The California Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee has unanimously voted 14-0 in favour of a bill for balcony solar.

  • homura1650
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    2 months ago

    From the proposed law:

    A portable solar generation device is exempt from all interconnection requirements imposed by state law, the commission, electrical corporation rules, or local publicly owned electric utility rules, including, but not limited to, any requirement to enter into an interconnection agreement.

    https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb868

    There is nothing in the bill that would prevent a landlord from prohibiting balcony solar. I have also never heard of a landlord banning balcony solar; and do not see why they would.

    There is also nothing in the bill about banning HOAs from banning balcony solar; and I could absolutely imagine them doing so.

    • blitzen@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      That is a very good clarification, and clearly does not specify the conclusion that I jumped to, that landlords (like apartment managers) could not prohibit them. Like HOAs, I could absolutely see them prohibiting them for ascetic or “safety” reasons.

      A portable solar generation device is exempt from all interconnection requirements imposed by state law, the commission, electrical corporation rules, or local publicly owned electric utility rules, including, but not limited to, any requirement to enter into an interconnection agreement.

      You’ll likely point to the “imposed by state law” verbiage which is a fair point. I’m not aware of any current state laws prohibiting it, but I could be mistaken. But I read something much more to my point: “exempt from all interconnection requirements imposed by… electrical corporation rules, or local publicly owned electric utility rules.” I continue to read this not as permission from the government to do something, but rather protection by the government from private entities stopping you.

      • homura1650
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        2 months ago

        Electrical utilities are a highly regulated monopoly. They are about as close to being a part of the government that any non governmental agency could be.

      • fodor@lemmy.zip
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        2 months ago

        I had assumed what you had assumed, and what you had assumed is true in the country where I live. The problem over here is the landlords.

        Of course the power companies don’t have to try to do anything because the landlords are currently blocking it all, so that’s not to say the power companies have good intentions, it’s just that we don’t know.