California sends balcony solar bill to the governor

California's legislature passed SB 868, the Plug and Play Solar Act, in August 2026 and sent it to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Authored by Sen. Scott Wiener and sponsored by the Environmental Working Group and the Abundance Network, the bill would let residents of apartments, condos, and single-family homes buy a plug-in solar kit at retail and simply plug it in.

Newsom has 30 days to act. Until he signs, plug-in solar is not yet legal in California — but as the country's largest energy market, a signature here would meaningfully change the size of the U.S. balcony solar market.

What SB 868 would do

• Systems capped at 1,200W of output — enough for a fridge, lights, Wi-Fi, and a window AC unit.
• No utility interconnection agreement required, removing the cost and delay that has blocked small systems.
• All equipment must be certified by UL or an equivalent national testing laboratory.
• Systems must shut off automatically within seconds if the grid goes down, protecting utility line workers.

The 2030 sunset

The Assembly amended the bill at the utilities' request to sunset the interconnection exemption on January 1, 2030. That still gives the market roughly four years to develop, and the legislature can remove or extend the sunset before it arrives.

Where California fits

Utah was first in 2025, and several other states have enacted plug-in solar laws since. California joins New York as a state with a balcony solar bill sitting on the governor's desk. We'll update this page as soon as Newsom acts.