(it looks like NY & NJ are in the same boat)
Surprisingly, several are still known-to-be operating; aerial mapping confirms that many more are at least still physically-present. This US subsidiary "folded" shortly after the installations went online.
----
The coolest installation was using PG&E's "time-of-day" utility rates, along with the homeowner's medical exemption (which allows you more kWHs before being charged higher rates), to lower a small medical marijuana grow from $2k/month to ~$500/month (LEDs growlamps barely existed, back then):
•) During the daytime, the growrooms would be "OFF" [PGE charging 45¢/kWH], and the microsolar would literally offset all the auxilary needs of the grow&house
•) During winter nights, PG&E would literally pay you to burn excess grid capacity [@-3¢/kWH], so all grow rooms would be running @MAX. All year, nights were 5X+ cheaper to consume electricity
----
Since California is so-well-connected to its neighboring utilities, its primary daytime-electric generator (grid solar) can instantaneously sell to the PNW grid [and does]; this allows them to similarly-reduce their own fuel expenditures (albeit at the much-larger scale of national grids).
<https://www.eia.gov/electricity/gridmonitor/dashboard/electr...>
tl;dr: feel bad for the dumb US state which chooses to intentionally self-isolate (i.e. Texas' ERCOT), and thus cannot persevere through predictable 10-year winterstorms [modern news: Texas' current attempt to privatize Austin Energy™, a public coop that provides flat-rate power, inexpensively, protecting Central Texans from surprise winter heating bills]
You can use a slightly intelligent app to decide whether to consume it yourself later, or sell it back to the grid. Australia has 3 hour free electricity, thats probably enough for some uses.
Plug-in solar may or may not be possible, but anyone can use a plug-in battery. If there are structures to support balcony solar or off grid panels in your backyard, then you can produce for free and charge your batteries.
The Hottest New Trade Is Your Own Electricity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK76jIsmiSw
Australia's free electricity: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3NTlKEd5IIY
Plug-ins increase energy literary. People will learn to love their energy (IKEA effect).
Germans and other European countries buying them will create demand, and products will become cheaper and incredibly reliable.
There are zero labor costs, no need of electricians or permits. Instant energy/energystorage on tap.
Billions of poor people will just buy plug-in products or panels (like Pakistan), and the creative explosion of ideas of a billion people will create many interesting products for a range of uses.
The lack of state capacity here to enforce rules has allowed solar to flourish.
Balcony solar is mostly a token. Maybe only enough to run your electronics. I'm sure Germans are frivolous with their power use (subsidized by their gas, petrol and heating oil use) so percentage wise it's not super trivial.
I have four panels that are plugged into a 5.12kWh battery. Battery is controlled by a small 3-phase meter and automatically feeds power in when usage is there.
From May to early September the battery and panels were enough to cover almost all power usage in my household.
Hell yes I'm down for this.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46292341 - Triceratops' law remains the most accurate original observation I've made in my life (sad, I know).
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49163327
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47966629
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47328430
I have 24 imperfectly placed panels and live around Auckland, New Zealand, modest house, 5kWH battery too.
They theoretically provide well over my needs in summer, but due to how pricing works it - I still pay a bit even in peak of the summer. Everything is electric in my house with toys like EV and heated pool.
Well, thats the explanation: A German household usually does not have a pool :-D