While Maine’s ratepayer advocate contends Connecticut ratepayers are getting a great deal, renewable experts said Maine’s heavily scrutinized solar subsidies are not causing the disparity. Connecticut utilities are using large-scale agreements to buy solar power from Maine, which is separate from our subsidy program for small-scale projects.
The differences between the New England states come as Maine’s generous solar subsidies have faced scrutiny over their costs to businesses and homeowners. The state had the third-highest electric rate hike among states between 2019 and 2023, according to a recent report from two laboratories that study renewable energy.
Connecticut’s energy department under Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont announced in December it had selected renewable energy and energy storage projects to help meet its statutory goals that aim for a zero-carbon electric sector by 2040. Maine has the same climate target.
Among the projects were three solar fields that will generate enough electricity to power 97,000 homes. One of them will be in Connecticut, while two will be in Maine. The exact locations have not been disclosed, but D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments, which develops renewable projects nationally, will build a 250-megawatt array and Verogy, a solar energy firm based in West Hartford, Connecticut, will build a 68-megawatt project.
The state of Connecticut’s announcement said while confidentiality requirements do not yet allow for the disclosure of bid prices, the cost of power for these projects is “notably less” than other large-scale solar programs in Connecticut that cost 12 to 14 cents per kilowatt-hour.
It made Maine Public Advocate Bill Harwood wonder why ratepayers he represents in the Pine Tree State can’t get in on the cheaper prices instead of continuing to pay at least 20 cents per kilowatt-hour. Connecticut has also previously purchased about 175 megawatts of Maine-generated solar for below 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, Harwood added.
“It appears that [Connecticut] ratepayers are getting a much better deal purchasing solar energy that’s generated in Maine,” Harwood, who is retiring at the end of January, said Monday.
But the disparity ties into how the large-scale Connecticut projects typically lead to lower costs than small-scale projects here that are less than 5 megawatts under Maine’s net energy billing program. That program was created as part of a 2019 law passed by the Democratic-led Legislature and provides electric bill discounts for those who subscribe to community solar farms.
Harwood has repeatedly warned lawmakers the community solar projects, which are funded by passing on costs to nonsubscribers, would cost electricity customers $220 million by this year. But Gov. Janet Mills’ energy office pointed to a December analysis of Maine’s solar market that found that economic and environmental benefits outweigh those costs.
Under a new restriction that took effect Jan. 1 after it beat out efforts from Republicans and a small group of Democrats to scrap the net energy billing program, Maine will not allow new solar projects greater than 1 megawatt in size to receive the subsidies.
“Small-scale solar also makes the electric grid stronger and helps to diversify our energy mix while reducing the need to build new transmission infrastructure,” Afton Vigue, spokesperson for the Governor’s Energy Office, said Monday.
As for the large-scale projects set to benefit Connecticut, Vigue noted Maine procured lower-cost contracts in 2020 and 2021 but that many of those projects were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors. In September, the Public Utilities Commission issued a request for proposals to replace the canceled projects.
Even while their state is set to receive lower-cost solar from Maine, Republican lawmakers in Connecticut complained about the price of energy projects after last month’s announcement. It is a reminder of the highly politicized nature of renewable energy efforts in New England. Maine also put forward rules to require solar developers to pay fees to use farmland.
It is “comparing apples and oranges” to look at the prices of large-scale solar projects in Connecticut and small-scale projects in Maine, said Eliza Donaghue, executive director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association. She said there is hope Maine lawmakers will focus on boosting large-scale projects, but Connecticut’s growth is good in any case.
“We’re part of a regional grid, so when solar comes onto the grid or renewable energy comes onto the grid anywhere in New England, we benefit from it,” Donaghue said.
