CMBA Member Highlight: Maine Community Power Cooperative

Sunlight over arrays

Small plots of shared power

Harvesting bright hope

If you’ve ever wished your electricity bill could do more than just drain your wallet, Maine Community Power Cooperative (MCPC) might be your new favorite co-op. Launched officially in September 2024, MCPC is a local, consumer-owned energy cooperative that develops, owns, and operates small-scale community solar projects on behalf of its members. They offer 10–20% discounts on electricity bills while improving grid resiliency through clean, local power.

Their story began years before the official launch, back at the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy (CEBE). Mike Dunn (now an MCPC board member) and a dedicated working group explored ways residents could cooperatively own and benefit from solar energy. By 2017, this vision evolved into a community solar cooperative. I remember sitting in on early conversations, cheering on Fare Share Food Cooperative in Norway as a potential business subscriber. I loved the idea of a local co-op powering another local co-op!

On Friday, August 29th this year, I finally got to visit MCPC’s first site in Harrison. It was supposed to be a rainy day, so I pulled on my rainboots and headed out. After catching up with Mike and his wife Andrea, who live next door to the project and whom I’ve known since my time at Fare Share, Mike guided me through the array. Mike’s personal connection to the project clearly runs deep: the first MCPC site sits next to his property, and the land originally belonged to him before being placed in a family trust with a long-term lease to MCPC. Naturally, he spends significant time out there!

As soon as we walked the short distance from his house and arrived at the site, he eagerly pointed out all the tech that makes the project hum. Dual-axis trackers tilt and turn to follow the sun, tilt flat at dusk, and even dump snow by tilting backward at midnight in winter. Sensors monitor heat, transformers manage power flow, and anemometers measure the wind. In real time, data from the arrays is uploaded to the cloud, ensuring the system runs smoothly. “Tracking the sun is great for efficiency,” Mike explained, but it comes with trade-offs: the hardware costs are significant, and maintenance is ongoing. Still, he confirmed that it’s worth it for the energy captured and the grid resiliency provided.

Mike also shared his vision for the site beyond solar. He asked me to imagine the area as a pollinator habitat, buzzing with bees and butterflies, and showed where native fruit trees and shrubs will be planted for members and the broader community to enjoy at harvest time. The MCPC team is clearly thinking about energy and ecology together, creating a space that gives back to both people and nature. Smart!

MCPC has also taken a smart, standardized approach to building its solar projects. Each array uses the same 20 dual-axis trackers, transformers, and distribution lines, and the design is even optimized for equipment to fit on only a few trucks for easy delivery to each site. While there are two projects on this Harrison site, each with its own hookup, larger solar farms require three-phase connections and proximity to substations. MCPC’s smaller, distributed projects, on the other hand, can be sprinkled across thousands of potential sites, providing clean energy close to where it’s needed and maximizing efficiency. Standardization helps the cooperative streamline construction, reduce costs, and scale up without losing the personal, community-driven focus that makes these projects so unique.

Funding these projects has apparently been a whirlwind. MCPC was awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) under the Energy Improvements in Rural and Remote Areas program in September 2024 (there is a fun story here – ask MCPC folks about it). The cooperative has received about half of the funding so far, with additional hurdles to clear within the year. Tyler, MCPC’s CEO, has done a tremendous job pulling all the pieces together, from funding to permits to coordinating the team, keeping the cooperative moving forward.

The team is now racing to finalize land leases and interconnection agreements for additional projects to protect them against provisions in LD 1777, a new Maine law that prohibits  community solar projects not approved by the end of 2025. It could impact both the cooperative’s finances and the savings passed along to members if a project misses the deadline. To keep up with policy shifts, communication needs, and the fast pace of project development, MCPC has grown its team significantly in recent months, ensuring that each project benefits from both technical expertise and hands-on coordination. As Emily Rochford, MCPC’s Community Engagement Manager, notes, “…current challenges stem from operating simultaneously as a developer, educator, and community builder while navigating policy changes.”

Small-scale solar in Maine (and New England more broadly) is already reshaping the grid. As Mike explained to me toward the end of my visit, widespread rooftop and community solar helps prevent blackouts and brownouts during peak demand, reducing reliance on fossil fuel plants. He also noted that distributed solar even contributed to the retirement of the Mystic Generating Station in May 2024, showing how local energy is cleaner, smarter, and increasingly essential. 

MCPC is now moving full speed ahead, building new projects, growing membership, and expanding partnerships to reach more communities. Their model proves that accessible, affordable, and sustainable clean energy can be powered by Maine people, for Maine people!

…As inspiring as it was to learn about MCPC and all their fantastic work, the real highlight for me was to be able to visit with Mike and Andrea. I got to wander their beautiful, wild garden, admire their nut orchard and fruit grove, sip some tea, and even pick a few Aronia berries. Their space feels alive and wildly magical, and ever since I visited the first time, years ago, I have aspired to recreate a little of that magic in my own backyard. A real treat!