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William H. Schlesinger of Lubec is a retired professor of biogeochemistry and dean emeritus of the School of the Environment at Duke University. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
In 2013, when I retired from a faculty position in environmental science at Duke University, my wife and I built a home in Lubec powered by 6.2 kW of Sunpower Solar panels installed by ReVision Energy. ReVision was founded in Maine and now operates to install solar power in much of New England. It is an extraordinarily successful employee-owned small business.
Four bills now pending before the Maine state Legislature ( LD 32, LD 257, LD 359, LD 450) all propose to eliminate “net metering” or “net energy billing,” for home-installed solar panels, by which a homeowner can use credits for extra power generation, during the day and during the summer, to cover costs of power use from the grid, largely at night and during the winter.
Our solar panels are part of the net-metering program that has covered all our electric bills and has delivered significant solar energy to the grid, now operated in our region by Versant Power. Typically, we generate more power than we use, so we get energy billing credits. But, also typically, we don’t use all those credits, so within a year they are a gift to Versant.
During the past three years, we have sent a net of 9,700 kWh to the grid, worth more than $1,000 at current rates (standard offer service). At the same time, during the 11-year period of our operation, we have seen a tripling of the monthly “connection fee” that links our generation to Versant’s grid. In a very real sense, the connection fee subsidizes our monthly gift to the power company.
The net-metering program was instrumental in our decision to install solar power, which is critical if we are to reduce reliance on electricity derived from fossil fuels, which are a major source of global warming impact. The impacts of climate change in Maine are well documented in the recent report, Maine’s Climate Future, which shows significant economic losses from rising ocean temperatures on the reproduction of lobster, coastal flooding from sea-level rise, and lower revenues in the maple sugar and ski industries from changes in winter climate. Solar is a beacon to the future.
I believe the Legislature should maintain the net-metering program for solar power in the State of Maine. Solar power is a burgeoning industry in Maine and essential to our future economy, health, and stabilization of climate.