AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage has vetoed a bill that sought to modernize the state’s policies on solar power. The bill would change how solar customers are paid for their surplus power. Utilities would pay rates set by regulators instead of paying retail price. The Republican governor has been skeptical of the bill but […]
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Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Democrats in talks with Gov. Paul LePage to save solar bill
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is considering an 11th-hour deal with Democrats that would allow a bill that would boost solar power in Maine to become law. The Republican governor said on WVOM-FM Tuesday that he has been working with Democrats to make the bill “more palatable,” but he doubted that a deal could be […]
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Posted inBusiness, sj-web
National solar firms oppose Maine ‘net metering’ bill
AUGUSTA — Maine’s rooftop solar installers and the state’s major utilities have set aside their long-standing difference to strike a deal they say could increase solar power in the state tenfold in five years. National solar installation firms are trying to stop it. The Alliance for Solar Choice, a national group, and California-based Sunrun and […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine
Solar slowly rising in Maine
Lewiston industrial roofer IRC installed solar panels on roofs all around New England — multimillion-dollar, multi-megawatt projects — but never converted its own headquarters to solar. Until last week. Time and price were finally right. Leaders of Saint Dominic Academy in Auburn started contemplating solar power two years ago. In December, they installed a $325,000 system that’s expected to almost halve […]
Posted inMaine
Solar advocates rally as Maine PUC contemplates policy changes
HALLOWELL — Despite the gray overcast of a mid-December day, a coalition of advocates, who say state regulators need to do more to embrace and promote solar energy rallied outside the Maine Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday. “Maine needs solar jobs,” the group of about 50 people chanted at one point during their rally. Moments […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Lewiston-Auburn, The Franklin Journal
Auburn man chases the sun
David Rand’s day revolves around the sun. The warm rays heat his water, tell him the time and help his flowers grow. Rand, who resides in Lewiston, can tell where and when the sun will rise and set and how much daylight is gained or lost from month to month. The 85-year-old retired civil engineer […]
Posted inMaine
Maine Senate sustains veto, pulls blinds on solar energy rebate bill
AUGUSTA — The state Senate on Wednesday, by sustaining the governor’s veto, pulled the blinds on a bill that would have allowed homeowners to get rebates for installing solar panels. Republican Gov. Paul LePage vetoed the bill that also created a rebate program for low-income families who install electric heat-pump systems because it funded the […]
Posted inMaine
Maine House overrides LePage veto of bill that promotes solar with rate increase
AUGUSTA — The House of Representatives voted Monday to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill would fund a solar and heat-pump rebate program by adding a 0.011 cents per kilowatt-hour tax on residential and commercial electric bills. The new fee will cost the average homeowner about five cents per month or 60 cents […]
Posted inMaine
House passes bill with rebates for solar panels, heat pumps
More energy coverage: Senate unplugs LePage bill to remove Maine’s cap on hydropower Key to the support was an amendment to the bill by state Rep. Lance Harvell, R-Farmington, that creates another rebate program for heat pumps when they are installed by low-income families. The measure allows up to a $2,000 rebate from the state. Harvell’s […]