{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "last_updated": "2026-07-02",
  "source": "https://pluginsolarhub.org/state-legality/",
  "disclaimer": "Informational, not legal advice. Plug-in solar law evolves fast; verify with your utility and state authority.",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "attribution": "PlugInSolarHub (pluginsolarhub.org)"
  },
  "state": "Maine",
  "slug": "maine",
  "status": "Legal — signed (eff. Jul 15, 2026)",
  "status_badge_verbatim": "Legal — signed (eff. Jul 15, 2026)",
  "avg_rate_cents": 24,
  "main_utilities": [
    "Central Maine Power",
    "Versant Power"
  ],
  "main_utilities_source": "https://www.maine.gov/mpuc/regulated-utilities/electricity/delivery-rates",
  "main_utilities_source_name": "Maine Public Utilities Commission, Residential Electric Rates",
  "main_utilities_verified": "2026-08-01",
  "page_url": "https://pluginsolarhub.org/state-legality/maine/",
  "last_reviewed": "2026-08-01",
  "legislation": {
    "bill": "LD 1730",
    "status": "signed",
    "date": "2026-04-06",
    "effective": "2026-07-15",
    "max_watts": 1200,
    "cert_required": "UL or equivalent nationally recognized testing laboratory",
    "signed_by": "Gov. Janet Mills",
    "source_url": "https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0676&item=5&snum=132",
    "notes": "PL 2026 c.644, approved 6 April 2026, enacts 35-A MRSA 3475. An 'eligible system' is a plug-in photovoltaic or plug-in battery system with an EXPORT CAPACITY of 1,200 watts or less, listed or certified to UL 3700 or a comparable standard, using inverters configured to shut off within 0.2 seconds if power is disrupted. Subsection 3 sets the tiers in COMBINED INVERTER OUTPUT measured in alternating current: up to 420 W per service address with no further condition; above 420 W and up to 1,200 W each system must be installed by an electrician licensed in the State and use a dedicated circuit with a single outlet. Subsection 5: the customer must notify the utility on a form prescribed by the Commission within 30 days of installation; the utility may not deny a compliant installation. Subsection 4: an eligible system MAY NOT be used for net energy billing under 3209-A or 3209-B. Subsection 8: a customer installing on a structure they do not own must not compromise its integrity or violate state or local building, fire or zoning codes.",
    "source_url_type": "primary - Maine Public Law 2026 c.644, approved text",
    "watt_tiers": [
      {
        "max_watts": 1200,
        "basis": "export capacity (definition) / combined inverter output in AC (capacity limits)",
        "provision": "35-A MRSA 3475(1)(A) and 3475(3)",
        "effect": "Above 420 W: must be installed by an electrician licensed in Maine, on a dedicated circuit with a single outlet, with notification to the utility within 30 days of installation. No interconnection application, agreement, study, fee or extra equipment. Not eligible for net energy billing."
      },
      {
        "max_watts": 420,
        "basis": "combined inverter output, measured in alternating current",
        "provision": "35-A MRSA 3475(3)",
        "effect": "May be installed and operated by the customer with no electrician requirement, no dedicated-circuit requirement and no notification."
      }
    ],
    "verified_against_primary": {
      "date": "2026-08-01",
      "confirmed": [
        "'export capacity of 1,200 watts or less' - 3475(1)(A)",
        "'combined inverter output of up to 420 watts, measured in alternating current' - 3475(3)",
        "above 420 W: 'installed by an electrician licensed in the State and uses a dedicated circuit with a single outlet' - 3475(3)",
        "approved by the Governor 6 April 2026, Chapter 644"
      ],
      "corrected": [
        "cap was described as panel capacity",
        "the 420 W split was carried as an unverified report; it is in the statute",
        "source was a pv-magazine article"
      ],
      "added": [
        "dedicated circuit with a single outlet above 420 W",
        "notification to the utility within 30 days of installation - 3475(5)",
        "an eligible system may not be used for net energy billing - 3475(4)"
      ]
    },
    "certification_requirement": {
      "required": true,
      "provision": "35-A MRSA §3475(1)(A)",
      "quote": "Listed or certified in accordance with UL 3700, the Outline of Investigation for Interactive Plug-in Photovoltaic Equipment and Systems ... or ... a standard comparable to UL 3700 from a nationally recognized testing laboratory",
      "standard_named": "UL 3700",
      "effective": "2026-07-15",
      "source_url": "https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0676&item=5&snum=132",
      "verified": "2026-08-02",
      "note": "Verbatim from the primary text. 'Nationally recognized testing laboratory' is the term used in 29 C.F.R. 1910.7; UL, CSA and Intertek/ETL are all NRTLs. A CE mark is a European self-declaration and is not an NRTL listing."
    }
  },
  "source_file": "/data/plug-in-solar-laws.json"
}