Community Solar in Maine
Accessible, off-site clean energy benefits for local residents and businesses.What is community solar?
Unlike traditional solar, where solar panels are placed on a property, community solar projects are installed in an off-site location. Then, anyone in your designated area can access the benefits of that clean energy: renters, homeowners, businesses, nonprofits and more.


Development, Operation & Interconnection
DSD Renewables builds and operates community solar projects in the communities we serve. DSD is also responsible for interconnecting the project with the local utility.
Initial Subscription Sign-Up
Local residents and businesses subscribe to a portion of a community solar project directly with DSD.
Interconnection
The energy generated by the subscriber’s community solar project allocation is directly fed into the state’s electricity grid. The polluting power on the grid is replaced with clean electrons from solar energy, which helps alleviate dependence on fossil fuels. This means that the solar energy produced from a community solar project is not actually fed into an individual property, but is enjoyed by your wider community in Maine.
Solar Energy Production Monitoring
The utility monitors production from the community solar project, and allocates bill credits to DSD subscribers proportionally to their allocation of the project capacity.
Billing & Crediting
Subscribers receive credits on their regular monthly utility bill and are billed for those credits at a predetermined, discounted rate--saving money. Depending on the program type, customers can be billed directly by the utility or separately by a billing manager.
Why consider community solar?
A community solar project provides the benefits of clean energy to those who can’t install their own. By subscribing to a community solar program, customers receive credits on their regular electricity bill for the clean energy produced — which can lower their electricity costs.
Incentives available in Maine
Net Energy Billing (NEB).
Project developers can apply credits from the NEB incentive to offset electricity bills for subscribers. The NEB incentive comprises two programs: The NEB kWh Credit Program, which is available to all electric utility customers and provides kWh credits on customers’ electricity bills; and the NEB Tariff Rate Program, which is for non-residential customers and provides dollar credits on participating customers’ electricity bills.
Project and Subscriber Requirements:
Projects have a capacity limit of 5 MW. Customers need to be in the same utility service jurisdiction to subscribe to a project.
Our Impact
“Community solar projects play an important role in creating a sustainable future. These projects not only help us in reducing our environmental impact, but they will also bring new clean energy benefits to local communities and organizations.”
Chad Wilkerson
Director of Sustainability and Infrastructure Sourcing at T-Mobile
Our Capabilities

Canopy
DSD’s custom solar canopies & carports provide shaded protection to your customers while making an exquisite statement about where you stand on climate action. Take an interactive journey.

Rooftop
Each rooftop application is specially designed to consider building structural integrity, rooftop lifespan and mounting/attachment options, and environmental factors such as snow and wind.

Ground Mount
Ideal for large applications — such as capped landfills, brownfield redevelopment and agricultural — our ground-mounted solar solutions are born from a rigorous design and geotechnical process
Take the first step.
Curious to learn how off-site solar can benefit your business and impact your community? Please reach out to Sarah Moon, our Senior Director of community solar origination, who can give you a sense of what’s possible — and answer any questions you may have.
