I'm not surprised because I was aware that the main reason for the Amish opposition to technology is technology's effect on Amish social life, and solar panels have a little effect on that.

Effect on social life, & systems which create dependency. Being unbeholden to other forces.

The other recent-ish round of stories is Amish adopting ebikes. Part & parcel right? What good are solar panels without tech to use them; what are the panels for?

Also worth noting Amish tend to be fairly decentralized; what gets accepted or rejected is a fairly local decision.

What good are solar panels without tech to use them; what are the panels for?

Heating and cooling?

From the article and comments following they have been using solar panels since the 1980s.

For lighting, controlled feed lines, power tools, amplifiers, power side of ad hoc phone systems, etc.

It's about being self reliant.

Let’s update the headline. I seem to recall clickbait is banned on hacker news.