Hmmm, I wonder how this would affect things in the future where this is widely used.

I.E. if you had both widespread solar usage and some kind of large blackout, would it be hard to get all your solar back online because it's all in the "waiting for the grid" state? And the grid can't come back at capacity because all the solar it's expecting is out?

I assume people smarter than me have this figured out, but just a random thought if anyone knows more.

Assuming its not cheap piece of crap that isn't UL listed and that's where the problem is.

How do you know? In a typical solar system, you have to have a permit, which requires an inspector to come out and ensure everything is configured correctly and safely. These don't require any permits, which is great for making them more affordable and accessible, but there's also no one coming around to make sure that anyone is doing it safely.

What happens when someone makes an unsafe backfeed into a downed grid and then other nearby inverters detect the current and bring themselves back online? Is there a way to detect if the load is being delivered from the utility vs from incorrectly configured solar or generator installations?

Some others are arguing back and forth about this elsewhere in the thread and I see the reasoning: unpermitted systems could accidentally energize isolated portions of the grid during downtime, which might trick properly installed systems to also come back online, and you have a runaway effect where there is enough current present to allow addition safety systems to be fooled.

There isn’t any data transmission over the wires; there either is current, or there isn’t. Arguing over permitting is moot - either safety systems can handle this scenario already, or they can’t.

All paperwork does is slow the relief of dependence on the utility, which hurts their profits.