A Michigan bill would deregulate balcony solar — and your association could not stop it either way
A Michigan bill would deregulate balcony solar — and your association could not stop it either way
2026-09-12 · Michigan · Legislation · Pending — not yet law
What happened. A bill that would let Michigan electric customers install small plug-in solar systems with minimal regulatory oversight has been in the House Energy Committee since 19 March 2026 with no hearing. House Bill 5764, sponsored by Rep. Will Snyder (D-87) with fourteen co-sponsors from both parties, would add section 115 to the Clean and Renewable Energy and Energy Waste Reduction Act, 2008 PA 295.1
It is not law.
What it would do
Exempt small portable solar generation devices — the plug-in panels sold for balconies, patios and small yards, typically a few hundred watts — from certain utility interconnection requirements and fees, while preserving safety and notification protocols.
These devices plug into an ordinary outlet rather than being wired into a service panel. They are common in Germany, where a regulatory carve-out produced a large residential market, and essentially absent in the United States because the interconnection paperwork costs more than the hardware.
The Michigan association angle, which is already settled
Michigan associations have not been able to require approval for this since 2 April 2025. The Homeowners' Energy Policy Act, 2024 PA 68, invalidates any provision that prohibits or requires association approval for an energy-saving improvement, and section 3's list is broad enough to cover a solar device on its face.
So HB 5764 would remove the utility's objection. The association's objection was already void.
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