With California’s next fire season just a few months away, companies are scrambling to install rooftop solar panels and electricity-storing batteries at customers’ homes to help them keep their food cold and their phones charged during the power shutoffs to come.
But with most economic activity shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, solar firms say they’re stuck navigating confusing local rules that have made it difficult to do business in parts of the state, especially the San Francisco Bay Area.