A consortium of Maine businesses, the University of Maine and, possibly, the city of Portland could band together to procure a slug of solar energy that could power as many as 40,000 homes.
Last year Gov. Janet Mills and the legislature enacted a suite of measures to incentivize buildout of solar power production in Maine — a turnaround from the administration of Gov. Paul LePage, who put the squeeze on what incentives there were.
One new opportunity could allow large-scale electricity users to jointly contract for solar energy and, when solar arrays built to serve the contract produce more electricity than needed, sell that excess back to the regional grid. That could create a significant revenue stream and offset much of the cost.
"Just our participation in this consortium represents about two-thirds of our total city and school department load, and we're excited about doing because it makes a good step in the direction of the City Council's goal of running the city on 100 percent renewable energy," says Troy Moon, Portland's sustainability coordinator.
Plus, Moon says, the project could save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, compared to its existing utility costs. The initiative is being put together by a Portland company called Competitive Energy Services, which has completed similar efforts in southern New England.
No contracts have been signed yet, but in addition to Portland, potential participants include the University of Maine, L.L. Bean, Pratt & Whitney and the Jackson Laboratory.
Portland's City Council will consider the proposal Tuesday.