We have educated thousands of Mainers and Maine businesses about the State’s community solar program and helped the majority of them join a local solar farm. Our goal is to advocate for more locally-produced, renewable energy in Maine and help people understand how they can benefit from the State’s community solar program.
The recent news coverage around community solar and billing questions from customers has been confusing and incomplete in many cases, leading to more questions from current and potential community solar subscribers. This article from Maine Public Radio does a good job explaining the issues at hand.
In short, community solar is not a perfect solution for every consumer. There are some situations, mainly around special utility rates, where you and your community solar expert should dig into the numbers before deciding to subscribe.
The most important thing to note is that solar farms bill for the credits they provide on a customer’s utility bill at the standard offer (supply and delivery) rate, less the guaranteed discount. In most cases that discount is 15% in Maine.
If you are participating in a special program like the Season Heat Pump rate or the Electric Technology rate and thinking of joining a solar farm, ask some questions first. In some cases, depending on electricity usage, community solar provides more savings than these programs. In some situations, it makes more sense to stay with these special rates and not join a solar farm. If the person you are talking to about community solar brushes off these questions, it’s a sure sign they are not knowledgeable about the program. Contact a reputable source for reliable information.
If you are in a supply contract with a 3rd party energy provider and not paying the utility standard offer rate, this is another scenario where you should ask questions. In some cases, the contracted rate is so attractive that you should not cancel to join a community solar farm. In many situations, community solar can be an appealing alternative to 3rd party supply contracts because savings cover supply and delivery costs and because the savings agreement is guaranteed for an extended period.
Community solar is an amazing program for utility customers that want to offset the rising costs of electricity or want to support more locally-produced, renewable electricity in our state. But it’s not a perfect fit for all consumers in all situations.
If you are thinking about joining a local solar farm or if you meet a community solar representative in your neighborhood or at an event, here are 3 important things to consider.
- Understand your current electricity bill – are you in a special rate program, do you have a 3rd party supplier, are you already participating in net energy billing?
- Ask questions – make sure the person you are talking to is knowledgeable. If you are uncomfortable, contact the company on their badge or talk to a reliable source.
- Make sure you have the information you need – get a copy of the person’s badge, get their company contact information, and write down contact information for the community solar company that will be managing your farm and credits,
If you have any questions at all about Maine’s community solar program or your subscription. You can reach out to us anytime and we will do our best to help you whether you have worked with us in the past or not.