I’m writing to urge you to co-sponsor S688, which would direct the Commissioner of Community Affairs to establish safe installation guidance for balcony solar panel systems under the State Uniform Construction Code.
We talk a lot about clean energy in New Jersey, but the honest truth is that most of what we’ve built so far — rooftop solar, community solar, even the new smart permitting law — still assumes you own a home with a roof. That leaves out a huge number of people, and in District 32 it leaves out most of us. We’re one of the most renter-dense districts in the state. Our neighbors in Jersey City and Hoboken live in apartments and condos, many of them paying some of the highest utility rates in the country, with zero ability to put panels on a roof they don’t own.
Balcony solar changes that equation. These are small, commercially available panels that plug into a standard outlet and start producing power immediately — no landlord approval, no roof access, no expensive installation. They’re already wildly popular across Europe, where millions of renters use them to offset their energy costs. There’s no good reason New Jersey residents shouldn’t have the same option, and all S688 asks is that the state set clear, safe standards so people can use them with confidence.
This isn’t a heavy lift. It doesn’t require new spending, new programs, or new bureaucracy. It just removes an unnecessary barrier that’s keeping affordable clean energy out of the hands of the people who need it most — working families, renters, and residents in dense urban districts like ours. A recent FDU poll found overwhelming public support for plug-in balcony solar, and it’s easy to see why. People want to participate in the clean energy transition. We should let them.
District 32 should be leading on this, not watching from the sidelines. I hope you’ll add your name to S688 and help make clean energy something everyone in New Jersey can access — not just homeowners. Thank you for your time.
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