Californians have embraced rooftop solar panels more than anyone in the U.S., but many are learning the hard way the systems won’t keep the lights on during blackouts.
That’s because most panels are designed to supply power to the grid — not directly to houses. During the heat of the day, solar systems can crank out more juice than a home can handle. Conversely, they don’t produce power at all at night. So systems are tied into the grid, and the vast majority aren’t working this week as PG&E Corp. cuts power to much of Northern California to prevent wildfires.
The only way for most solar panels to work during a blackout is pairing them with batteries. That market is just starting to take off. Sunrun Inc., the largest U.S. rooftop solar company, said some of its customers are making it through the blackouts with batteries, but it’s a tiny group — countable in the hundreds.
Ernst burnishes pork-cutting credentials by leading DOGE Senate Caucus
As MSNBC Ratings Crater After Election, Network Gives Rachel Maddow Brutal New Deal: Report
Daniel Penny’s Defense Rests with Huge Courtroom Point About ‘Victim’: Here’s What Cops Would Have Seen Running Neely’s Info
Texas AG sues Dallas for decriminalizing marijuana
Democrat Election Official Apologizes for Shameful Comments After State Supreme Court Ruling
The North Pole cold war: US and NATO bolstering national security in Arctic region
Who is Pam Bondi, Trump’s new pick for attorney general?
Biden makes final push for student loan forgiveness before Trump takes office
Biden could ‘best’ Trump’s judicial record after Senate deal
24 states’ attorneys general call on Supreme Court to keep biological boys out of girls sports
Human smugglers convicted after Indian family freezes to death trying to illegally cross northern border
Filibuster flip-flop: Senate Democrats ready to embrace tool to stonewall Trump
Texas man convicted after saying he mutilated victims, ate human heart as part of ‘ritualistic sacrifices’
Trump’s sway over Republicans stronger than ever, but Sununu says GOP still a ‘big-tent party’
Trump will appoint ‘dozens’ of judges, experts say, despite Dems ramming through nominees in lame-duck session
“It’s the perfect combination for getting through these shutdowns,” Sunrun Chairman Ed Fenster said in an interview. He expects battery sales to boom in the wake of the outages.
And no, trying to run appliances off the power in a Tesla Inc. electric car won’t work, at least without special equipment.
Story cited here.
