Maine utility regulators have sided with the Passamaquoddy Tribe in a dispute with its local utility to install solar panels and battery storage across more than 200 homes in Indian Township.
The tribe's plans have been delayed for almost a year, after Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative argued that the federally-funded rooftop arrays amounted to a "single discrete generating facility." The Co-op insisted that meant the arrays collectively had the capacity to produce more power than was allowed to qualify for billing credits that offset homeowners electric costs.
The Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday rejected that position. The rule about discrete generating facilities were included in the Maine's Net Energy Billing rules to prevent large developers from hiding the size of single solar farms by splitting them into two or more developments, the commissioners found.
The definition "was not meant to and does not apply to behind the meter, separately owned, individually metered rooftop solar projects serving the individual housing or buildings as described in the tribe's petition," said Commissioner Patrick Scully.
He couldn't see the difference between the tribe's proposal and a group of homeowners elsewhere in the state who banded together to hire the same solar installer or even got collective financing for individually-owned rooftop arrays.
Indian Township environmental officer Trevor White said the ruling came as a relief after months of idling.
"I mean obviously, it’s very frustrating for people that it has taken this long, I get asked by tribal members all the time, ‘when is this going to happen’?" White said.
The tribe still as access to a $7.4 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to install the panels and backup batteries across the township in eastern Washington County. The proposal is intended to help residents lower electric bills, keep the lights on during power outages and lower reliance on imported fuels.
EMEC, however, said it disagreed with the conclusions reached by commission staff about the case and is disappointed in the panel's decision.
"To be clear, the Co-Op is supportive of its members installing solar but is opposed to requiring its members to subsidize large solar projects that do not meet the Net Energy Billing program's legal requirements," it said in a statement. It will review the commission's final order before deciding next steps, the utility added.
The utility further said it was "absolutely false" that the case schedule established by the commission was an attempt to delay installation while hoping grant funding disappeared. The Trump administration has terminated billions of dollars to renewable energy across the U.S. including a $62 million grant to Maine to help low-income residents access solar power.
Rebecca Schultz, senior advocate for climate and clean energy at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said the EMEC has now come to a "split in the road."
"They can continue to drag their feet to essentially deny the Passamaquoddy people this opportunity for energy sovereignty or they can turn around and set a national example for what a rural co-op should do to embrace modern technologies and update itself and modernize its operations."
