Friendship, ME

Throughout his career as a lobsterman, Richard experienced a growing awareness of the connections between climate, environmental changes, and the natural resources he and his community depended upon. Even while still fishing, he began engaging in related activities, co-operative science and education projects, regional ocean planning, and serving on the Maine’s Ocean Acidification Commission. He hoped that “Sharing knowledge derived from working on the water could positively effect the decision making that impacts fishermen.”

Upon retiring three years ago he retained his desire to drive change, “I felt I must start on a smaller scale, begin with myself and my own surroundings, become an example locally.” Thus began a series of projects on his 150 year old house, starting with insulating accessible important areas, and then on to installing heat pumps, and a heat pump water heater. This culminated with the installation of a roof-top solar system to provide the power. “Adding the solar was a big deal, the fact that you can provide your own renewable energy changes your relationship with your world and gives one a sense of positive accomplishment.”

Since then he’s added an all electric battery EV, a level 2 charger in his garage, and even a heat pump clothes dryer. “Driving an EV is a level above, I’ve heard it said once you drive an electric car, you’ll never go back,” he stated. “Knowing that the solar provides most, if not all, of your fuel needs is a major added bonus.”

“All this may seem like a daunting change,” Nelson suggests, “but decide to move in this direction and then take your first step.”

SCITUATE, MA

Frank fished in the Gulf of Maine for over five decades before recently retiring. He now volunteers his time as a board member of various fishing organizations and works to promote long-term ecosystem health and resilience of the fishing community.

“People know that when they buy local fish, it’s really local,” Franks says. “It comes from a pier and moves a thousand feet up the street to a processing facility and moves a hundred feet down the street to a restaurant or a retailer. It’s really, truly local. Fisheries depend on a healthy ecosystem because we need continual productivity.”

Frank installed solar panels on his Scituate home in order to save on energy bills and have a backup source of power for when the grid experiences outages.

“Our motivation for going solar is enhanced by the possibility of putting batteries in the cellar so that we could actually store the solar energy and use it at a time when the grid goes down. Rooftop solar should be installed because it represents a really cost effective and efficient way to get off a hundred percent dependability.”

WAKEFIELD, RI

Dean Pesante captains the F/V Oceana, a 35-foot gillnet boat out of Point Judith, RI. Dean and his crew catch a variety of inshore migratory fish, including bluefish, scup, bonito, black sea bass, tautog, mackerel, and smooth dogfish.

“There’s families that have been making a living from commercial fishing in the ocean for decades throughout the country,” Dean says. “They’re supplying the public with probably the single best source of protein that you could put in your body: wild caught seafood.”

Dean and his family installed solar panels on their rooftop in 2022. The process required cutting down a few tree branches and installing a new roof before the panels could be laid. Dean says the extra expense will be worth it:

“I decided to go solar on my home because the monthly bill was gonna be reduced by 80%. So for me, it was a no brainer. I think more people should be considering solar energy because of all the benefits it has to offer, including the economic benefits and the environmental benefits.”

WARREN, RI

Sarah Schumann works as a deckhand in New England and Alaska, and dedicates her spare time to working with other commercial fishermen to support and defend ocean ecosystems.

“I went solar because it was an action I could take with my own hands to tackle climate change,” Sarah says.

Sarah not only installed solar panels on the roof of her garage, but also switched from a gas-powered vehicle to an EV at the same time. By doing this, she was able to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions from her home and commute.

“Fishermen are innovative. We’re problem solvers. We’re do-it-yourselfers,” Sarah observes. “Energy is power in more than one sense of the word. As the energy transition gets underway, we need to think about who we want to endow with that power. Do we want it to be the same corporations that got us into this mess? Or do we want power to go into local communities like this one?”

POINT JUDITH, RI

Mark Jones lobsters and crabs out of Point Judith, RI on the F/V Kristen J.

Mark and his wife decided to go solar in 2023. As lifelong residents of the Ocean State, they have long been familiar with the effects of climate change. When several of Mark’s dock mates went solar, Mark and his wife felt it was time to do their part. The solar tax incentives being offered only helped this decision.

“It’s a no-lose situation” noted Mark. Their freshly installed panels kept up with the high air conditioning demands of the summer, and he knows it is only a matter of time until their investment is paid back.

“We should absolutely be doing more rooftop solar. Anything to help [the environment].”

PROVINCETOWN, MA

Bill Souza recently retired from a career as a lobsterman in Provincetown, MA on his boat, the F/V Raider III. Bill serves on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association.

The economic incentives of going solar pushed Bill to make the commitment. “The cost of electricity is going up all the time and [solar panels are] fixed.”

Bill rents solar panels, allowing him to forego the large upfront cost. “It’s working,” Bill commented, “we don’t get a light bill in the winter.”

Considering the economic and environmental incentives of going solar, Bill would “definitely recommend [going solar] to others in the fishing community, especially if you have a bay cooler or other equipment.”