Greg Quetel is the kind of guy who likes to work on his own house instead of hiring a contractor to do the work. For the last couple of years, he’s been doing just that at his mobile home in central Vermont.
He moved to East Montpelier after his home of 20 years was flooded in 2023. And since then, he’s dealt with high energy bills and frequent power outages — something a lot of people in rural mobile home communities are familiar with.
“I’m trying to do everything as energy efficiently as I can for two reasons: No. 1, to save energy and money, and No. 2, because I’m curious about how I can do that without spending an exorbitant amount of money,” Quetel said.
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Before installing heat pumps this past year, Quetel spent about $3,000 every winter to fill up his above-ground fuel tank with kerosene, the most expensive heating fuel.
He insulated his new home, and that saved some money and made things more comfortable. But he’d love to find a way to save on his electric bill. Solar panels seem like a natural next step, but he sees three big barriers to installing regular solar panels at his home: They’re expensive, they’re too heavy for his roof, and he doesn’t have the land to put them elsewhere.
Climate advocates and community organizers hope smaller plug-in solar panels could help fill the gap for people like Quetel and chip away at the region’s dependence on fossil fuels for electricity.
All six New England states have been weighing legislation that would make installing the panels easier, while navigating questions about safety and the old wiring in many of the region’s homes.
How they work
Plug-in solar panels work like conventional solar arrays to harness energy from the sun to generate electricity. But unlike a larger array, these smaller systems plug directly into a wall outlet to send those electrons right into the wires that power your home, offsetting the amount of electricity your appliances draw from the grid.
A typical system consists of a few small panels. If paired with a battery, they can keep key appliances running during a power outage.
They are also much cheaper than conventional solar power.
In Vermont, it costs on average about $30,000 to install conventional rooftop solar panels. Most people have to take on debt to do it, and while many systems yield savings over time, data shows that low-income households and people of color in the state face steep barriers to access. It’s a dynamic that stymies political support for solar subsidies and projects around the state.
Smaller portable solar arrays that can be installed without an electrician have been in use in Europe for more than a decade.
The panels can be a good fit for people who don’t own their own home, or who don’t control their roof or land — renters, but also people living in condos, apartments and mobile homes. These smaller arrays are also sometimes known as balcony solar.
“People thought, ‘Well, why can't I just plug it into a regular plug, like an appliance like my fan or my hair dryer or my toaster oven? And so they did,” says Rupert Mayer, of the solar advocacy group Bright Saver.
Unlike traditional solar arrays, which sell power back to the grid, the energy generated by these panels flows first to lights and appliances in the home where they’re installed.
If any power is left over, it would likely get used by neighbors, placing relatively little strain on the electrical infrastructure we collectively depend on and pay for as utility customers — a concern utilities frequently raise about larger arrays.
In Europe, Mayer says a portable solar system paired with a battery costs less than a thousand dollars, and can be purchased at IKEA. Increasingly, environmental advocates in New England are asking: Why not in the United States, too?
Right now, plug-in panels are legal in Virginia and Utah. They cost about $2,000 in the United States, but Mayer, with Bright Saver, says prices came down dramatically in Europe after they were regulated and authorized. He expects panels to become cheaper in the United States in the years to come, once companies can establish a supply chain here.
Safety concerns
Just how easy it should be to install the panels is a matter of debate.
Proponents of plug-in solar say the panels are safe and straightforward. They cite research from Germany, where more than a million panels have been installed largely without incident.
But industry experts say there are key differences between the wiring in homes in New England and those in Europe.
Namely, New England has some of the oldest housing stock in the country — much of it built out of wood. Many homes lack modern electrical infrastructure, and in Vermont, electricians have raised concerns that plug-in solar panels could increase the risk of an electrical fire if people plug them in without knowing what’s in their walls.
For example, if plug-in solar panels were available at the hardware store, a consumer could plug them into an outlet that’s in the middle of a meandering circuit only designed to accommodate a few appliances, and cause it to overheat.
In some states across the country, electric utilities have also lobbied successfully against portable solar, raising concerns about how the panels will affect lineworkers if they continue to generate power during outages. That’s stalled legislation in those states, despite reassurance from advocates that the technology comes with a built-in automated shut off to avoid this.
Mayer at Bright Saver insists the technology is safe, so long as a home is wired to meet national electrical code — though enforcement can be inconsistent, especially in older homes.
He and others point out that people can freely purchase and use gas-powered generators without red tape, with no issue. Still, concerns about safety have led legislatures to consider rules that could make it harder for renters to access the technology.
Legislation pending
More than 30 states nationwide are weighing bills to authorize plug-in solar. This month, Maine became the first state in New England to pass a law authorizing plug-in solar.
To address some of the safety concerns, Maine lawmakers voted to treat small plug-in solar systems of 420W or less like generators, meaning they won’t require connection agreements with utility companies. But the law will require larger systems to be capped at 1,200W and have a dedicated circuit and breaker, and be installed by an electrician.
Vermont lawmakers are weighing similar provisions.
In its current iteration, Vermont’s legislation would allow plug-in arrays of up to 1,200W to bypass review by the Public Utility Commission and electric utilities, so long as they meet new standards established this year by the independent science safety reviewer UL Solutions.
Utilities and regulators in Vermont have so far supported the technology in testimony to legislators.
Among other things, those groups have said they would also like to see a requirement that homes have smart meters installed, to make sure the utility doesn’t have to pay for power unintentionally injected back onto the grid.
Electrical workers and firefighters in Vermont have lobbied for a requirement that people adding the new solar panels set up a dedicated electrical circuit for them, regardless of their size, to reduce the chance for electrical accidents and fires.
Vermont’s Legislature looks likely to pass the bill, and it’s supported by the governor.
Vermont Rep. Kathleen James, D-Bennington, who chairs the House committee that deals with energy policy, says she sees promise for the technology in the state.
“’I’m interested in making sure that as this market evolves we’ve got safety considerations in place so that folks who want to do it now can,” she told her committee in March. “Ten years from now, I’d love for these to be cheap and safe and you can go and pick one up at Home Depot.”
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire are all considering similar legislation and navigating the same concerns about the technology.
Grassroots organizers get ready
Advocates for plug in solar are concerned that some of the measures lawmakers are adding for safety will block renters from taking advantage of the technology. Requiring new circuitry increases costs and wait times, and could be a barrier for people who don’t own their home.
Ben Edgerly-Walsh with Vermont Public Interest Research Group, which has lobbied for the bill, says it’s disappointing the panels may not be the quick fix advocates had hoped they’d be for renters, but the technology is evolving quickly and he hopes legislation at least lays the groundwork for greater access in the future.
“It’s not going to be a day one reality, but everything we're seeing suggests that a plug and play version of portable solar is going to ultimately be available in the United States, just like it has been for years in Germany,” Edgerly-Walsh said.
In Vermont, some rural organizers are getting ready for when the legislation passes, and they see mobile home communities as a good place to start. People in these communities own their own homes, but often spend a disproportionate portion of their income on energy.
The national nonprofit Bright Saver, which advocates for plug-in solar, estimates a typical system could save a manufactured home resident 20% on their electric bill.
Henry Bonges is the Town Energy Committee chair in Milton, in northern Vermont, a town with 250 mobile homes within its borders, a large proportion of which are Section 8 housing.
He’s been going door to door in the community and sharing information about plug-in solar. He says a lot of people he talks to don’t have time to worry about climate change. But they do worry about their bills.
“When I talk to people about solar, renewable energy, I leave ‘save the planet’ out of it, you know? That’s because as soon as you mention that, it sounds like, ‘Oh, you're a bunch of do gooders. OK? They're going to just spend a bunch of money on something that's in the future, and I worry about now,’” he said. “And so I stick to the finances.”
Greg Quetel in East Montpelier is also hoping he gets the opportunity to try the new technology — provided it’s safe, affordable and available in Vermont.
‘“It’s pretty exciting, really, when you think about it, to get your energy from the sun,” Quetel said. “I mean, who wouldn't want to save a few bucks on their energy, especially if it's easy?”
