Big solar worked to kill Maine solar energy bill

[jpak]

http://www.centralmaine.com/2016/05/15/big-solar-worked-to-kill-maine-solar-energy-bill/

The Maine lawmakers who last month defeated a landmark bill that would have expanded solar energy had unusual allies: national companies that are the country’s largest installers of rooftop solar panels.

The companies, led by California-based Sunrun Inc. and SolarCity, hired lobbyists to fight the bill, donated money to political action committees that benefit the bill’s opponents and used social media to push an alternative measure that created a smokescreen for the bill’s detractors.

The conflict between national solar companies and their Maine counterparts reflects deep divisions over how to credit the homeowners and small businesses for the power they generate on rooftops and in backyards.

Those credits are seen as essential to the expansion of solar power because they provide a payback for the upfront investments in solar equipment. A solar-electric system can cost $15,000 to $18,000 for a typical Maine home, with a payback period of up to 12 years after a 30 percent federal tax credit, depending on electricity prices.

<more>

[Lodestar]

1. How can new models be vetted unless they try them out? The opposition seems

like an over-reaction to an innovative solution. Maine is willing to be the guinea pig,
so let them try it.