The Maine Grid & Solar
From February 2023 Newsletter
Community-driven climate solutions in this region are facing an increasingly significant challenge at the moment. Solar projects as small as residential rooftop arrays are increasingly being denied interconnection to the electrical grid by the local utility. This is a huge and alarming problem, as small, distributed renewable energy generation brings equity to local communities while building local energy resilience. In fact, a recent study ordered by the Governor’s Energy Office found that distributed energy resources, or DERs (these are smaller generation units), benefit all ratepayers, whether the ratepayers own the generation or not.
As folks who read the recent articles in the Mount Desert Islander, the Ellsworth American, or the Bangor Daily News will know, our local utility’s explanation for the growing failure to interconnect solar development generally and small installations specifically is that the grid, in its current state, cannot accommodate more local energy generation. The utility’s stance, at the moment, is that those seeking to install solar should be responsible for paying for upgrades to the local grid. However, these costs are crippling for most small projects.
Thankfully, a growing number of local residents are becoming aware of this important issue and many of you have been reaching out to ACTT with questions. Whether at our events or via email or phone, the common thread throughout the inquiries is this: you want to understand the full story, not just a part of it, and you are eager for solutions.
Thankfully, again, there is much more to the story than a grid that has maxed out on solar capacity and there are solutions. As we have explained to many recently, the problem isn’t a lack of solutions, the problem is that those solutions are not being implemented. And that is where we all have a role to play in ensuring that those with the power to do so prioritize transitioning Maine’s grid to the grid of the future in a way that benefits local Mainers.
ACTT has taken a deep dive into this issue, speaking with experts who approach the challenge and opportunities from a wide variety of fields and studying other models where solutions have already been implemented. As you know, our priority is community-driven solutions. We are always looking for the pathway to solve a problem that will bring the greatest benefit to local communities, ideally multi-solving multiple challenges at once. The great news when it comes to the issues we are currently facing with the local grid is that multiple entities, including the Interstate Renewable Energy Council and the Distributed Energy Generation Stakeholder Group of the Maine Governor’s Energy Office, have detailed solutions and demonstrated how their implementation benefits local Maine residents and ratepayers.
It’s a tech-y subject, but an essential one for all of us to understand if we are to ensure that we have an electrical grid that truly serves homeowners, small businesses, and rural nonprofits far into the future. We must understand, because we each have an important role to play in advocating for the solutions that have been demonstrated and could be implemented immediately.
To empower our community around this topic, ACTT is organizing a series of educational programs exploring the Maine grid and solar. Join us on Thursday, March 2 at 5:30 p.m. for a hybrid educational program entitled The Maine Grid and Solar: in-person at the Jesup Memorial Library or online. We will also cover this topic in a different format in late March in a Climate Chat Part Two installation. In March, our regular Climate Chat, scheduled for the second Friday of each month, will be dedicated to pathways to solar ownership for homeowners, businesses, and nonprofits and will explore why ownership matters when it comes to solar. To address related interconnection questions, we have added a Climate Chat Part Two on Friday, March 24 focused again on The Maine Grid and Solar. As a reminder, Climate Chats are short, virtual, 45-minute lunchtime programs covering climate solutions available to us all. Join us this Friday for a Climate Chat focused on the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate programs available to community members.
We are eager to share information about solutions and the role we each have to play in ensuring that Maine builds out the grid we need for the present and the future. If you are unable to attend one of these initial events on the topic, please reach out to us via johannah@aclimatetothrive with any questions on the topic.
Together, we move towards what we know is possible.