Committee considers narrow community-solar successor program; cooperative presents costs as members press for clarity
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Summary
Representative Warren presented a revised sponsor amendment to LD 1966 that would set billing and disclosure standards and create a capped small-cooperative community solar program focused on low- and moderate-income customers. Maine Community Power Cooperative detailed costs ($600,000 per project; baseline example operations ~25.5¢/kWh) and federal grant support; a later motion of 'ought not to pass' was moved and seconded in the recorded session.
Representative Warren opened a work session on LD 1966 with a revised sponsor amendment to improve access to community solar and to create a narrowly defined small-cooperative program for low- and moderate-income (LMI) customers. The amendment would require utilities with more than 50,000 customers to disclose administrative charges, direct the PUC to adopt net energy billing standards for shared distributed resources, and establish a capped program for small cooperatives (projects ≤200 kW, program cap 20 MW) with reporting and cost-recovery mechanisms.
Tyler Adkins, CEO of the Maine Community Power Cooperative, described the cooperative model, the organization’s growth and its U.S. Department of Energy grant support. He provided project-level pro forma assumptions and said each small project costs roughly $600,000 to deploy. Adkins presented an example year-1 operational cost profile in which ongoing project expenses amount to about 17¢/kWh and a cooperative overhead assumption of 3¢/kWh yields a baseline delivered cost of about 25.5¢/kWh to sustain a 20% discount for LMI member subscribers.
Adkins said the cooperative currently retires the associated renewable energy credits (RECs) but could sell them if program rules required monetization; he cited current REC prices of roughly 3¢–4¢/kWh as a relevant data point. He emphasized that small, distributed projects that interconnect on single-phase lines are distinct from larger front-of-meter projects and said the cooperative’s early projects are targeted to remote circuits where reliability gains and local economic benefits accrue.
Representative Warren explained that the revision responds to public hearing feedback and to a need to make successor-program design for front-of-meter installations more equitable and transparent, and that the amendment includes specificity drawn from stakeholders to access federal funds intended for rural and LMI communities.
Department of Energy Resources staff told the committee they plan to launch stakeholder engagement on successor-program design in March and must submit a program design to the PUC by September 2026 for the PUC’s review and a finding that benefits exceed ratepayer costs.
Near the close of this item Senator Harrington moved "ought not to pass" on LD 1966; Representative Paul seconded. The motion and second were recorded, but the provided transcript does not show a subsequent roll call or final committee outcome in the excerpt.
Next steps: DOER intends public engagement in March and a statutory submission to the PUC by September 2026; the committee recorded a motion of 'ought not to pass' during the same session.