Letter to the Editor: Let’s support solar legislation in Augusta this year

6 mins read

Last year our representatives in Augusta fell just short of passing a law that would have established a coherent policy to support the solar energy industry in Maine. For years Maine has been limping along at last place in New England for solar. But this year, the LePage-appointed Public Utilities Commission issued a ruling that would actually move us backward.

Most solar systems being installed these days are grid-tied, which means that any power your solar panels produce and you don’t use goes directly to the grid. Net-metering is the mechanism currently in place that allows grid-tied solar energy producers to be reimbursed for energy they add to the grid. The PUC, however, has decided to begin scaling it back. Scrapping net-metering takes away the financial incentive to go solar. If the utility isn’t crediting you adequately for your power, you’re essentially gifting it to them.

Opponents of solar energy try to argue that it raises prices for non-solar ratepayers by requiring them to make up the short-fall for solar producers who aren’t paying their full share of infrastructure costs. Study after study has shown that this is just not the case however. (Ironically, the Maine PUC’s own study is one such.) In fact, having solar energy producers on the grid actually brings prices down for other ratepayers. A number of factors account for this, chief among them the fact that solar provides a source of extra power on hot summer days when the sun is shining the most and air conditioner use is highest, as well as the fact that distributed solar generation reduces the need for new grid infrastructure.

But the PUC’s crusade against solar would not hit ratepayer pocketbooks simply by depriving them of the cost-saving benefits of integrating more solar onto the grid. The PUC’s new, more intricate rules targeting solar producers would also actually burden ratepayers with additional costs thanks to more complicated solar billing and tracking requirements. The adoption of new billing systems and meters are expected to cost utility customers up to around $4 million. (Considering that each meter is $500, you can see how the costs would add up.)

So, getting rid of net metering, as the PUC intends to, would be a disaster for homeowners and businesses that have invested, or would like to invest, in solar. By extension it would be crippling for the solar industry, cutting off one of our most promising areas for job growth in the state. On top of that, it would also harm ratepayers by raising their electricity prices. It sounds like a losing proposition all around. Who on earth gains from it? Well, utilities would profit off of installing more meters, expanding the grid, and keeping their customers dependent on the service they provide. And suppressing solar would be a plus for fossil fuel interests that don’t want to have to compete with a new, clean, inexhaustible energy resource.

The good news is that there is a bill in Augusta now, LD 1504, originally put forward by Republican Senator Tom Saviello, that would postpone the PUC’s new rule from taking effect and would require the PUC to review the situation fully before moving forward with new net-metering rules. In addition to preserving net-metering, the bill would also reverse another outlandish new PUC rule requiring solar producers to pay a fee for energy they produce and use themselves that doesn’t even touch the grid. Additionally, LD 1504 would raise to 200 the current 10-person cap on the number of people who can participate in a solar farm.

The solar bill that went through the legislature last year fell short of over-riding a LePage veto by just two votes. In the end, Representatives Andy Buckland and Russell Black both cast votes against solar and in support of LePage’s veto. Senator Saviello, in contrast, voted to override the veto of the solar bill. The solar bill this year is more straight-forward and has more modest ambitions. Also, the new status quo that the PUC has established is considerably more harmful than the baseline we were working with last year. Because of these realities, and a growing understanding of the value of solar, there may be hope that this year’s legislation will stand a better chance of passing. However, its success is certainly not a foregone conclusion. The Maine Legislature will be voting on it this week, probably as soon as today. Please consider contacting your Senator and Representative in Augusta and asking them to support LD 1504.

Greg Kimber
Temple

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

4 Comments

  1. Presuming the article is correct, I would support LD 1504 and not support its opponent politicians.

  2. First you have to figure out how to get sunshine two days in a row in Maine. Then the realists would vote for passage.

  3. It’s pretty stupid to have to pay utility companies if you use solar. I know of 2 people who are off the grid on unmaintained roads and have a well, a washing machine, a dryer, a refrigerator and lights. They live like that year round, in Maine. True, their solar panels are large, but at least, solar isn’t polluting the air. Utility companies are just greedy whiners

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.