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.
Delaware neighborhood on edge after masked men with apparent weapons knock on doors of homes
Trump says he’d ‘love’ to have Sen. John Fetterman as a Republican amid growing speculation
Trump says he will ‘make a decision’ on Pentagon’s plans to livestream Nidal Hasan’s firing squad execution
Toxicology reports reveal same controlled substances in 2 Ole Miss students found dead: court docs
President talks ‘Trump Ocean,’ trades jokes with Tennessee crowd as Kid Rock kicks off sprawling rally
Supreme Court climate case could bankrupt oil companies, send gas prices soaring, experts warn
Trump calls for Ukraine to replace Zelenskyy after clash over Russia diesel deal: ‘Get a new president’
Christa Pike discharged from hospital, returned to prison after botched execution, attorneys say
That Time an Activist Claimed 13 Million Blacks Are Killed by Police Each Year, Then Claimed ER Trip After the Internet Mocked Him
5-Time WNBA MVP Gets Roasted for Award Acceptance Speech That Ignores Her Past
President Trump blasts Nobel Peace Prize snub with blistering list of accomplishments: ‘WOW!’
Judicial Watch’s Thomas Fitton slams FBI’s ‘drip-drip’ release for 75,000 pages of Trump-Butler shooting files
Trump Admin Finally Restores Sanity Back to Title IX, Erases Biden’s Crazy Trans Sports Agenda
Democrats Campaigning Against Their Own Congressional Nominee Who Happens to Be in Federal Prison
Boxing Legend Mike Tyson Delivers Controversial Letter to Trump, Makes Bold Midterm Prediction
“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.
