The owners of more than 100 solar farms in Maine have filed a lawsuit to block implementation of a law they say illegally strips benefits from projects that are already in operation.
The 84-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for Maine developers alleged that changes to the state's Net Energy Billing program enacted by lawmakers this year violate their constitutional property and contract rights.
The companies said they relied on incentives built into an expansion of the program five years ago to rapidly build community solar farms and increase Maine's renewable power generation.
But changes to Net Energy Billing in LD 1777 added new fees or reduced compensation rates for solar projects that were already operational. The rollback was sparked by growing concerns that the program incentives were too generous and contributing to increasing electric bills.
At the time the bill was signed into law this summer, Maine Public Advocate Heather Sanborn said its changes would save Maine ratepayers $1.2 billion over the next 16 years.
Developers said in the complaint that the measure "pulls out the rug and substantially burdens the very community solar projects created in the reliance of the NEB program."
Companies relied on the program's design to finance solar arrays, typically on 20-year agreements, they said in the complaint.
"Maine is poised to squeeze captive project sponsors to extract the economic value from their community solar projects and redirect this value to the state's own ends," they said.
The developers allege the new law amounts to an unconstitutional taking of property since it essentially devalues the electrons generated by the projects. The also claim changes to the law violate the contracts clause of the U.S. Constitution. They want the court to block the state from implementing the measure.
Kate Daniel, Northeast Regional Director for the Coalition for Community Solar Access said the new changes were built on a "false narrative" that ratepayer-funded incentives for renewable energy were primarily driving up electric bills.
"We find it very problematic that this law was passed in response to rising energy costs and has basically scapegoated the Net Energy Billing program as the driver of those costs when in reality it is much more complex dynamics around reliance on fossil fuels and infrastructure costs that are at the root of the problem," Daniel said.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission and individual commissioners are named as defendants in the companies' complaint. The commission administers and enforces the legal requirements of the Net Energy Billing program, according to the complaint.
A commission spokesperson declined to comment about the legal challenge.
