MaineDOT installing solar arrays at three state-owned sites in Augusta
Courtesy / Maine DOT
Work has begun to install a solar array at the Augusta State Airport. This rendering depicts another array, to be installed inside the Exit 109 ramp of Interstate 95.
The Maine Department of Transportation on Wednesday said work has begun to install solar arrays on three pieces of state land in Augusta.
The arrays will be sited at the Augusta State Airport and at Exit 109 and Exit 112 of Interstate 95.
Once completed, the arrays will supply low-cost electricity for nearly 1.7 million square feet of public buildings on the two Augusta campuses of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services, MDOT said in a news release.
Together, the solar installations will have a capacity of 8.5 megawatts, or enough to power about 1,000 homes. MDOT estimates the renewable energy produced will allow Maine to reduce carbon emissions by up to 2,000 metric tons annually and to cut electricity costs by at least $7.2 million over the next 20 years.
"The solar arrays constructed on three parcels of state-owned land in Augusta will save the state and state taxpayers money while also reducing the impact our energy use has on our climate,” MaineDOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note said in the release.
The three projects will be owned and operated by Cenergy Power, which was selected through a competitive bidding process.
Cenergy is beginning work at Exit 109 this week, with further work at the other sites expected to start later this month. Each solar array installation will use pollinator-friendly practices to manage vegetation, the release said.
Cenergy, based in Carlsbad, Calif., was formed in 2006 in response to the growth of the solar energy industry in California, according to company's website.
The arrays support Maine's plan to increase energy efficiency and sustainability measures in state government, in order to reduce long-term operating costs and advance climate goals.
Maine's plan, released in 2021, calls for electricity used by the state government to come from 100% renewable sources by 2024, and for a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from state operations by 2030.
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