I took your advice and voted for Tom Steyer! The only candidate focused on a better future for all Californians, tackling the at-home issues, cost of living, and way of life imperilled by global warming caused by excessive carbon emissions. A law to ban (by 2030) diesel trucks from our major ports will help to make California's air healthier, improving our quality of life!
Your comments about the "balcony" solar panels and the issues with the utility companies focusing on their profit margins at the expense of providing affordable power to all...These need to be balanced by advocating changes to the building codes to "ban" gas hookups in new construction; replace existing gas stoves with induction cooktops, gas HVAC with heat pumps...
When living in Reno in 2016, I tried (with help from UNR) to get a new building code so that new housing developments (over 100 units) were "all electric" (no gas infrastructure); becoming "energy islands", installing solar, plus battery back-up for the entire new development, connected to the local grid... Unfortunately NVE opposed this, on the grounds that everybody would turn on their stoves, HVAC, dry their clothes charge their cars at the same time, causing a grid blackout/brownout! Their systems were all installed/calibrated to account for this unlikely happening! Modern computer control technology installed to control the back-up power for the "energy island" could certainly cope with this!
I watched an episode of "Just Have Think" discussing the LCOE (being tied to NG, the highest cost variable) in the UK and Europe ... I think a version of this on the workings of CASIO in California would be instructive- https://youtu.be/qWXNypHEXl0
One commentator on this UTube video - made claims about California - which would be helpful (to me anyway) if verified - Comment from @junkerzn7312
Great column, as always, but just to be clear: We do not elect a governor of California this week. The election is in November; this is a primary to choose which two candidates will be on the ballot. I too support Steyer, no question.
Sammy, You're right that plug-in solar is the future, and California getting SB 868 across the finish line matters for every state watching.
One thing missing from the national conversation: plug-in solar isn't just balconies and 120-volt panels. My company, GismoPower, has been manufacturing a patented 6.4 kW plug-in mobile solar carport since 2021. It plugs into a standard 240-volt outlet — the same kind you'd use for a clothes dryer — and generates enough to meaningfully offset a household's electricity consumption. We're currently deploying 100 units for the Oglala Lakota nation on Pine Ridge. Our VP of Engineering co-authored the peer-reviewed paper "Barriers to Balcony Solar and Plug-In Distributed Energy Resources in the United States" (Gerber, Ginsberg-Klemmt et al., Energies, 2025) — which is now cited in the Wikipedia article on balcony solar.
The 120V balcony story is important. But 240V plug-in solar is where the real energy impact lives, and it's already here. Would love to see Climate-Colored Goggles cover the full spectrum.
Ar first glance the "balcony" panel idea is great. but, the general instruction is to plug the set up into an 'outdoor plug'. The Electrical Code requires such plugs to be GFCI protected. All gfcis come w/ manufacturer instructions prohibiting "back feeding" them. because they will not operate correctly.
I took your advice and voted for Tom Steyer! The only candidate focused on a better future for all Californians, tackling the at-home issues, cost of living, and way of life imperilled by global warming caused by excessive carbon emissions. A law to ban (by 2030) diesel trucks from our major ports will help to make California's air healthier, improving our quality of life!
Your comments about the "balcony" solar panels and the issues with the utility companies focusing on their profit margins at the expense of providing affordable power to all...These need to be balanced by advocating changes to the building codes to "ban" gas hookups in new construction; replace existing gas stoves with induction cooktops, gas HVAC with heat pumps...
When living in Reno in 2016, I tried (with help from UNR) to get a new building code so that new housing developments (over 100 units) were "all electric" (no gas infrastructure); becoming "energy islands", installing solar, plus battery back-up for the entire new development, connected to the local grid... Unfortunately NVE opposed this, on the grounds that everybody would turn on their stoves, HVAC, dry their clothes charge their cars at the same time, causing a grid blackout/brownout! Their systems were all installed/calibrated to account for this unlikely happening! Modern computer control technology installed to control the back-up power for the "energy island" could certainly cope with this!
I watched an episode of "Just Have Think" discussing the LCOE (being tied to NG, the highest cost variable) in the UK and Europe ... I think a version of this on the workings of CASIO in California would be instructive- https://youtu.be/qWXNypHEXl0
One commentator on this UTube video - made claims about California - which would be helpful (to me anyway) if verified - Comment from @junkerzn7312
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qWXNypHEXl0&lc=UgwF7JecaTfuD28p5IN4AaABAg.AXUHJAZHYCOAXUUKDIY-E2&si=X0FCHTk2B7PLIbyz
Geoffrey Brooks
Thanks Geoffrey, appreciate your reading! And agree about the need for building electrification and smart demand management ASAP, for sure.
Great column, as always, but just to be clear: We do not elect a governor of California this week. The election is in November; this is a primary to choose which two candidates will be on the ballot. I too support Steyer, no question.
Thanks, good point on my poor wording in the subhed. Fixing that!
Sammy, You're right that plug-in solar is the future, and California getting SB 868 across the finish line matters for every state watching.
One thing missing from the national conversation: plug-in solar isn't just balconies and 120-volt panels. My company, GismoPower, has been manufacturing a patented 6.4 kW plug-in mobile solar carport since 2021. It plugs into a standard 240-volt outlet — the same kind you'd use for a clothes dryer — and generates enough to meaningfully offset a household's electricity consumption. We're currently deploying 100 units for the Oglala Lakota nation on Pine Ridge. Our VP of Engineering co-authored the peer-reviewed paper "Barriers to Balcony Solar and Plug-In Distributed Energy Resources in the United States" (Gerber, Ginsberg-Klemmt et al., Energies, 2025) — which is now cited in the Wikipedia article on balcony solar.
The 120V balcony story is important. But 240V plug-in solar is where the real energy impact lives, and it's already here. Would love to see Climate-Colored Goggles cover the full spectrum.
— Erika Ginsberg-Klemmt, VP Operations, GismoPower LLC
Ar first glance the "balcony" panel idea is great. but, the general instruction is to plug the set up into an 'outdoor plug'. The Electrical Code requires such plugs to be GFCI protected. All gfcis come w/ manufacturer instructions prohibiting "back feeding" them. because they will not operate correctly.
That is one item that the UL underwriting process will flesh out.
Good luck w/that. 50+ yrs in the electrical trade does not inspire confidence.