The legislature has passed a bill easing the way for Coloradans to buy one-panel solar power kits and plug them into their apartment walls to cut their electricity bills, the kind of “balcony solar” that has quickly become extremely popular in Europe.
Sponsoring legislators expect Gov. Jared Polis to sign it, and the governor’s office said Polis, a Democrat, is in favor of expanding access to clean, renewable energy and will take a careful look at House Bill 1007.
“Breaking down barriers to solar energy for Coloradans is an important way to save people money on energy and Governor Polis does not want red tape and bureaucracy from local governments, utilities or HOAs to prevent Coloradans from utilizing portable solar energy,” a spokesperson for the governor said.
Rep. Rebekah Stewart, who cosponsored the legislation, called it an opportunity for Coloradans to lower their utility bills.
“Safety is top of mind for us, and this bill outlines safety standards for plug-in solar devices and meter collars,” said Stewart, D-Lakewood. “Renters and those living in shared spaces will soon have more opportunities to consider solar at an affordable price point thanks to our bill.”
Cosponsor Rep. Lesley Smith, D-Boulder, said Colorado would become the third state to make balcony solar an option for consumers.
“In Colorado, we have three hundred days of sunshine,” Smith said. “It’s time to let apartment dwellers and those that can’t afford rooftop solar take advantage of the clean energy provided by the sun to lower their utility bills.”
One portable panel the size of a full-length mirror can plug directly into home or apartment sockets or one of the increasingly popular home storage batteries. They can be bolted to a deck or patio or hung out a window, generating enough electricity to power crucial appliances like refrigerators or store up enough energy for an outage lasting a few hours.
Technology improvements, regulatory reform and a growing audience of solar-educated consumers are pushing legislatures across the country for laws requiring regulators and utilities to ease installation and acceptance of the panels. Homeowners who can’t afford a $30,000 rooftop system, or apartment dwellers who wanted in on solar savings, point to Utah’s recent passage of a bill and are urging their Colorado representatives to do the same, state legislators have said.
A plug-in system with a storage battery should be available for about $2,000 when the Colorado market opens up after the expected signing of House Bill 1007, solar industry representatives say. They are excited about a popular new product at a time when federal subsidies and rules have turned against renewable energy.
According to the bill, consumers would not need approval from retail or wholesale electric providers before installing the devices, and no one can impose “unreasonable” conditions on installing and using the panels.
A second part of the bill would ease the way for so-called “meter collars,” a receptacle plug-in to a home’s existing electric meter that makes a safe two-way connection to the grid for a full rooftop solar array, with a large battery storage system. The collars can be installed for about $500 to $700, and preclude the need for a full electrical circuit panel upgrade that can run up to $10,000.
Later versions of the bill included additions to allow the local utility to require notification when a new device will be installed, assurances that installed equipment has been approved by independent testing labs like UL, and allowances for reasonable limits on the size, location and secure installation to satisfy apartment landlords.