States OK solar panels for balconies. Safety guidelines haven’t caught up.

A dozen states have passed laws letting residents plug small solar panels into standard outlets without permits or contractors, following Utah's lead after a lawmaker read about Germany's balcony-solar boom. Nine of those bills are signed; three await a governor's signature, including in New York and California.

The appeal is obvious: renters get access to solar, utility bills shrink, and no electrician is required. The catch is that National Electrical Code and Underwriters Laboratories safety standards for these systems still don't exist, even in states where the devices are now technically legal.

Advocates point to Germany, where more than a million such systems are installed, as proof the technology works safely. Utilities haven't fought the bills hard, though some worry about unregistered systems affecting power flows or endangering line workers.

A nonprofit called Bright Saver hopes for 60 million balcony panels nationwide by 2035, but even its own backers admit that number depends entirely on safety standards nobody has written yet.

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