I am a member of the North American Certified Energy Practitioners (NACEP), which is a

certified solar installer that is my qualifications for writing this research paper, and I am an owner of a
5kW PV (photovoltaic-solar) system on my roof. I keep records of how much carbon dioxide emissions
I have saved since the installation of my PV system. The PV system has saved 27,378 pounds of CO2
emissions in approximately four years of run time. We have had 16,613 hours of sunlight since I
installed the PV system in May of 2012. I have a grid-tied system and have a minimum electric bill of
$11.51 per month for most of the year, except for the month of February sometimes runs approximately
$40.00, except for last year it was $20.65.
Among these technologies, PV is unique as it allows homeowners to produce and self-consume
electricity at even small capacity ratings, with minimal maintenance and no fuel costs (Awerbuch, 2000).
What does solar power mean to our environment and how can we, as the human race, protect our natural
habitat in which we live? Carbon footprint is a new buzzword that has gained tremendous popularity
over the last few years, especially in the U.K (Weidema, Thrane, Christensen, Schmidt, & Lkke,
2008). The carbon footprint definition stated as the amount of greenhouse gases and specifically carbon
dioxide emitted by something (as a person's activities or a product's manufacture and transport) during a
given period.(Merriam-Webster, 2015) A countrys carbon footprint accounts for all carbon dioxide
emissions caused by production activities (carbon footprint production-based) and by countrys residents
consumption level (carbon footprint consumption-based) when estimating the total CO2 emissions
caused by direct emission of energy, petrol and gas and indirect emissions embedded in the products it
uses or consumes (Garnaut, 2008). Through the use of solar panels, we can reduce our carbon footprint
on our environment. We could use this to our advantage by placing a tax on carbon emissions and giving
a tax break to people who work to reduce their carbon emissions.

Maine is a great state for use of PV (solar panel systems) to produce electricity for your home or
business. They are many myths about solar power effectiveness in Maine; here are a couple listed in the
Bangor Daily News and the rebuttals:
1. Maine does not have enough sunlight to produce solar energy. The reality is Maines solar resource
is nearly identical to Massachusetts and Vermont, (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2009)
two states with very active solar industries and programs. In fact, there is more sunshine in Maine
than one of the global leaders in solar energy installations Germany (Klein, 2016). The forecast is
in Germany's energy future looks sunny and increasingly free of emissions (Barras, 2013). Germany
is further north than Maine. The 47th parallel is the most northern part of Maine, and the 48th parallel
is the most southern part of Germany. A different way to say this is Maine has 4.0-4.5 average solar
hours per day and Germany has 3.0-3.5 average solar hours per day which is similar to Wabush,
Newfoundland, much further North of the state of Maine.
2. Solar is expensive. The truth is that solar installation to most Maine household if bought all at one
time, is about $18,000.00 (Barbose, et al., 2015, p. 27), say the price of a new car. It seems like a lot
of money to come up with all at once, but there are plans, low-interest loans and DIY ways to make
it work. The federal government will give a 30 percent rebate on solar tax credits, and Maine does
not offer solar incentives. The solar installation would be a payback in about ten years, an
investment in the future when paid back it is low-cost electricity for the rest of your life. Maine
offers low rates on energy improvement loans at the following website.
http://www.efficiencymaine.com/at-home/energy-loans/
The graph below shows the solar growth in the United States over the last 25 years, the graph
shows in the first ten years solar usage went down slightly. But in the next ten years from 2000 to 2010
the solar usage doubled, and as prices continue to fall, and technology becomes better in the last five
years of this graph, solar growth was approximately 450% increase over the previous five years.

Solar Energy Growth Chart June 2016

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Graph is made from the table 10.1 in U.S. Energy Information Administration / Monthly Energy Review June
2016(Kaplan, 2016, p. 151)

The information on PV (solar panel) systems and data tell us why solar technology is ideal for
Maine. One of the biggest reason Maine does not lead the country in the use of solar for electricity is
that Maine has a weak economy. This situation is what we would call a paradoxical situation (catch-22)
for most Maine citizens. The things we can do to resolve this situation is to stay active in the politics
involving solar and start out small with our own solar (PV) system. One question we should answer
before you invest any of your time and money is the following. Do I have sunlight available most of the
day? Use a compass to find South and the surface of your solar panels should be pointing South as the
sun move from East to West during the day. The panels should be placed at a 45-degree angle with full
exposure to the sun most of the day with little shade. This an important question to answer because of
aines excellent tree cover on most properties. Remember there are lots of ways to think about having
solar power and a variety of means to make it happen.