Community Solar Projects Support Transition to Clean Energy and Save Customers Money on Electricity Bills
- Janna Shaw
- Nov 25
- 3 min read
Solaris Energy’s Projects Are a Strong Model of Net Energy Billing Program Potential
Solaris Energy has proudly been partnering in a series of community solar projects in Maine, where the state's Net Energy Billing Program allows more businesses and residents to take advantage of solar power to realize cost savings on their electricity bills. This year, Solaris has completed two projects, co-developed by Breakaway Renewables and constructed by Norwich Solar — both subsidiaries of parent company Norwich Technologies — in partnership with Bridge Renewable Energy.
Thanks to the state’s Net Energy Billing Program, renewable energy projects provide affordable, renewable energy for small businesses across Maine, saving customers up to 15% on their electricity bill with no upfront costs.
“The coast may be rugged, but the sun shines bright in Maine,” says Nick Francis, Solaris Energy's Director of Project Development and Operations. “The state’s Net Energy Billing Program allows more businesses and residents to take advantage of that powerful natural resource, and Solaris Energy is proud to be part of bringing solar to communities along with our partners.”
How Net Energy Billing Programs Can Support Community Solar Development
Solaris Energy and partners have found a win-win-win for affordable community solar development through Net Energy Billing programs, such as the one we have worked with in Maine. Customers win by saving on their energy bills, developers and investors win by having a viable financial return that creates an attractive funding scenario for solar projects, and of course, the environment wins every time we move more energy from fossil fuels to renewable sources like solar power.
In Maine, for example, residential and commercial customers can offset their electricity bills if they install renewable energy generators, such as putting solar panels on their rooftop, or join a community solar project, where customers receive a shared portion of a solar farm’s credits alongside other customers.
Maine has recently adjusted its program to limit the size of solar projects that qualify for the program, with the goal of providing maximum cost savings and credits to residents and small businesses as opposed to large-scale solar developers. Solaris Energy and our partners primarily work on projects smaller than the 5 MW maximum threshold, and we are proud to continue to create projects that align with our mission of bringing affordable renewable energy to all. We encourage all stakeholders to continue developing future programs and policies that further these results.
In the words of our partner Jim Merriam, CEO of Norwich Technologies: “Renewable energy projects bring a multitude of benefits to the region; more than just clean energy. It's our mission to create projects that have a net positive impact for multiple stakeholders; from the communities that host the projects, to our construction contractors, to our financial partners and through to the end users — the energy customers.”
Community Solar Project Highlights
Solaris is currently engaged in seven projects in Maine. Five of the projects are being executed with the same set of trusted partners. The project sites were originated and permitted by Breakaway Renewables, the development division of Norwich Technologies, with early financing through Solaris Energy. Norwich Solar, a division of Norwich Technologies, completes the EPC (engineering, procurement & construction) work. Bridge Renewable Energy will be the long-term owner of the projects.
To date, two of the planned projects have been completed. Together, these two projects will add over 2,856 MWh of electricity to the Maine grid annually. That's enough energy to power nearly 467 homes for a year. The clean energy will offset 2,408 metric tons of CO2, which is equivalent to taking an estimated 524 cars off the road.
Winthrop, Maine: The first project in the series of four planned in Maine was completed at the start of the year. The project is constructed of 1,053 fixed-tilt ground-mounted solar panels that feed 1,200 DC kW of energy to the grid through Central Maine Power Company.
“Solaris is proud to be a part of producing this greenfield development project, turning previously unused land adjacent to a farm into a clean energy source that provides energy savings to those in the surrounding community,” said Solaris Energy's CEO and co-owner Nick Perugini. “This project represents the bright potential for solar projects to be a win-win-win as we look to increase clean-energy production to meet rising electricity demand across the country in 2025 and beyond.”
Readfield, Maine: The second of five projects the same partners completed was a 1,451.88 kW fixed-tilt ground mount installation.
“The Net Energy Billing Program offers essential savings to small businesses statewide, and we're proud to play a pivotal role. As we grow our presence in Maine, we are committed to developing and operating critical renewable energy infrastructure that will strengthen the state’s economy,” said Kevin Donlin, Managing Director of Investments at Bridge Renewable Energy.
