Encore Renewable Energy received permitting approvals to begin construction on a 5-MW array on underutilized land in Oakland, Maine.
Once completed, the new solar array will produce enough clean electricity to power nearly 10,000 Maine homes. Encore was selected by Competitive Energy Services (CES) of Portland, Maine to provide net metering credits from the project to a group of CES customers.
These customers, which include businesses, municipalities and academic institutions, will receive economic relief in the form of lower annual electricity costs, as well as renewable energy credits from the project. The project is expected to be constructed later this year.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has worked remotely to continue developing clean energy projects in the state. The permit was secured working collaboratively and remotely with local officials from the Town of Oakland.
“Maine’s solar market has been advancing steadily under Governor Mills’ leadership. This project and others that follow will support Maine’s growing clean energy economy,” said Chad Farrell, Encore Renewable Energy Founder and CEO. “Solar and energy storage will provide local communities and Maine businesses with economic relief in the form of affordable electricity, lease income for landowners, tax revenue for communities and jobs, all while addressing the climate crisis.”
The Maine solar market is entering a period of significant expansion. According to SEIA’s Solar Market Insights Report, Maine is projected to develop 873 MW of solar over the next 5 years.
“We will be dealing with the impacts of the current pandemic for some time, and as we move forward, we welcome the opportunity to work with Maine communities to help responsibly develop the state’s solar resource in ways that benefit both the communities in which we are working as well as the overall Maine economy,” Farrell said.
News item from Encore Renewable Energy
Solar development can be a great thing, but most of the development is happening on agricultural land, those wide open spaces are easy to build on but they are also the acres that feed us. I would love to see more emphasis put on how we can produce energy from the sun and still produce food from the land. Grazing sheep on the sites is a proven option. Replace petrol mowers with sheep, grass fed sheep! It is a win-win that is not getting enough attention. Hats off to the smaller developers and a few of the larger like EDF and Nexamp that are embracing this symbiosis.