Rooftop Solar

Michigan’s local leaders overwhelmingly support adding rooftop solar infrastructure in their communities, while a majority strongly oppose developing nuclear power. Those are among the key findings in the latest Michigan Public Policy Survey conducted by the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy. It presents the views of local government leaders statewide on a range of topics regarding local energy issues—in particular, their assessment of the amount of energy infrastructure in their communities and feelings on building more of it. According to the survey, 86% of respondents either strongly or somewhat support adding rooftop solar panels. The survey found some regional variation: Rooftop solar drew support from 83% of leaders in the Upper Peninsula, while garnering 89% support from southeastern Michigan officials. The favorability drops with other types of energy infrastructure: A majority (60%) support new electr...

In areas where storms or extreme heat and cold have knocked out the power for days at a time, people are starting to ask whether investing in rooftop solar and battery storage systems can keep the lights on and the air conditioner running when the power grid can’t. When the grid goes down, most solar systems that lack a battery will also shut down. But with batteries, a home can disconnect from the grid. Each day, the sun powers the home and charges up the batteries, which provide power through the night. Our team at Berkeley Lab explored what it would take for homes and commercial buildings to ride out long power outages, of three days or more, with solar and batteries. How much can solar + storage do? For a 2022 report, we modeled a generic power outage for every county in the U.S., testing whether a rooftop solar system combined with a 10- or 30-kilowatt-hour battery could power critical loads, like refrigeration, lighting, internet service and well pumps; if it could...