Today, solar power is cheaper than nearly all new fossil fuel alternatives. And thanks to small solar devices that can be plugged into standard outlets, homeowners in Germany have been easily installing solar panels on their balconies and roofs in record numbers.
“Plug-in solar devices enable people to become part of the energy transition themselves, reduce their electricity costs and make themselves less dependent on energy price fluctuations,” Christoph Kost, an executive at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, told Deutsche Welle.
The plug-in solar panels are part of Germany’s larger goal to become climate-neutral by 2045, and the innovation has inspired interest in Japan, Brazil, and the United States.
“Most plug-in solar devices are still sold in Germany, far ahead of the rest of the world,” said David Breuer, a managing director at Yuma, a German-based company selling plug-in solar devices.
For years, the lack of safety standards and regulations for solar technology prevented the U.S. from adopting portable solar systems. However, in 2025, Utah became the first state in the U.S. to allow plug-in solar — prompting Vermont, Maryland, and New Hampshire to follow.
“When we do outreach in our town, we find that people are really eager to do something — to save energy, to save money, to cut emissions,” said Linda Gray, a member of Vermont’s Norwich Energy Committee. “Portable solar is another tool in the save-energy and clean-energy toolbox.”
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2026 Home Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
Header image via Kindel Media
