Mount Desert Islander news story
BAR HARBOR — Maine solar energy experts will discuss how solar panels work, how much solar systems typically cost, how solar owners get compensated for the power they generate, and financing options and incentives when they speak at the Jesup Memorial Library on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 6:30 p.m. The program is called “Here Comes the Sun: Solar Power on MDI.”
The cost of residential solar across the United States has declined 43 percent since 2010, while jobs in solar and wind are growing at a rate 12 times as fast as the rest of the U.S. economy. Indications are, however, that new rules to be released by the Maine Public Utilities Commission will have negative impacts for solar starting in 2018. Emmie Theberge of the Natural Resources Council of Maine said, “these are the most extreme anti-solar rules in the country.”
As part of its effort to help Mount Desert Island achieve energy independence by 2030, A Climate to Thrive (ACTT) soon will launch Solarize MDI, a bulk purchasing program that we hope will enable 50 MDI homeowners and businesses to install solar this year.
This presentation is part of an ongoing series to help make homes and businesses super efficient, saving money and reducing carbon emissions in the process. Organized by ACTT, this program will include Ken Colburn, an energy consultant and member of ACTT’s advisory board; John Luft, branch general manager for ReVision Energy; and Vaughan Woodruff, owner of Insource Renewables.
Contact Joe Blotnick at 266-5590 or visit www.aclimatetothrive.org.
