Plug-In Solar, Explained

PJM has filed a proposed framework to address a rapid increase in electricity demand from certain new, very large customers—including data centers. In this episode, Lisa and Mike explain what the proposal would do during serious grid shortages, why PJM says it is needed, and why it should not be mistaken for a final household-rate decision.

The proposal would create an Interim Resource Adequacy Service, or IRAS, for certain ne...

PG&E, Rewiring America, Google, and a group of technology and home-energy partners have announced SHARE—Smart Home Assets for Reliability and Efficiency. This Bay Area virtual-power-plant proof of concept tests whether coordinated home devices and targeted high-efficiency upgrades can add local grid flexibility while improving participating households’ comfort and energy management.

SHARE has two announced components...

PG&E has expanded its Vehicle-to-Everything, or V2X, pilot with additional eligible vehicle-and-charger combinations. In this episode, Lisa and Mike explain what that expansion means for California EV owners—and the crucial detail that an EV battery alone does not make a home-backup system.

We unpack the difference between V2X, vehicle-to-home, and vehicle-to-grid; the exact product-pairing requirement behind eligibility; ...

For years, the residential-solar equation has assumed that you own the roof. Rent an apartment, live in a condominium or co-op, or share control of a building exterior, and the path to solar becomes much harder. That access gap caught the attention of New Jersey Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese after he read about plug-in solar’s potential for people who pay an electric bill but do not control a rooftop. The result is the Garden...

One email. One constituent. Eight months later, Virginia had a new plug-in solar law. But H.B. 395 did not begin as a finished legislative package from a utility, a trade association, or a solar company. It began when Alexandria resident Jamie Bacon read about Utah’s new balcony-solar law, recognized an opportunity for renters and condominium residents, and asked Delegate Paul Krizek whether Virginia could build its own pathw...

If your state has not enacted a plug-in solar law, you may still be able to use solar—but the legal, technical, and safety answer starts with a critical distinction: whether the system stays independent of utility wiring or operates in parallel with it.

In this Plug-In Solar Deep Dive episode, Lisa and Mike separate three commonly confused paths: truly off-grid systems for non-utility-served structures; portable/standalone sol...

A virtual power plant, or VPP, is a software-coordinated network of distributed energy resources—such as batteries, EV chargers, smart thermostats, water heaters, and solar-plus-storage systems. Rather than building one physical power plant, a VPP organizes many opt-in devices to respond together under a defined utility or grid program.

In this Plug-In Solar Deep Dive episode, Lisa and Mike explain why controllable devices lea...

Can plug-in solar charge an EV? The honest answer is that it can offset a portion of your EV’s energy use—not replace a Level 2 charger or cover average daily driving on its own. Using the article’s representative assumptions, a 400W system produces about 1.53 kWh per day, or roughly five miles of EV driving energy for a vehicle using 30 kWh per 100 miles.

In this Plug-In Solar Deep Dive episode, Lisa and Mike walk...

PJM Interconnection reported a preliminary estimated all-time peak load of 168,158 MW between 5 and 6 p.m. on July 2, 2026—above its prior 2006 record. The regional grid operator also estimated preliminary demand-response performance of about 6,113 MW that day as extreme heat and forced generation outages pressured the system.

In this episode, Lisa and Mike unpack what the record means, including the emergency tools PJM used a...

A new Section 232 proclamation establishes a minimum import price of $0.38 per watt for covered imported solar modules, plus an additional 15% ad valorem duty on specified downstream polysilicon derivatives. The measures apply to covered goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after December 4, 2026.

In this episode, Lisa and Mike explain a critical distinction: an import-price floor is not ...

Great Britain’s new plug-in solar rules take effect on August 27, 2026. UK Statutory Instrument 2026/848 creates a defined regulatory pathway for qualifying plug-in microgenerators: solar-only devices with a maximum rated AC output of 800 watts that meet the government’s Interim Product Specification.

In this PluginSolarUS Latest News episode, Lisa and Mike explain the legal change in plain English, including why the rul...

Utilities sought approximately $9.2 billion in electric and gas rate increases during the second quarter of 2026, according to PowerLines’ review of state filings. That is a measure of requested increases—not a single nationwide increase that has already been approved or applied to every bill. Individual cases remain subject to state regulatory proceedings.

In this PluginSolarUS Latest News episode, Lisa and Mike explain...

Could a small plug-in solar system be a practical first step for your café, retail store, farm stand, home office, or other small business? In this first episode of The B2B Energy Playbook, Lisa and Mike explain when a small system can make sense—and when it cannot.

They break down the article’s 800-watt planning illustration, why actual savings depend on daylight demand, rates, shade, placement, and operating hours, and...

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives passed HB 1239 by a 109–93 vote on July 1, 2026. The measure would prohibit condominium and planned-community associations from barring solar energy systems on certain individually owned, non-common “detached roofs.” It is not law yet: official legislative records show that the bill is pending in the Pennsylvania Senate’s Urban Affairs and Housing Committee.

In th...

New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities has released a draft, approximately $68 million Virtual Power Plant program that would coordinate customer-owned batteries, smart thermostats, EV chargers, and other distributed energy resources to reduce peak demand. The proposed interim program would launch no later than July 1, 2027, subject to public input and future Board action. 

In this PluginSolarUS Latest News episode, Lisa ...

When you track plug-in solar policy across the country, you start to notice a pattern: most states treat these bills as standalone gadgets. They write a specific law about a specific solar device. But Maryland did something entirely different. They looked at plug-in solar and recognized it not just as a consumer product, but as an equity tool and a way to directly lower utility bills for the 27 percent of Maryland households that r...

On July 28, 2026, the FCC added foreign-produced power inverters to its Covered List, immediately blocking new models from receiving U.S. market authorization. For the plug-in solar industry—which relies heavily on foreign-manufactured microinverters with built-in Wi-Fi—the timing of this national security determination could not be more consequential.

In our first Latest News episode, Lisa and Mike break down the critic...

New York is home to nearly four million renter-occupied households. In a state where half the population does not own the roof over their heads, traditional solar policy simply does not work for the average resident. The state has pushed hard on community solar and utility green-power programs, but for years, the path to direct, tangible solar ownership for urban renters and apartment dwellers remained firmly closed. The SUNNY Act ...

You've seen the ads promising that a plug-in solar system will pay for itself in two years and generate free power forever. But marketing math and real-world math are rarely the same thing. So how do you calculate what a system will actually save you, in your specific location, on your specific utility rate?

In this episode, Lisa and Mike strip away the hype and walk through the exact formula for calculating plug-in solar savings. T...