The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) says an average Central Maine Power customer will pay 26% more on each bill beginning on January 1, 2023. Customers of the state's other major electric utility, Versant Power, can expect to pay 18% more. It seems like a...
Increasingly, Mainers are installing solar systems with battery backup for grid outages. During blackouts, solar batteries need to perform well to keep the lights on, the refrigerator running, and the sump pump working. Just like your cell phone or laptop battery, solar panel batteries slowly lose...
Many new solar energy customers wonder how to purchase a solar system now, even though their energy needs may change in the future. The SolarEdge Energy Hub Inverter with Prism technology is a hybrid inverter with next-generation capabilities. An inverter is like the brain of...
Solar energy systems with batteries have skyrocketed in popularity in the last decade. Lithium-ion batteries have increased in capabilities while prices have fallen. Solar battery storage offer greater resiliency during grid outages, especially in areas in Maine with an unstable electric grid. Whereas lithium-ion batteries have...
As concern about resiliency increases, demand for solar plus storage has increased in Maine. In fact, the recent extended power outage at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak has boosted interest in solar systems with batteries. With an unstable electric grid, Maine is a great...
Sundog Solar recently installed a solar system with battery backup for Jim and Paula on their Belfast house. Now, fourteen solar panels power the home, and an LG Chem battery provides electricity during grid outages. The couple experienced several blackouts in the fall and winter this year...
Chuck Piper, co-owner of Sundog Solar was recently interviewed by Earth911 about solar batteries. As the cost of batteries for solar energy drops and the capabilities increase, homeowners are increasingly looking to solar-plus-storage technologies for greater energy independence and resiliency. Natural disasters and extreme weather events...
By Sarah Lozanova Published May 17, 2018, in Earth911 As the cost of batteries for solar energy drops and the capabilities increase, homeowners are increasingly looking to solar-plus-storage technologies for greater energy independence and resiliency. Natural disasters and extreme weather events in 2017 highlighted power grid vulnerabilities and...
When Eric and Alison Rector learned last January that a “Bomb Cyclone” was blasting much of New England and pummeling the Maine coast, the couple was on vacation in Mexico. They soon discovered that many people in Maine were without power. Yet, Eric and Alison...
I visit Anne and Dana Douglass in lovely Deer Isle in late October. Their home is considerably isolated- a spectacular drive over the Deer Isle Bridge, and down several winding roads. The front door to the Douglass' home is approached through the gardens that surround...