Maine’s solar compensation program is officially called Net Energy Billing (NEB) — not net metering, though the mechanics for rooftop solar are essentially the same as full retail net metering. The naming distinction matters because Maine’s LD 1777 (effective January 1, 2024) changed the compensation structure for community solar projects to a below-retail tariff rate, and some coverage of that change created confusion about whether rooftop solar was affected. It was not: residential rooftop solar in Augusta continues to receive full 1:1 retail-rate NEB credits under CMP, unchanged by LD 1777.
Under CMP’s NEB program, every kilowatt-hour your system exports to the grid during a billing period earns a credit at CMP’s current retail rate — approximately 24–27¢ per kilowatt-hour depending on rate schedule and the time of year. Credits are denominated in kilowatt-hours rather than dollars, which means their dollar value adjusts as CMP’s rates change. Credits roll forward month-to-month on a rolling 12-month window using a first-in, first-out accounting method: credits earned in July remain valid through the following July, credits earned in August through the following August, and so on. The rolling window means a well-sized Augusta system — one that produces roughly 100% of annual household consumption — will typically consume its oldest credits before they expire, arriving at each month’s expiry point with minimal forfeiture.
Augusta’s solar production follows the same seasonal pattern as all of Maine: summer months (June–August) produce significantly more than household consumption, building a credit buffer that carries through the lower-production winter months (November–February). The rolling NEB credit structure is well-suited to this seasonal pattern, allowing summer surplus to cover winter consumption without a fixed annual reset date that could strand credits prematurely.
More than 60% of Maine homes heat with oil — the highest oil-heat dependency of any state in the country. Augusta homeowners who heat with oil face two large, separate utility bills: electricity from CMP, and home heating oil purchased at market rates that have ranged from $3.50 to $5.00+ per gallon in recent years. Rooftop solar addresses the electricity bill directly through NEB credits. But the real transformation happens when solar is paired with an electric heat pump.
A cold-climate air-source heat pump — which modern units rated for Maine winters can now provide down to -15°F — replaces oil heat with electrical heating that runs at two to four times the efficiency of electric resistance heating. A heat pump that consumes 3,000 kWh per year to provide the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of oil heating can be powered entirely by a well-sized solar array, eliminating both the CMP electricity bill and the annual oil delivery cost simultaneously. For Augusta homeowners spending $2,000–$3,500 per year on heating oil, the combined solar-plus-heat-pump savings can dwarf the electricity-only savings that solar produces alone.
Efficiency Maine Trust — the state’s energy efficiency organization — provides rebates on qualifying cold-climate heat pumps of $1,500–$2,000 per unit for standard-income households and up to $8,000 for income-qualified households. These heat pump rebates are stackable with rooftop solar, creating a combined electrification package that addresses both energy bills in one project. Augusta homeowners evaluating solar should ask installers to model the full solar-plus-heat-pump scenario, not just solar in isolation.
Maine solar installations average approximately $2.91–$2.95 per watt in 2026. A typical Augusta single-family system (7kW–10kW, sized to annual household consumption) costs approximately $20,400–$29,500 before incentives. Maine provides two state-level tax advantages: solar equipment is exempt from Maine’s 5.5% sales tax, saving approximately $1,120–$1,620 on the system cost, and solar installations are fully exempt from property tax assessment — the added value of the system does not increase the annual property tax bill. Note that the property tax exemption statute was revised in 2025; confirm current terms with your town assessor before installation. No Maine state rebate exists for solar PV — Efficiency Maine Trust’s programs focus on heat pumps and weatherization, not solar panels. The federal residential solar tax credit (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025, removing a 30% upfront reduction for cash and loan purchases. At CMP’s approximately 24–27¢ per kilowatt-hour rate, cash-purchase payback for Augusta systems runs approximately 9–12 years at current pricing, with 25-year savings in the $70,000–$96,000 range depending on system size and consumption.
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