Balcony solar and EVs are giving consumers a greater role in grid flexibility

**Dan Testa** (0:04)
Hello, and welcome to Energy Evolution, the podcast where we explore the ups and downs of the energy transition.
But in today's episode, we're going to be talking about energy transition. And we're going to be talking about how we're going to use energy projects. But in today's episode, we're looking at smaller home energy generation, some developing technologies. We're going to be delving into plug-in solar, which is also sometimes called balcony solar, and vehicle to grid. Now, for both of these technologies, energy generation is really getting put in the hands of an everyday homeowner or a renter or any consumer who simply plugs in a solar device or electric vehicle to send energy to the home or grid. We're seeing growing interest in both of these kinds of tech. There's a lot to discuss here. It's very new. In this episode, we're going to explore what plug-in solar and vehicle to grid are and how they can be used, what we're seeing in the market for these, and how these could continue to emerge and grow and push the broader industry. Joining me to talk about this today is Kirsten Errick, a reporter who we've had on before who covers solar for Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.
For this episode, Kirsten interviewed Cora Stryker, co-founder of Bright Saver, a plug-in solar company, and Aseem Kapur, Chief Revenue Officer at GM Energy. Hey, Kirsten, welcome back. Thanks for being here.

**Kirsten Errick** (1:32)
Yeah. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to chat about this.

**Dan Testa** (1:35)
Me too. So just, I guess, starting with the basics, what is plug-in solar?

**Kirsten Errick** (1:41)
Yeah. So the name is what it sounds like. So it's a small solar system that you plug in. There's no hard wiring. You simply plug it into a standard outlet. There are some different technical aspects that make that safe to do. It's also sometimes referred to as balcony solar because you'll often see it installed on balconies, which makes it good for renters or homeowners who can't have rooftop solar.
It generates a small amount of power, but depending on the size of the system, it can be enough to power an appliance like a fridge. So it's just really reducing your load on the grid. It's not going to replace that.

**Dan Testa** (2:20)
Wow. So that's it. You really are just plugging it in?

**Kirsten Errick** (2:25)
It's as simple as that. You're really just plugging it in as long as the system meets requirements that make it safe. So people are familiar with plugging something into an outlet, whether that's a lamp, a phone charger, a toaster, or whatever else. So in that sense, people are familiar with the concept and it's accessible to people. But once you plug the plug-in or balcony solar into the outlet, that's when people's understanding of how the outlet works and how this works changes. So the biggest difference is that normally the device you plug into an outlet takes power from the outlet to power whatever you just plugged in.
This is the opposite of that. You're plugging in the balcony solar into an outlet and that's sending power into your home's electrical system by plugging that in. There's an inverter and other components and requirements that make that work safely.

**Dan Testa** (3:23)
Right. So where are we with balcony solar in terms of adoption and regulation? I mean, it's all still pretty nascent and new at this point.

**Kirsten Errick** (3:33)
Yeah. So for plug-in solar, it's in the early stages. There's a handful of states including Utah, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut that all have laws for this. Some of the laws haven't taken effect yet, so you'll really start to see that in the coming months. But dozens of other states have introduced legislation. Utah was the first state to pass legislation in March 2025, while most of the other states that I just mentioned have passed legislation within the past few months. But this is really popular in other places like Germany. There are some safety concerns, particularly because it's not being hardwired by a professional, which would be different from, let's say, rooftop solar.
Some of the differences in the system need to be built in. Utilities have pointed out that plug-in solar is on the load side of the breaker rather than the supply side, and that that can present some safety concerns. One is sending power back to the grid in the case of a blackout, which could harm line men working. That's something that several utilities have expressed concerns about. Another concern is overloading your house, which could be an electrical fire hazard. Also not good.