The cost of solar panels is at an all time low, and they've never been more efficient at generating electricity. With electricity costs going up, and with aging fossil-fuel burning boilers powering our schools, it's the perfect time to install solar panels on the roofs of Portland public schools and public buildings

Solar panels pay for themselves! Dover, New Hampshire, Westbrook, Maine and Cambridge, Massachusetts all have installed solar panels on their schools, and saved massive amounts of money in their annual energy costs. Portland should follow their lead.

We have acres of rooftops! Portland has 17 public schools and a half dozen public buildings, most of which have flat roofs. Free energy (= free money!) is falling on all these roofs right now. Let's capture it! And solar panels can extend the life of a flat roof too, by protecting them from most rain, snow and sun.

If you agree, sign this petition. We at the Portland Climate Action Team will be approaching the City Council within the month to formally ask them to pursue solarizing our buildings in 2026. Help us make the case that it's fiscally smart, environmentally responsible, and wildly popular! 

(The picture on this petition is of the 633kW solar rooftop array on the roof of Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, installed by Revision Energy in 2020. They are estimated to save $800,000 in energy costs over the lifetime of the panels. But solar panels have dramatically dropped in price and dramatically increased in efficiency since then - cost savings will be far larger for a new solar array installed today! One Westbrook school is expected to save ~$180,000 per year in energy costs with their new solar array installed in 2025.)

Read Portland resident Linda Stimpson's Letter to the Editor supporting Solar on Schools >>

QUICK FACTS:

• Maine electricity prices have increased by 36 percent in just one year, the highest of any state.
• A 2020 study by GridSolar estimated that roof top solar could supply 30 percent of the city’s electricity needs, OCF BE 3.6.
• The City of Portland is already saving millions of dollars from solar projects around the state developed through a consortium of organizations.
• Rooftop solar on four Westbrook schools is expected to save more than $14 million over the lifespan of the project, with the electricity cosint less than 5 cents per kWh over the lifespan of the project.
• Portland has three times as much roof space as Westbrook on our 18 schools.
• 2024 was the warmest year ever recorded based on the global average temperature.  The previous hottest year was 2023 and the last ten years (2015-2024) were the hottest ten years ever.
• 2024 was the first year the annual global average temperature exceeded the 1.5 degree C warming limit set by the Paris Climate Accord
• The highest increase in carbon dioxide concentrations was in 2024 with an increase of 3.5 parts per million (ppm). Increases in carbon dioxide have accelerated year-to-year since the 1960s when the average increase was 0.8 ppm.
• The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99 percent of the world’s oceans. Marine species like the Maine lobster are shifting northward for preferred temperatures.
• Nearly 70 percent of Mainers believe climate change will have a negative impact on the state in the next ten years.
• Over 70 percent of Maine voters support actions to encourage solar development in their communities.
• The City of Portland has committed to reducing community wide greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and transitioning to 100% clean energy for municipal operations by 2040
• In 2019 the Portland City Council, in response to a youth-led movement, voted unanimously to declare a climate emergency and adopt an interim greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal of 35 percent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.
• An updated GHG inventory for the City of Portland only shows a few percent decrease from the 2017 baseline. The City will not meet the 2030 interim goal without taking bold action as soon as possible.