By ISABELLA O’MALLEY

When Terrence Dwyer received a knock on his door and a flyer for a solar panel system small enough to fit on his deck, he was quickly sold. Solar systems that plug into regular wall outlets have been popular in Europe for years and are gaining traction in the U.S. for their affordability and simple installation.

Related Articles

Puerto Rico cashes in on Bad Bunny as thousands flock to the island for his concerts

U.S. stocks tap the brakes as Wall Street heads toward the finish of a record-setting week

What does it mean to be rich? We asked 3 people

Retail sales rise 0.5% in July as some shoppers step up purchases ahead of tariffs

‘Monopoly: St. Paul Edition’ hits the landmarks, nails the Minnesota-isms in Thursday debut

“We thought absolutely, let’s do this right away,” said Dwyer, who lives in Oakland, California.

These small-scale solar systems could become attractive to more homeowners now that President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget-and-policy package will scrap residential rooftop solar tax credits and may shift interest to cheaper alternatives. Even before the GOP bill passed, manufacturers of the smaller systems known as plug-in or balcony solar were seeing increased demand and other positive signs such as a new Utah law streamlining regulations for homeowners to buy and install them. The systems about the size of a door haven’t been as widely adopted in the U.S. as in Europe because of lack of awareness, patchwork utility rules and limited availability.

The $2,000 plug-in solar system installed on Dwyer’s backyard deck in March consists of two 400 watt panels, an inverter, a smart meter and a circuit breaker. It saves him around $35 per month on his power bill because he is consuming less energy from the grid, but he said reducing his carbon footprint was his primary motivation.

“We like the environmental benefits of solar and wanted to engage with solar in some fashion,” Dwyer said.

Had Dwyer opted for rooftop solar, he would have paid $20,000 for the system and $30,000 to upgrade his roof to support the panels.

Installing a plug-in solar system requires some homework. What power companies let customers do with energy-generating equipment varies, which is why prospective purchasers should check their utility’s policies first. Building permits might be required depending on the municipality. Some systems can be self-installed, while others may require an electrician. For example, some kits have meters that must be wired into a home’s circuit breaker.

Removing hurdles for plug-in solar

Dwyer bought his system from Bright Saver, a nonprofit company in California that advocates for plug-in solar. In addition to the type Dwyer bought, the company also offers a smaller model costing $399 that recently sold out in six days.

“The interest and demand have been overwhelming,” said Cora Stryker, a founder of Bright Saver. “It is clear that we are hitting a nerve — many Americans have wanted solar for a long time but have not had an option that is feasible and affordable for them until now.”

Kevin Chou, another founder of Bright Saver, said wider adoption of the systems in the U.S. has been hindered by utility policies that create uncertainty about whether they’re allowed and a lack of state and local policies to make clear what rules apply.

Some utilities contacted by The Associated Press say plug-in solar systems require the same interconnection applications as rooftop panels that send electricity back to the wider network. But Steven Hegedus, an electrical engineering professor at University of Delaware, said he doesn’t understand why a utility would need to require an interconnection agreement for plug-in solar because, unlike rooftop systems, they are designed to prevent energy from flowing to the grid.

Still, if in doubt, a customer should follow their utility’s policy.

During the early days of plug-in solar’s growth, some opposition from utilities is likely since customers are buying less energy, said Robert Cudd, a research analyst at the California Center for Sustainable Communities at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Utilities really prefer everyone being a predictable and generous consumer of the electricity they sell,” Cudd said.

This year, Utah enacted a novel law supporting plug-in solar by exempting certain small-scale systems from interconnection agreements and establishing safety requirements such as being certified by a nationally recognized testing organization such as Underwriters Laboratories. It appears to be the only state that’s passed legislation supporting plug-in solar, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Republican state Rep. Raymond Ward, who sponsored the legislation, said the smaller systems allow people to better manage where their energy comes from and what they pay.

“Europe has these things. You can go buy them and they work and people want them. There is no reason why we shouldn’t have them here in the United States,” Ward said.

Bright Saver says they are lobbying other states for similar legislation.

Alexis Abramson, dean of the University of Columbia Climate School, also applauded Utah’s move.

“We actually need more localities, more states putting in allowances for this type of equipment,” she said.

Plug-in solar availability and savings potential

Some questions remain about how much customers could save. Severin Borenstein, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, said the cost of some portable solar systems in the U.S. would make it hard for customers to come out ahead on their utility bills over the time they own them. He estimates the price of a $2,000 system in the U.S. works out to paying about $0.20 a kilowatt-hour over a 25-year period, which only saves people money if they have high utility costs. By comparison, Borenstein said the cost of systems sold in Europe, typically around $600, is equivalent to paying about $0.05 or $0.06 per kilowatt-hour over 25 years.

Baltimore resident Craig Keenan said saving money was only part of why he installed one of the smaller Bright Saver models on his balcony in July.

“I’m interested in renewable energy because the amount of carbon emissions that we produce as a species is very, very unsustainable for our world,” he said.

He said he expects the system will save him about $40 per year on utility bills, so it would take him about 10 years to recoup the cost of the kit.

Keenan, a mechanical engineer, said installation took him 10 to 15 minutes.

“I think anyone can install this,” he said. “It’s not complicated. It doesn’t require a technical degree.”

Other companies selling plug-in solar kits include Texas-based Craftstrom. It has sold about 2,000 systems in the U.S. since 2021, mostly in California, Texas and Florida. The company’s basic kits contain a solar panel that can fit in a backyard or other sunny space, along with equipment to maintain and regulate the flow of energy including an inverter and smart meter.

Kenneth Hutchings, Craftstrom’s chief revenue officer, said their U.S. sales rose this year even before the passage of the GOP tax bill, and he expects demand for plug-in solar to increase further as federal rooftop solar credits expire.

The company advises customers to notify their power company before installation, but it has “never had any pushback from any utility,” said Michael Scherer, one of the founders of Craftstrom.

China-based EcoFlow plans to begin selling plug-in solar systems in Utah and expand to other states if supportive legislation is passed, said Ryan Oliver, a company spokesperson.

“This is an example of where technology is sort of ahead of the regulators,” Oliver said, adding: “As this rolls out to more of a nationwide product, we expect it will become more mainstream as people understand it better.”

___

Associated Press video journalist Mingson Lau in Baltimore contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The legislation would have mandated a minimum wage for app-based grocery delivery workers for companies like Instacart. The Council says it is considering next steps, as advocates push lawmakers to override the veto.

Bags of groceries. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

On Wednesday night, Mayor Eric Adams vetoed two bills, Int. 1135 and Int. 1113-A, that would have mandated a minimum wage for app-based grocery delivery workers for companies like Instacart.

“Now is not the time to do anything that will further increase the cost for New Yorkers of obtaining groceries, when prices are already too high,” said Eric Adams in his veto message. 

He says Int. 1135 would increase the cost of groceries for vulnerable communities like seniors, people with disabilities, and families that do not have access to “quality grocery stores,” and rely on deliveries instead. Adams said he remains committed to increasing minimum wage rates for app-based delivery workers, but not right now during a time of “economic uncertainty.” 

The two bills were part of a package passed last month by the City Council with a veto-proof majority. They would have required a minimum wage established by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) for grocery delivery workers and extended other protections, such as insulated delivery bags and access to bathrooms. 

Advocates and the City Council criticized the mayor’s veto, calling it a step backward for New York.

“Without fair wages and protections for delivery workers, there is no sustainable industry, just exploitation,” said City Council Spokesperson Julia Agos. “It’s disappointing but unsurprising that the mayor is once again prioritizing corporate interests over New Yorkers and parroting inaccurate talking points to justify his actions that hurt working-class people.” 

Instacart has lobbied heavily against the bills, testifying last year that they would only increase fees for customers and commissioning billboard trucks with ads criticizing the legislation.

In a statement Thursday, Councilmember Sandy Nurse, who sponsored one of the bills, accused the mayor of aligning himself with “a multi-billion dollar company that refuses to pay their workers fairly.”

“By rejecting these bills, the Mayor will only make it harder for these predominantly Black and brown workers to feed themselves and their families,” said Ligia Guallpa, executive director of Los Deliveristas Unidos, in a statement.

Los Deliveristas Unidos championed app-based delivery workers in advocating for a minimum wage that was won in 2023, but only for restaurant delivery workers. The law left “loopholes” that excluded those delivering groceries. 

Guallpa said that the requirement helped boost the incomes of workers and created “economic security” as the demand for food deliveries rose. “Proving that these companies can afford to pay workers fairly and provide affordable value to customers,” said Guallpa. 

The Council says it is considering next steps, as advocates push lawmakers to override the veto.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Victoriam@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post Mayor Vetoes Bills to Raise Wages for Grocery Delivery Workers appeared first on City Limits.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

TOKYO (AP) — Japan paid tribute Friday to more than 3 million war dead as the country marked its surrender that ended World War II 80 years ago, as concern grows about the rapidly fading memories of the tragedy of war and the bitter lessons from the era of Japanese militarism.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed “remorse” over the war — the first time a Japanese leader has used the word in a Aug. 15 address since former premier Shinzo Abe shunned it in 2013.

Ishiba called the war a mistake, but did not mention Japan’s aggression across Asia or apologize.

Moment of silence, peace pledge and chrysanthemum flowers

“We will never repeat the tragedy of the war. We will never go the wrong way,” Ishiba said. “Once again, we must deeply keep to our hearts the remorse and lesson from that war.”

He vowed to pass his peace pledge to next generations.

In a national ceremony Friday at Tokyo’s Budokan hall, about 4,500 officials and bereaved families and their descendants from around the country observed a moment of silence at noon, the time when Emperor Hirohito’s surrender speech began on Aug. 15, 1945. Participants later offered chrysanthemum flowers for the war dead.

Leader stays away from controversial Yasukuni Shrine

Just a block away at the Yasukuni Shrine, dozens of Japanese rightwing politicians and their supporters gathered to pray.

The shrine honors Japan’s 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals. Victims of Japanese aggression, especially China and the Koreas, see visits to the shrine as a lack of remorse about Japan’s wartime past.

Ishiba stayed away from Yasukuni and sent a religious ornament as a personal gesture instead of praying at the controversial shrine.

Related Articles

Heat and thirst drive families in Gaza to drink water that makes them sick

Failed plastics negotiations in Geneva leave world few options to confront growing pollution crisis

Pope Leo XIV prays for peace as US-Russia summit over Ukraine war gets underway

The death toll from flash floods in northwest Pakistan has jumped to 157, officials say

Trump’s meeting with Putin could determine the trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine war

But Shinjiro Koizumi, the agriculture minister considered as a top candidate to replace the beleaguered prime minister, prayed at the shrine. He told reporters that he made the no-war pledge to the spirits. “It is important to not forget those who sacrificed their lives for their country,” he said.

Koizumi is the son of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who outraged China when he visited Yasukuni as a serving leader in 2001.

Rightwing lawmakers, including former economic security ministers Sanae Takaichi and Takayuki Kobayashi, as well as governing Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Koichi Hagiuda, also visited the shrine Friday.

A non-partisan group of 87 parliamentarians led by Liberal Democrat Ichiro Aisawa also prayed at Yasukuni, pledging “to uphold peace” in Japan and in the Indo-Pacific region.

Separately, Sohei Kamiya, head of the populist far-right Sanseito, prayed with 17 parliamentarians and 70 local assembly members from his party. He told reporters that the prime minister should visit Yasukuni.

China and South Korea urge Japan to face up to its wartime actions

China and South Korea reminded Japan of its wartime atrocities in their countries and elsewhere in Asia.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized attempts in Japan to “whitewash and deny aggression, distort and falsify history and even seek to rehabilitate the accusations of war criminals.”

“Only by facing history squarely can we gain respect, only by learning from history can we forge ahead into the future,” he added.

In Seoul, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, ahead of an upcoming trip to Japan for a summit with Ishiba, called for the two U.S. allies to overcome grievances from Japan’s brutal colonial rule.

He said some historical issues remain unresolved, urging Tokyo to face up to “our painful history and strive to maintain trust between our two countries.”

Emperor shows ‘deep remorse’

Japanese emperors have stopped visiting the Yasukuni site since the enshrinement of top war criminals there in 1978.

Emperor Naruhito, in his address at the Budokan memorial Friday, expressed his hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated while “reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse.”

Naruhito reiterated the importance of telling the war’s tragic history to younger generations as “we continue to seek the peace and happiness of the people in the future.”

As part of the 80th anniversary, he has traveled to Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima, and is expected to visit Nagasaki with his daughter, Princess Aiko, in September.

Passing on history to younger generations amid revisionism

Hajime Eda, whose father died on his way home from Korea when his ship was hit by a mine, said he will never forget his father and others who never made it home. In a speech representing bereaved families, Eda said it is Japan’s responsibility to share lessons about the emptiness of the conflict, the difficulty of reconstruction and the preciousness of peace.

Several teenagers took part in the ceremony after learning about their great-grandfathers who died in the battlefields.

Ami Tashiro, a 15-year-old high school student from Hiroshima, said she joined a memorial marking the end of the battle on Iwo Jima last year after reading a letter her great-grandfather sent from the island. She also hopes to join in the search for his remains.

As the population of wartime generations rapidly decline, Japan faces serious questions on how it should pass its history to the next generation. The country has faced revisionist pushbacks since the 2010s under Abe, who pushed to correct a “self-deprecating view” of Japan’s wartime history and regain national pride.

Since 2013, Japanese prime ministers have stopped apologizing to Asian victims, under the precedent set by Abe.

Some lawmakers’ denial of Japan’s military role in massive civilian deaths on Okinawa or the Nanking Massacre have stirred controversy.

Naoya Endo, 64, came to Yasukuni in place of his late father who was among a few out of his unit’s 50 members who returned from Taiwan. He said he worries about the growing global tension and hopes there will be no war in his lifetime. He lamented that many Japanese have lost pride and a love of their homeland.

In an editorial Friday, the Mainichi newspaper called on Japan to work together with Asian neighbors as equal partners.

“It’s time to show a vision toward ‘a world without war’ based on the lesson from its own history,” the Mainichi said.

Associated Press journalists Mayuko Ono, Ayaka McGill and Reeno Hashimoto in Tokyo, Huizhong Wu in Bangkok and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report.

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAM METZ, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — After waking early to stand in line for an hour under the August heat, Rana Odeh returns to her tent with her jug of murky water. She wipes the sweat from her brow and strategizes how much to portion out to her two small children. From its color alone, she knows full well it’s likely contaminated.

Related Articles

Aid groups call on Israel to end ‘weaponization’ of aid in Gaza

Malnourished kids arrive daily at a Gaza hospital as Netanyahu denies hunger

Israeli gunfire kills at least 25 in Gaza as Netanyahu says he will allow Palestinians to leave

Netanyahu hints that Gaza ceasefire talks now focus on the release of all hostages at once

Israel is in talks to possibly resettle Palestinians from Gaza in South Sudan

Thirst supersedes the fear of illness.

She fills small bottles for her son and daughter and pours a sip into a teacup for herself. What’s left she adds to a jerrycan for later.

“We are forced to give it to our children because we have no alternative,” Odeh, who was driven from her home in Khan Younis, said of the water. “It causes diseases for us and our children.”

Such scenes have become the grim routine in Muwasi, a sprawling displacement camp in central Gaza where hundreds of thousands endure scorching summer heat. Sweat-soaked and dust-covered, parents and children chase down water trucks that come every two or three days, filling bottles, canisters and buckets and then hauling them home, sometimes on donkey-drawn carts.

Each drop is rationed for drinking, cooking, cleaning or washing. Some reuse what they can and save a couple of cloudy inches in their jerrycans for whatever tomorrow brings — or doesn’t.

When water fails to arrive, Odeh said, she and her son fill bottles from the sea.

Over the 22 months since Israel launched its offensive, Gaza’s water access has been progressively strained. Limits on fuel imports and electricity have hampered the operation of desalination plants while infrastructure bottlenecks and pipeline damage choked delivery to a dribble. Gaza’s aquifers became polluted by sewage and the wreckage of bombed buildings. Wells are mostly inaccessible or destroyed, aid groups and the local utility say.

Meanwhile, the water crisis has helped fuel the rampant spread of disease, on top of Gaza’s rising starvation. UNRWA — the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees — said Thursday that its health centers now see an average 10,300 patients a week with infectious diseases, mostly diarrhea from contaminated water.

Efforts to ease the water shortage are in motion, but for many the prospect is still overshadowed by the risk of what may unfold before new supply comes.

And the thirst is only growing as a heat wave bears down, with humidity and temperatures in Gaza soaring on Friday to 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit).

Searing heat and sullied water

Mahmoud al-Dibs, a father displaced from Gaza City to Muwasi, dumped water over his head from a flimsy plastic bag — one of the vessels used to carry water in the camps.

“Outside the tents it is hot and inside the tents it is hot, so we are forced to drink this water wherever we go,” he said.

Al-Dibs was among many who told The Associated Press they knowingly drink non-potable water.

The few people still possessing rooftop tanks can’t muster enough water to clean them, so what flows from their taps is yellow and unsafe, said Bushra Khalidi, an official with Oxfam, an aid group working in Gaza.

Before the war, the coastal enclave’s more than 2 million residents got their water from a patchwork of sources. Some was piped in by Mekorot, Israel’s national water utility. Some came from desalination plants. Some was pulled from high-saline wells, and some imported in bottles.

Every source has been jeopardized.

Palestinians are relying more heavily on groundwater, which today makes up more than half of Gaza’s supply. The well water has historically been brackish, but still serviceable for cleaning, bathing, or farming, according to Palestinian water officials and aid groups.

Now people have to drink it.

The effects of drinking unclean water don’t always appear right away, said Mark Zeitoun, director general of the Geneva Water Hub, a policy institute.

“Untreated sewage mixes with drinking water, and you drink that or wash your food with it, then you’re drinking microbes and can get dysentery,” Zeitoun said. “If you’re forced to drink salty, brackish water, it just does your kidneys in, and then you’re on dialysis for decades.”

Deliveries average less than three liters (12.5 cups) per person per day — a fraction of the 15-liter (3.3-gallon) minimum humanitarian groups say is needed for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene. In February, acute watery diarrhea accounted for less than 20% of reported illnesses in Gaza. By July, it had surged to 44%, raising the risk of severe dehydration, according to UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency.

System breakdown

Early in the war, residents said deliveries from Israel’s water company Mekorot were curtailed — a claim that Israel has denied. Airstrikes destroyed some of the transmission pipelines as well as one of Gaza’s three desalination plants.

Bombardment and advancing troops damaged or cut off wells – to the point that today only 137 of Gaza’s 392 wells are accessible, according to UNICEF. Water quality from some wells has deteriorated, fouled by sewage, the rubble of shattered buildings and the residue of spent munitions.

Fuel shortages have strained the system, slowing pumps at wells and the trucks that carry water. The remaining two desalination plants have operated far below capacity or ground to a halt at times, aid groups and officials say.

In recent weeks, Israel has taken some steps to reverse the damage. It delivers water via two of Mekorot’s three pipelines into Gaza and reconnected one of the desalination plants to Israel’s electricity grid, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told The Associated Press.

Still, the plants put out far less than before the war, Monther Shoblaq, head of Gaza’s Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, told AP. That has forced him to make impossible choices.

The utility prioritizes getting water to hospitals and to people. But that means sometimes withholding water needed for sewage treatment, which can trigger neighborhood backups and heighten health risks.

Water hasn’t sparked the same global outrage as limits on food entering Gaza. But Shoblaq warned of a direct line between the crisis and potential loss of life.

“It’s obvious that you can survive for some days without food, but not without water,” he said.

Supply’s future

Water access is steadying after Israel’s steps. Aid workers have grown hopeful that the situation won’t get worse and could improve.

Southern Gaza could get more relief from a United Arab Emirates-funded desalination plant just across the border in Egypt. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, said it has allowed equipment into the enclave to build a pipeline from the plant and deliveries could start in a few weeks.

The plant wouldn’t depend on Israel for power, but since Israel holds the crossings, it will control the entry of water into Gaza for the foreseeable future.

But aid groups warn that access to water and other aid could be disrupted again by Israel’s plans to launch a new offensive on some of the last areas outside its military control. Those areas include Gaza City and Muwasi, where much of Gaza’s population is now located.

In Muwasi’s tent camps, people line up for the sporadic arrivals of water trucks.

Hosni Shaheen, whose family was also displaced from Khan Younis, already sees the water he drinks as a last resort.

“It causes stomach cramps for adults and children, without exception,” he said. “You don’t feel safe when your children drink it.”

Metz reported from Jerusalem. Alon Berstein contributed reporting from Kerem Shalom, Israel.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war