Maine Senate passes solar industry-backed bill to shave generous incentives
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Senate passed Thursday a bill backed by the solar industry and Gov. Janet Mills to slightly reduce generous solar incentives after they drove a sharp utility rate hike.
It has been one of the two bills that have been subject to a squabble between manufacturers and the solar industry. The latter group has invoked former Gov. Paul LePage’s legacy of opposing solar projects in ads and hammered Public Advocate William Harwood after he estimated in April that subsidies dating back to 2019 would carry major costs.
Mills, a Democrat, and the solar industry support the bill from Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-Eliot, that would rein in the program only slightly. Maine’s net energy billing program allows customers to offset electricity bills using the output from small renewable generators.
Lawrence’s bill would allow Maine to seek federal dollars to fuel continued growth of the industry and let firms choose whether to accept state subsidies. The Senate passed it in a 20-13 vote. Sen. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth, was the sole Democrat to join Republicans in opposing it.
Mills and solar interests oppose a competing bill from Rep. Steven Foster, R-Dexter, that is awaiting a House vote. It would direct the Maine Public Utilities Commission to periodically review solar subsidies and propose adjustments that are reasonable to both developers and ratepayers. The Legislature would have the power to approve any changes.
Harwood, whom Mills appointed in 2022 to represent Maine’s utility customers, and a coalition of manufacturers support Foster’s proposal, which initially would have ended the solar subsidies before it was amended.
Lawrence said his bill will improve the net energy billing program while Foster’s proposal would “pull the rug out” from underneath it. But Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart of Presque Isle, said Lawrence’s bill will not help rein in costs.
“Is there a better way that we could be going about what we’re seeking? And if what we’re seeking is a shift away from fossil fuels and more renewable energy, this isn’t the way to do it,” Stewart said.
The solar policy fight has seen opposing groups open their pocketbooks for online ads, with an offshoot of the Coalition for Community Solar Access saying Foster’s bill would “move us back to the erratic, destructive anti-renewable, pro-natural gas policies” of Mills’ predecessor, Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican who opposed similar solar policies.
It comes after Harwood warned in April that community solar projects, which are funded by passing on costs to nonsubscribers through electricity bills, are expected to cost $220 million a year by 2025, with the increase continuing for the next 20 years.
The solar industry chided Harwood, arguing his estimates were based on incorrect assumptions from utilities, although the Maine Public Utilities Commission approved an estimated $135.7 million in annual rate hikes from July 1 through mid-2024 driven by the policies.