Solar for ME

Solar Power for Maine People

Distributed solar saved ISO-NE consumers $20M during July heatwave, report says

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An aerial photo of solar electric arrays at MOFGAStudy finds the benefits of distributed solar to ALL ratepayers on the grid is significant (confirming earlier findings from studies such as Value of Solar).

Dive Brief:

  • Distributed solar reduced New England wholesale power costs by nearly $20 million dollars during a heat wave from July 1 to July 7, according to a new analysis completed by Synapse Energy Economics.
  • During peak hours for electricity demand, distributed solar can reduce load on the New England grid by more than 1 GW, the report found, helping to reduce system-wide costs. The analysis was commissioned by SunCommon, a distributed solar provider.
  • Earlier this year ISO-New England said it expects to see declining energy use and peak load over the next decade, largely due to efficiency and behind-the-meter solar. The analysis found solar is expected to produce 2,162 GWh of total annual energy savings in 2018, rising to almost 4,800 GWh in 2027.

Learn more: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/distributed-solar-saved-iso-ne-consumers-20m-during-july-heatwave-report/531336/

The Value of Solar

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Does Going Solar Make Other People’s Electric Bills Go Up?

NO!

When you go solar, everyone in Maine saves money. The electric grid is expensive to build and maintain, and solar power reduces the wear and tear on the electric grid as well as pollution and other costs associated with traditional electric power plants. When solar customers send power back to the grid, they reduce everyone’s electric bills.

Don’t take our word for it, this claim is backed up by data from a study conducted by Maine’s Public Utilities Commission – yes, the same entity that is attacking solar, conducted a study that found that solar saves everyone money! They just chose to ignore its findings when they proposed a rule that benefits privately-owned utility companies over Maine ratepayers.

According to the PUC’s Value of Solar study, the approximately 20 megawatts of solar power currently installed in Maine will reduce electricity costs for non-solar ratepayers by $45 million over the life of the solar panels simply by reducing peak demand alone.

This is in addition to avoided pollution costs – valued at $58 million – local job creation, and other ratepayer benefits. The Maine Public Utilities Commission wants to end Mainers’ right to generate their own, less expensive solar power. We cannot allow this to happen!

A Breakdown of the Findings of the Value of Solar Study:

SolarForME-ValueOfSolarFlyer-7

Read the Value of Solar Study For Yourself:

ValueofSolarstudyUpdate

Our View: PUC solar proposal wrong policy, process

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crystal spring solar farm - maine
Aerial view of an under-construction solar farm in Brunswick, Maine

Via Portland Press Herald: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/09/18/our-view-puc-solar-proposal-wrong-policy-process/

Earlier this year, a stakeholders group showed Maine how government is supposed to work.

Tasked with finding a fair way to expand the state’s solar energy portfolio, representatives of interests that did not agree on much hammered out a compromise plan that would expand capacity while sharing the benefits among all ratepayers. Their ideas were drafted into a bill, and it passed both houses of the Legislature with strong bipartisan support.

Then Gov. LePage and his allies in the Maine House of Representatives showed us how – all too often – government really does work. LePage vetoed the bill, and House Republican leaders made sure that it fell two votes short of the two-thirds required to override, dumping a year’s work out the window.

Now we are seeing the consequences of that vote. The Maine Public Utilities Commission, made up of three LePage appointees, is proposing the phase-outof net energy billing, also known as net metering, the one program Maine has to encourage solar investment.

WRONG DIRECTION

This is the wrong policy. It creates uncertainty for investors that would kill jobs in the solar industry, a rare bright spot in the Maine economy because of its potential for growth. Slowing solar expansion also means that the dirtiest electric plants will continue to come online in the summer to meet peak demand, contributing to air pollution and the greenhouse gas emissions that are changing the climate.

But not only is this the wrong policy, it’s also the wrong process.

More at: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/09/18/our-view-puc-solar-proposal-wrong-policy-process/