MAINE PUBLIC • February 11, 2025
The Maine Public Utilities Commission said it will settle a dispute over a major rooftop solar development planned by the Passamaquoddy Tribe. Late last year, the Indian Township government asked the commission to confirm that it was not violating state rules by installing solar panels on more than 200 homes and buildings in the Washington County community. The project, which included individual battery backup systems, was funded with a $7.4 million federal grant. However, Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative, the utility that serves the area, said it was concerned that the individual rooftop systems combined were a single discrete electric generator. And the entire system together would produce about 20 times more power than allowed under the state's rules for solar arrays qualified to receive benefits through the net energy billing program. On Tuesday commissioners instead voted to start a formal investigation into the matter.