A federal judge has dealt a blow to solar companies’ attempt to block a rollback of state incentives for the industry passed by Maine lawmakers.
U.S. District Judge Stacey Neumann on Tuesday denied a motion for preliminary injunction filed by the owners of dozens of solar farms to halt new project fees included in changes to Maine’s Net Energy Billing program.
Judge Neumann discounted the companies’ arguments that an imposition of new fees on existing projects was an unconstitutional government “taking” and said they were unlikely to win the case.
The solar companies argued that they developed projects under an expansion of the Net Energy Billing (NEB) program seven years ago.
Developers sued Maine utility regulators last year, arguing that they relied on the program to make project finances work and adding new fees would cripple existing solar farms.
But Judge Neumann noted that companies’ participation in NEB was entirely voluntary, and they could withdraw and sell power to other customers.
“The project charge does not fall within either recognized exception to the general rule that monetary assessments are not takings,” Judge Neumann said.
Maine lawmakers expanded NEB in 2019 to encourage developers to install “community” solar projects of up to 5 megawatts with special electric rates paid for by electric customers.
The policy sparked a boom in solar development in Maine, but costs of the program were tied to overall electric prices which rose sharply in recent years.
In 2026 lawmakers curtailed the program and added the new charges to offset electric ratepayers’ expenses.
An attorney representing the companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But Kevin Cray, vice president of existing markets and regulatory affairs for the Coalition for Community Solar Access said the group was disappointed by the decision and believed in the merits of the suit’s claims.
“This retroactive policy change chills economic investment, undermines market certainty, and punishes American companies that followed the law, while ignoring the Maine Department of Energy Resources’ report that natural gas, not solar or wind, is the real driver of soaring power prices,” Cray said in a press release.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
