There was an enormous spill in South Paris today. I watched it spread all the way up East Oxford Road and climb the silo at the top. It was a scene of perfectly wasted resources, literally soaking into untended grass plots and asphalt shingles. It was a solar spill. Sunlight was covering everything in sight.

There was nothing I could do for the millions of watts that sunk purposeless into the roofs nearby, but there is something our local legislators Rep. Kathleen Dillingham and Rep. Lloyd Herrick can do. They can empower the people of Maine to turn these solar spills into an economic boon. They can support LD 1504 and help the residents and businesses of the area afford to create their own independent, clean energy.

This isn’t a pork-filled omnibus bill; rather, it simply corrects the flawed PUC net-metering rule before it takes effect. Also, this bill was sponsored by a Republican and had Republican support in committee. It is a reasonable, bipartisan compromise, which is a refreshing change in politics.

We are sending $5 billion a year out of Maine to pay for fossil fuel heating. Meanwhile, free energy is literally falling from the sky.

From employing the younger generation to easing the burden on seniors’ utility bills, LD 1504 will work for Maine. If only we could gain the attention of our legislators. They have the opportunity to save another budding industry from fleeing the state, like so many of our youth do.

Travis Ritchie, Mechanic Falls