Letter to the editor: Solar energy powerful silver bullet for Maine homeowners, economy

We’ve found a silver bullet: solar power.

Just yesterday, our electrician switched our power from the local power company to the panels recently installed on our roof.

That’s not quite a fair statement, because it’s even better than that. We’re still connected to the grid, but we’ll produce about the same amount of power that we’ll need to operate our home.

So our power company collects the excess energy we produce on sunny days, and we use their power when the sun isn’t shining.

Meanwhile, we’ve employed a local small business to install our panels, which were made in America. So, our project not only benefits us, but Maine’s small-business economy as well.

Our collectors provide electricity on-site – enough to operate a heat pump, efficient lighting and all our appliances. The heat pump is amazing, too, but that’s another story.

We support the bills now before the Maine Legislature that will help more Mainers to go solar.

They are L.D. 1652, “An Act to Support Solar Energy Development in Maine,” and L.D. 1252, “An Act to Improve Maine’s Economy and Energy Security with Solar Energy.”

The latter re-establishes funding for rebates, which would help small businesses and residents to install solar equipment.

Our governor has threatened to veto this bill, but our Legislature is getting the hang of overriding his vetoes!

The federal 30 percent rebate ends in 2016, so this is a good time for people to take the plunge. Maine needs to catch up with the rest of New England, producing clean energy and local jobs.

Al and Vicki Adams

Kennebunk

Related Stories