Advances in solar power

For the last eight years we lived in St. Louis, we had rooftop solar. Ameren paid half the cost, and we got a 30% tax write-off on the rest. The 22 panels only exceeded consumption for a couple months a year. The total savings didn’t pay off the investment. No matter, we did our part to combat global warming in a state where >70% of electricity was generated from coal.

Solar options have proliferated since we got involved:

“Plug-in solar, also called balcony or DIY solar, has taken off in Europe, especially in Germany, where perhaps 4 million households have installed systems that can be purchased from places like Ikea. Customers buy small panels, typically about the size of half a ping-pong table, then plug them into an electrical outlet. Energy flows from the panels into the home to power up appliances. Set up can be measured in minutes.

“The units, which come with an inverter, range in capacity, typically between 200 and 1,200 watts, supplying enough power for a laptop up to a refrigerator, along with other home appliances.”

Here in Rhode Island, we get our electricity from a solar farm. Most folks here get their electricity from natural gas. We’re not gonna get rooftop solar because (a) we have too many tall trees and (b) cutting down trees to install solar panels isn’t my idea of “green energy.”

 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/12/opinion/plug-in-solar-massachusetts-bills/

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