New Jersey's new law allows
plug-in balcony solar panels.

Governor Mikie Sherrill has signed a law that changes who gets to say no to a solar panel. Under it, landlords, homeowner associations, housing cooperatives and similar entities cannot stop a tenant or an owner from using a portable solar generator with a maximum output of 1,200 watts. Municipalities lose the same power: the law overrides local ordinances that blocked plug in units on residential property, and bars a town from requiring a license or an approval to install one, or charging a fee for it. The legislation passed the Senate and the Assembly unanimously in late June and takes effect six months after signing.

Landlords and associations keep a say on placement and size. The association or the landlord still has to be notified, and the resident gives 14 days' notice before installing. A landlord may place conditions on where a unit sits and how large it is, and any of these entities may require the resident to release legal claims for injury or property damage caused by the unit.

Rooftop solar needs a roof you own, facing roughly the right way, without a mature tree canopy over it. Doug O'Malley of Environment New Jersey, speaking at the signing, put the share of the public that cannot meet those conditions at close to 70%, counting trees, roof orientation and renting. A plug in unit hangs on a railing and runs into an outlet, which is why it reaches a different set of households.

The governor said at the ceremony that the units cost a fraction of a rooftop system and estimated savings of up to $50 off a typical monthly bill. What any household sees depends on its own usage, its own rate and where the panel faces.

For anyone buying or selling in a townhome or condo community in Gloucester, Camden or Burlington County, the change is this: an association that has been turning these down on principle will not be able to once the law is in force, though it keeps its say on placement and size, and its own rules and notice procedures are still the thing to read. Your association manager can tell you what it will ask for, and an electrician can tell you what your outlet and panel will carry.