Edgecomb was host to the first member-owned solar farm in Maine. Wiscasset may soon follow suit and become home to Lincoln County’s second solar farm. Hans Albee, of ReVision Energy, met with the Wiscasset Planning Board Monday, Aug. 31 to discuss a proposed 132- to 165-panel solar array to be located at the Morris Farm.
The proposed solar farm will also be member-owned with an association currently in the process of forming. Members of the association will receive credit from Central Maine Power Co. for the energy produced by the solar farm in proportion to their share in the association.
Members will also receive a 30 percent tax credit for their investment in the solar farm – an investment that will pay off financially in approximately 10 to 12 years, James Manzer, of ReVision Energy, said. For those involved, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the solar farm will be the real payoff.
Inspired by Edgecomb’s solar farm, Sam and Cayda Selby, of Wiscasset, began to explore the possibility of creating one in Wiscasset. The couple lives in the woods and would not be able to go solar at their location, Sam Selby said.
The solar farm model allows anyone with a meter in Central Maine Power’s service area to benefit from solar energy. “It’s a beautiful idea,” Selby said.
The Selbys, volunteers at the Morris Farm, approached co-president Les Fossel about using the Morris Farm as a potential site for a solar farm. The farm seemed to be the perfect location for a solar farm with its “beautiful fields of uninterrupted sunlight,” Selby said.
The board of directors agreed and Morris Farm and ReVision Energy began to plan Lincoln County’s second solar farm. “It’s all about sustainability for us,” Fossel said. “Sustainable agriculture, sustainable living. We want to leave as small a footprint as possible. It fit into our mission statement perfectly.”
According to Albee, association members will lease a 180-by-50-foot tract of land from Morris Farm for the solar farm. The site has the extra benefit of an already installed utility pole, which will make tying into CMP’s grid easy, Albee said.
Association membership is limited to nine. If six members join the association, ReVision Energy will begin the permitting process with CMP so construction of the solar farm can be completed quickly once nine members join, Albee said.
According to Manzer, five individuals in the Wiscasset area have already put down a deposit to join the association and nearly a dozen more are considering it. “We’re more than halfway there,” Manzer said.
ReVision Energy hopes to complete construction of the solar installation in the fall before the ground freezes, Albee said. Otherwise, construction would have to wait until the spring.
The size of the solar farm will largely depend on the association members. The installation would be a 40- to 51-kilowatt system composed of 132 to 165 310-watt solar panels that would be installed on metal pilings driven into the ground.
The solar panels would be arranged in two rows and the installation could be as large as 3,000 square feet, Albee said.
Due to the size and visibility of the project, which would be visible from Route 27, the planning board requested that the project undergo a full site plan review application. A site walk, a prerequisite to submitting an application, has been scheduled for Sept. 15 at 4 p.m.
To learn more about the solar farm association forming in Wiscasset, contact James Manzer at 589-4171 or jamesm@revisionenergy.com.
