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Featured in Factory floor – 09-2026

Socket to the sun

Ten states in the United States have passed laws permitting plug-in solar, with more to follow imminently. Low-income households, renters and temporary workers under pressure from high electricity bills are welcoming plug-in solar as a low-cost, portable and convenient solution. Precise business models have yet to emerge and there are technical and regulatory teething problems to address, as industry figures tell pv magazine.
Blathnaid O’Dea
By
Blathnaid O’Dea
Plug-in solar and storage is coming to balconies and patios across the United States. The plug-in market is already well established in several European markets. | Photo: Triplec85, CC-BY-SA 4.0

Over the next few months, competition will take care of cost parity sooner rather than later and prices in the United States are likely to eventually resemble those in Europe’s more mature plug-in solar market. Utah became the first US state to pass legislation allowing portable solar generation devices in May 2025. Maryland, Maine, Colorado, …

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