Solar workers from across Maine will use social media today to post stories and photos of the work they do using the hashtag #SolarJobsForME

Though Maine has had no state solar rebate since 2010, Maine’s solar industry – comprised of independently owned, small businesses – has grown steadily in the past 7 seven years, thanks to the rapid decline in the costs of solar equipment. Maine’s solar workforce grew by 73% from 2015-16, making Maine one of the top 10 states nationwide in per-capita solar job growth.

Despite its tremendous growth potential, Maine’s solar industry finds itself under threat from an extreme anti-solar rule change by Maine’s Public Utilities Commission. Though the Maine PUC conducted a ‘Value of Solar’ study which found that solar exported to the grid is a net value to everyone, the PUC has ruled to throttle down net metering benefits over time and to create a new tax on behind-the-meter solar production (similar to letting a grocery store charge people for growing their own tomatoes). This backwards-looking rule change, should it come into effect, would threaten the existing 570+ solar jobs in Maine and erode the ability of the industry to add new jobs to Maine’s economy.

Maine’s solar workers are using the May 1 “Maine Solar Workers Day” online event to capture the attention of Maine’s Legislature, who will soon be evaluating several solar bills which could potentially fix the PUC’s ruling and stabilize Maine solar policy. Maine’s solar industry asks for an energy policy that moves away from a monopoly model and towards a market-driven approach that leverages different technologies and different business models to unlock economic opportunities locally and to lower costs (and carbon pollution) for everyone.

For any media interested, ReVision Energy is able to facilitate visits to solar job sites at various locations in Maine.

Some stats on solar jobs (via The Solar Foundation):

• One out of every 50 new jobs added in the United States in 2016 was created by the solar industry, representing 2% percent of all new jobs.
• Over the next 12 months, employers surveyed expect to see total solar industry employment increase by 10 percent to 286,335 solar workers.
• The solar workforce nationwide employs nearly double the number of workers in the coal industry, and more than Apple, Facebook, and Google combined.

Resources:

• Solar Jobs Census (via The Solar Foundation) – interactive map with county-by-county data – https://solarstates.org/#states/solar-jobs/2016
• NY Times – Today’s Energy Jobs Are in Solar, Not Coal – https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/25/climate/todays-energy-jobs-are-in-solar-not-coal.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=g-artboard%20g-artboard-v3%20&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=3

Lincolnville, ME has been running on solar power since January. The array is located on town-owned property and has produced more than 14 megawatts since the beginning of the year.

The solar panels are installed next to the Lincolnville Central Fire Station on a quarter-acre parcel of town-owned land. The 43.4 kilowatt system is expected to produce enough power to meet municipal needs. In past years, town buildings and facilities have consumed an average of 59,000 kW per year.

The solar array is on target, for the first quarter of 2017, to meet those needs, and to provide enough power to supply electricity to the Town Office, sand/salt storage building, Breezemere Park bandstand, two fire stations, and lighting at Linconville Beach, the harbor and town pier.

Read the whole article here: http://waldo.villagesoup.com/p/sun-power-lights-municipal-buildings-in-lincolnville/1643915

From the Portland Press Herald:

Two small, isolated Maine colleges that focus on sustainability and the environment know they aren’t for everyone.

Students have to work in the local community, where they experience the real world and reflect on how they can apply that and their book learning to impact the future of the world.

“Everything we work on is involved in the community. It isn’t theoretical, but real,” said Spencer Gray, a fourth-year student from Woolwich who is working within College of the Atlantic’s new Community Energy Center, which matches students with solar and other sustainability efforts in the local community. Many students like Gray self-direct their studies, and there are ample opportunities for collaborations with other students and the one-on-one interactions with professors that small colleges afford.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics generally defines sustainability professionals as people who promote environmental protection, social responsibility and profitability. In early April, 57 sustainability jobs were listed on Indeed.com in Maine, ranging from scientists to financial analysts to educators and salespeople while LinkedIn listed a total of 27,100 sustainability jobs across the country.