VOSD Podcast: Plug-in Blues

Rooftop solar is all the rage, but what if you don’t own the space above your home? Environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer joins the show this week to discuss SB 868, a bill that would make it easier to for renters and condo owners to use plug-in solar panels. Yes, but: SDG&E isn’t totally fired up about the legislation. The company is raising concerns about worker safety but supporters of “balcony solar” say it’s safe. Here’s Elmer explaining what went down at a recent meeting. (Editor’s note: Edited for length and clarity.) Elmer (38:30): “The utility company, SDG&E … they sent a representative to a committee hearing in the Assembly. She sat up there and she said, ‘I have multiple incidents where … our workers found that solar had been sending power back through the grid when we thought that the line was actually down.’ The utility’s lines need to be down, no electricity can be flowing through them in order for it to be safe for the workers to work on the line. So that’s the concern.”