Solar power: brighter energy future

I am committed to the goal of an energy-independent Maine, to a state that relies more on energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources like the sun, wind, water and wood, and less on foreign oil and gas. Solar power is one of many sustainable energy options for Maine that I support and believe in.

My solar initiative will provide rebates and tax incentives for homeowners and businesses that install solar electric and solar hot water systems. It makes good economic and environmental sense.

We need to dispel the myth that the “sun does not shine in Maine.” In fact, Portland receives 4.5 hours of sun per day on average; Caribou receives 4.2 hours. This is more sun than Massachusetts, Pennsylvania or New York receive, three of the 26 states that offer solar incentive programs like the one I am proposing for Maine.

Even Florida, the “sunshine state,” receives just one more hour of sun per day than Maine on average. And many cities in California, another leader in solar power, get only 1 to 1.5 more hours of sun per day than Maine.

The solar energy experts that I have talked with say solar systems work even when the sun is not shining at its brightest. On partly cloudy days, they can generate up to 80 percent of their potential energy. On very overcast days they can generate approximately 25 percent of their maximum output. Solar experts agree that Maine is an attractive state for solar power.

The sun’s power is free – imported oil is not. Solar electric and hot water systems can help insulate Maine people from the tremendous price volatility we are seeing in world oil and gas markets.

In the typical Maine home, electric water heaters consume the most electricity. A solar hot water system can reduce electricity costs in a four-person home – that heats water electrically – by more than $1,000 a year. An estimated 1 million homes and 200,000 businesses heat water with the sun in the United States.

Solar systems are produced in the United States, strengthening the economy and reducing our trade deficit. Today, the solar photovoltaic industry employs 20,000 men and women in high-value, high-tech jobs. If the industry continues to grow at its current rate, it is projected to employ 150,000 Americans within 20 years. If Maine gets serious about installing solar systems there is no reason they cannot be manufactured right here, creating good jobs and economic benefits for Maine people.

Renewable energy sources like solar, wind, water, and wood protect the environment too. Compared with electricity produced from coal, oil, or natural gas, solar electricity produces no carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas; no sulfur dioxide, which is causing acid rain and is acidifying our lakes and rivers; and no nitrogen oxide, which forms unhealthy ozone “smog.”

Reducing our dependence on imported oil and gas requires a full court press on many fronts: energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable power. I am working on every one of them.

In 2003, I created an Office of Energy Independence and Security. Maine state government is walking the energy independence talk by purchasing 40 percent of its electricity from renewable power; by using biodiesel to heat twenty state buildings; by purchasing more hybrid vehicles and by driving less; and, by installing energy efficient lights, computers, and vending machines. These steps save the state money and have reduced our global warming gas emissions by eight percent over the past two years. It is time that we adopt these same sustainable energy practices statewide, so that all of Maine’s citizens can enjoy their economic and environmental benefits.

Last year I introduced legislation to amend Maine law to encourage the development of new grid-scale renewable energy systems, especially wind. This year we are introducing legislation that requires natural gas utilities with more than 5,000 residential customers to offer conservation programs. I support the adoption of appliance efficiency standards and residential energy building codes, the two cheapest ways to realize a large portion of the enormous energy efficiency potential in Maine and New England.

This potential is so large that it has been estimated that New England could avoid the need for fourteen 300- megawatt electric power plants by 2008, and twice that many by 2013, through a sustained campaign of investment in cost-effective energy efficiency measures. While solar power is not a silver bullet, it is an important step toward the goal of energy independence.

John E. Baldacci is the governor of Maine.