Solar for ME

Solar Power for Maine People

  • STATS: Solar Jobs in Maine
  • INFO: Why Go Solar in Maine?
  • MYTH-BUSTING: Does Solar Get Subsidies?
  • SOLAR Voter Guide
  • Solar In the News
  • Who We Are

Website Built by ReVision Energy

The Value of Solar

October 6, 2016 by revisionfred

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

Filed Under: Solar Power

Maine PUC Proposed Net Metering Rules Documents

September 15, 2016 by revisionfred

Notice-of-net-metering-rulemaking
PUC-proposed-changes-to-Ch-313

Filed Under: Solar Power

Five Incredible Solar Facts

August 2, 2016 by revisionfred

Five things you might not know about solar power in Maine!

  1. The US installed 1,665 megawatts (1 MW = 1,000 kw) of solar in the first quarter, 2016, accounting for a whopping 64% of New Electric Capacity!
  2. There are now more than one million solar installations in the United States, and the industry is projected to nearly double in size in 2016
  3. Nearly 209,000 Americans work in solar, more than double the number who work in the coal industry. The solar workforce is growing by 30% or more each year, while the coal mining industry continues to decline.
  4. The cost to install solar has dropped by more than 70% over the last 10 years, driving the technology’s rapid growth and allowing it to compete with conventional fuels not just for environmental benefits, but also on price.
  5. Though Maine and New Hampshire’s solar resource is nearly identical to that of Massachusetts’s, the Bay State has roughly than 10x of the solar penetration of its neighbors to the north.

Facts from: http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-2016-q2

Solar array in Phippsburg, Maine

Filed Under: In the News, Solar Power

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Fun Solar Facts

Maine receives 33% more available solar energy than Germany, a world leader in solar technology adoption.

Covering just 1% of Maine's land mass to solar would capture enough solar energy to power our energy needs locally, indefinitely.

Modern grid-tied solar electric arrays have no moving parts - no batteries at all.

Recent Posts

  • Distributed solar saved ISO-NE consumers $20M during July heatwave, report says
  • Time for lawmakers to override solar veto
  • Net Metering Solar Energy Compromise Heads to LePage with Enough Support to Withstand Veto
  • Powerful interests shaping fate of Maine’s solar industry
  • Maine is on a disastrous path — if it ever wants to benefit from solar energy