New Jersey’s legislature has passed a bill to enable plug-in solar in the state without opposition, becoming the tenth state to advance such legislation for plug-in solar specifically.
The Garden State Balcony Solar Act was approved by the state’s Senate, with a vote of 40 in favour and zero opposition, and the state’s Assembly, with 79 votes in favour and one abstention.
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The bill enables residents to install a solar system with a maximum output of 1,200W and connect this system to a building’s electrical system “though a standard 120V AC outlet”, according to the text of the bill, allowing such systems to be literally plugged into the buildings on which they are installed. These systems have been alternatively referred to as plug-in solar or ‘balcony solar’.
The 1,200W output figure is the same figure used in plug-in solar legislation in other states, including Utah, the first to pass such a law, and more recent advances such as Maine.
“Plug-in solar is a simple way to protect families against rising bills, and against the impossible decisions that come with them, like whether to pay for energy or buy groceries,” said Elowyn Corby, senior regional director at the Vote Solar Action Fund, and convener of the NJ Shines Coalition, a group of community-based organisations advocating for “resilient and equitable” solar power in the state.
Plug-in solar exempt from utility approval
Perhaps most significantly, the New Jersey bill follows the precedent set by Maine by removing the need for plug-in solar customers to secure approval from a utility prior to installing a system, meaning that plug-in solar can operate independently of larger grids in these states. The independence from utilities is a key part of the bill, and was included in the first draft that was first presented in December 2025.
“A portable solar generation device shall be exempt from … any requirement to obtain or execute an interconnection agreement prior to operating the portable solar generation device,” reads the New Jersey bill, which adds that plug-in solar systems will be exempt from net metering requirements; net metering rules have caused significant disruption and uncertainty in the California residential solar sector.
“The Garden State Balcony Solar Act is a smart, practical step toward expanding access to affordable solar technology for residents who have historically been locked out of solar energy because access was largely limited to those with private rooftops,” said Democrat assemblyman Clinton Calabrese. “Every New Jerseyan deserves the opportunity to choose cost-saving energy solutions.”
Plug-in solar is popular in the state—78% of 805 New Jersey voters responding to a poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University said they would be in favour of a law that enables the installation of plug-in solar panels for New Jersey residents—and governor Mikie Sherill has been an advocate of more clean energy deployment.
Sherrill has also been a critic of regional grid operator PJM—her office described its work as “mismanagement” upon taking office in January—and the plug-in solar bill now awaits her signature into law.
