Fighting climate change from their balconies

Solar panels on balconies in a neighbourhood in Düsseldorf, Germany. Plug-and-play solar panels are popping up in yards and on balcony railings across Germany, driven by bargain prices and looser regulations. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

AT a Berlin trade fair for sustainability, a new gadget caught Waltraud Berg’s eye – a solar panel small enough to be easily installed on the side of a balcony and then plugged into a wall socket to feed energy produced by the sun directly into her home.

“I was absolutely thrilled to learn that such a thing even existed, that you can generate your own power and be more independent,” said Berg, a retiree who installed several panels on the south-facing balcony of her Berlin apartment by herself.