] introduced in the US to legalize so-called "balcony solar," small grid-tied solar systems that plug into a regular household outlet with zero permitting or interconnect requirements. This is already common in Europe, it's mildly complicated by our split-phase system but not much. The reason for the high burden today is people have developed an inflated sense of how much the kWh they generate is worth. They install massive systems on their roofs to try to "cancel out" their power bill by exporting their entire daily power consumption over the course of a few sunny hours, which (when all their neighbors do the same) ends up being a costly burden for grid operators who then pass the costs on to users without panels. Smaller systems focused on immediate, local consumption rather than export are much better for the grid which is why they have support. 1. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/balcony-solar-taking-state-legislatures-by-storm https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/balcony-solar-tak...
- declan_roberts 6mo ago
  "Costly burden" is an incredible statement. The utilities get what is effectively free electricity generation. Remember every solar customer still pays the grid connection fee, which goes to maintain the grid. They love to market a "green energy" plan where they pay you 3c for your exported power and charge somebody miles away 25c for it!
  - hamdingers 6mo ago
    It's a true statement and a real problem. These wildcat megawatt-scale generation facilities built on top of suburban neighborhoods produce an un-curtail-able midday oversupply of electricity driving energy prices into the negative. The power has to go somewhere, SoCal grid operators have to pay real money to neighboring grids to accept the energy being generated while also paying the homeowner who generated it. No grid connection fee comes close to covering this, it's paid for by increasing rates for everyone else. Net metering was a stupid deal cooked up by politicians who are incapable of systems thinking, or simply decided appealing to suburban voters was more important than grid stability. It's getting better[1] but still a problem, and the solutions being pursued are: discourage export in favor of onsite storage (done by NEM 3.0) and encourage smaller solar installs (balcony solar). 1. https://www.caiso.com/content/monthly-market-performance/jan-2026/executive-summary.html#:~:text=The%20cumulative%20frequency%20of%20prices,2.59%20percent%20in%202026%20January. https://www.caiso.com/content/monthly-market-performance/jan...
    - declan_roberts 6mo ago
      I'll believe they're serious about this problem when they stop charging TOU customers PEAK DEMAND prices during the duck curve. They're soaking out of both sides of their mouth.
      - hamdingers 6mo ago
        The reason for that is explained in the comment you replied to, you just have to put the pieces together.
turtlebits 6mo ago
100% this. If it was DIYable, its an order of magnitude cheaper. I have leftover panels from an off grid install, and its extremely hard to get an approved permit for a small roof solar array + off the shelf AIO (Ecoflow/Anker)
- declan_roberts 6mo ago
  What's the challenge you're seeing?

gpm 6mo ago

At the consumer scale the biggest thing we could do is follow the german model of panels that can be plugged into an outlet and installed in an hour by any homeowner (with the same capacity limits and requirements on the panels electronics to protect the grid/line workers during power outages). That said I'm pretty sure that grid-scale solar is the future of most solar energy, not home solar. It's just cheaper to do things in bigger batches.

balderdash 6mo ago
This statement is 100% correct, but I think is wrong - utility scale solar is 100% more efficient and cheaper to build at scale, the problem is finding large parcels of land to put it on that are close to where the power consumption is, as well as the complexity and cost associated with grid interconnection (and transition if it not close to demand) Edit: though if we ever get to self driving cars there should be a whole lot of parking lots in metro areas that aren’t needed.
therealdrag0 6mo ago
Balcony solar legislation is well underway in dozens of states. But the capacity is still very small. Like 10% of a household.

hamdingers 6mo ago

There's been a wave of legislation[1] introduced in the US to legalize so-called "balcony solar," small grid-tied solar systems that plug into a regular household outlet with zero permitting or interconnect requirements. This is already common in Europe, it's mildly complicated by our split-phase system but not much. The reason for the high burden today is people have developed an inflated sense of how much the kWh they generate is worth. They install massive systems on their roofs to try to "cancel out" their power bill by exporting their entire daily power consumption over the course of a few sunny hours, which (when all their neighbors do the same) ends up being a costly burden for grid operators who then pass the costs on to users without panels. Smaller systems focused on immediate, local consumption rather than export are much better for the grid which is why they have support. 1. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/balcony-solar-taking-state-legislatures-by-storm https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/balcony-solar-tak...

declan_roberts 6mo ago
"Costly burden" is an incredible statement. The utilities get what is effectively free electricity generation. Remember every solar customer still pays the grid connection fee, which goes to maintain the grid. They love to market a "green energy" plan where they pay you 3c for your exported power and charge somebody miles away 25c for it!
- hamdingers 6mo ago
  It's a true statement and a real problem. These wildcat megawatt-scale generation facilities built on top of suburban neighborhoods produce an un-curtail-able midday oversupply of electricity driving energy prices into the negative. The power has to go somewhere, SoCal grid operators have to pay real money to neighboring grids to accept the energy being generated while also paying the homeowner who generated it. No grid connection fee comes close to covering this, it's paid for by increasing rates for everyone else. Net metering was a stupid deal cooked up by politicians who are incapable of systems thinking, or simply decided appealing to suburban voters was more important than grid stability. It's getting better[1] but still a problem, and the solutions being pursued are: discourage export in favor of onsite storage (done by NEM 3.0) and encourage smaller solar installs (balcony solar). 1. https://www.caiso.com/content/monthly-market-performance/jan-2026/executive-summary.html#:~:text=The%20cumulative%20frequency%20of%20prices,2.59%20percent%20in%202026%20January. https://www.caiso.com/content/monthly-market-performance/jan...
  - declan_roberts 6mo ago
    I'll believe they're serious about this problem when they stop charging TOU customers PEAK DEMAND prices during the duck curve. They're soaking out of both sides of their mouth.
    - hamdingers 6mo ago
      The reason for that is explained in the comment you replied to, you just have to put the pieces together.

turtlebits 6mo ago

100% this. If it was DIYable, its an order of magnitude cheaper. I have leftover panels from an off grid install, and its extremely hard to get an approved permit for a small roof solar array + off the shelf AIO (Ecoflow/Anker)

declan_roberts 6mo ago
What's the challenge you're seeing?