Balcony panels are awaiting governor's signature in California: https://www.kqed.org/science/2001842/california-lawmakers-gr...

(it looks like NY & NJ are in the same boat)

I briefly sub-contracted for a bayarea startup (which was funded by an EU subsidiary), where we covertly installed several "test demonstrations" throughout the bay area (just a few dozen, each ~500W) – this was not legal when performed ~2010-2011~, done "for research," but was installed by licensed electricians (just not permitted, as PG&E did not allow this).

Surprisingly, several are still known-to-be operating; aerial mapping confirms that many more are at least still physically-present. This US subsidiary "folded" shortly after the installations went online.

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The coolest installation was using PG&E's "time-of-day" utility rates, along with the homeowner's medical exemption (which allows you more kWHs before being charged higher rates), to lower a small medical marijuana grow from $2k/month to ~$500/month (LEDs growlamps barely existed, back then):

•) During the daytime, the growrooms would be "OFF" [PGE charging 45¢/kWH], and the microsolar would literally offset all the auxilary needs of the grow&house

•) During winter nights, PG&E would literally pay you to burn excess grid capacity [@-3¢/kWH], so all grow rooms would be running @MAX. All year, nights were 5X+ cheaper to consume electricity

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Since California is so-well-connected to its neighboring utilities, its primary daytime-electric generator (grid solar) can instantaneously sell to the PNW grid [and does]; this allows them to similarly-reduce their own fuel expenditures (albeit at the much-larger scale of national grids).

<https://www.eia.gov/electricity/gridmonitor/dashboard/electr...>

tl;dr: feel bad for the dumb US state which chooses to intentionally self-isolate (i.e. Texas' ERCOT), and thus cannot persevere through predictable 10-year winterstorms [modern news: Texas' current attempt to privatize Austin Energy™, a public coop that provides flat-rate power, inexpensively, protecting Central Texans from surprise winter heating bills]

People similarly started fence mounting solar panels

legal in both Utah and Colorado - which have ample sunshine!