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Small-scale solar arrays have become a powerful addition to the US electricity grid, at an estimated 58 gigawatts and counting. The balcony solar movement will also accelerate the trend, and now comes the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan with a new solution aimed at helping city residents, businesses, and institutions install rooftop solar systems with energy storage.
The Rooftop Solar Blues
The Ann Arbor solution comes at a fraught time for the U.S. rooftop solar industry. Last year, US President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress successfully eliminated a generous federal tax credit aimed at making rooftop solar more affordable for homeowners. The impact on solar firms has been substantial and widespread.
The leading US solar installer SunRun provides one example. “In the first quarter of 2026, Subscriber Additions were 17,665, a 25% decrease compared to the first quarter of 2025,” the company noted in its Q1 2026 report earlier this month.
