By Tyler Adkins, July 2, 2024
Funding will support enrollment of over 300 households, mostly those experiencing low incomes, in cooperatively-owned community solar projects
Norway, Maine – Today, Maine Community Power Cooperative was selected to receive $98,000 to engage communities and inform consumers about the benefits of cooperatively-owned community solar. The project is funded through the Department of Economic and Community Development Domestic Trade Program funded by Governor Mills’ Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Maine Community Power Cooperative develops, owns and operates small-scale community solar projects on behalf of its members. Each project has a footprint of less than one acre, powers 50-80 households, and provides energy to its members at a 20% discount. The cooperative operates at cost, with profits distributed to its members. Any current residential or small business customer of Central Maine Power is eligible to join the cooperative.
Believing there’s a better way to deploy clean energy across Maine’s aging grid, Maine Community Power Cooperative developed a replicable model for cooperatively-owned, small-scale solar to provide clean, affordable energy to its members in a manner that improves grid reliability and provides benefits to all Maine ratepayers. This grant will create good paying jobs and allow the cooperative to expand its web presence and in-person outreach efforts, engaging communities across the state.
With a particular focus on economically disadvantaged rural communities and a commitment to deliver more than 50% of economic benefits to households experiencing low incomes, Maine Community Power Cooperative is leading a just energy transition. The cooperative approach upends the conventional approach to energy development and “puts the community back in community solar.”
Maine Community Power Cooperative is the first public solar cooperative in the state, launched earlier this year after being developed by the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy, with technical assistance from the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), and funding from the US Department of Energy.
To learn more about the Maine Community Power Cooperative, sign up as a member-owner, or stay informed about progress, visit mainecommunitypower.com.
Learn more about the DECD Domestic Trade Program and projects selected here.