WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — Right now there are two bills in the General Assembly that could make adding solar to your house as easy as plugging in a new fridge.
Sponsors hope it will give North Carolinians more options to expand clean energy and lower their power bills.
“Every time those rates go up our solar becomes more valuable,” said Nancy LaPlaca, a volunteer for Third Act.
She loves having solar on her Boone home, but said, “it took quite a lot” to get it approved.
Besides investing tens of thousands of dollars, LaPlaca says she spent months negotiating with her utility to make it work.
That’s why she’s hoping soon anyone interested in solar will have an easier option.
“In Germany, you can go to Ikea, or even your local grocery store, in some cases, buy a solar panel, bring it home, plug it into the wall, and that’s it,” said Cora Stryker, the co-founder of Bright Saver, a nonprofit advocating for the technology.
It’s called plug-in or balcony solar. Stryker says the U.S. is just starting to see the potential.
These systems are small, usually one to four panels, enough to cover up to 15% of your household electricity.
But Stryker says that’s 15% you’re not paying every month from a one-time purchase that’s safe and easy to install, and doesn’t require your utility’s approval.
“You really can’t have these cumbersome applications for interconnection processes, it raises the cost, you need wait times, it’s just the self-install model that is going to make this benefit millions of households in the United States,” Stryker said.
Stryker says she’s been working with states from Utah to Virginia to pass plug-in solar legislation. Setting safety standards and cutting red tape.
She hopes North Carolina can join the growing list soon.
Meanwhile, LaPlaca hopes it opens up solar as an option for many across the state.
“You’re looking at a system that provides resiliency, lower costs and long term it’s a real benefit to the customers,” said LaPlaca.
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