Saddleback prepares to build on-mountain solar farm
Courtesy / Saddleback Mountain
Saddleback, which reopened last year after being closed for five years, plans to built a solar farm on the mountain.
Saddleback Mountain ski resort, whose overhaul and reopening last year included plans for a solar farm, is preparing to break ground on it.
The Rangeley resort said Tuesday it has hired Boston solar developer Nexamp for the construction of a 31-acre community solar farm on the mountain in an effort to reduce energy costs and add new revenue through a long-term lease agreement.
Construction on the solar farm is expected to begin early next year, with the facility producing clean electricity by the start of the 2022-23 ski season. The solar farm will have a capacity of 7.36 megawatts and offset more than 14 million pounds of carbon from fossil fuel generators annually, according to a news release.
Saddleback said the site of the solar farm will cover less than 1% of its real estate.
Saddleback, which dates to 1960, is owned by Arctaris Impact Investors LLC, a Boston group that bought the resort in 2020 for $6.5 million after it had been closed for five years. Arctaris has been making investments in the mountain and working to restore the business as a major employer and destination in the Rangeley region.
Among those efforts, Arctaris has installed several new chairlifts, new snowmaking equipment, a new groomer fleet and a renovated base lodge. A new mid-mountain restaurant-lodge is under construction.
Arctaris identified solar development as a way to power the resort and enhance sustainability. Saddleback led the development effort which included site selection, permitting, and obtaining an interconnection agreement with Central Maine Power Co. Nexamp will construct and operate the solar farm.
Arctaris founder and Managing Partner Jonathan Tower said, "Saddleback has a long history in Maine as a family destination that has provided important economic, employment and recreational opportunities in western Maine. We are committed to positioning Saddleback for long-term sustainability, both economic and environmental. With this project, Arctaris is significantly advancing both of those goals.”
Under Maine’s net energy billing program, enacted in 2019, the community solar farm will generate clean energy that is sent directly to the Central Maine Power grid, providing credits for Saddleback and for subscribers to help reduce annual electric expense.
“As stewards of a remarkable piece of western Maine real estate, it was very important to us to fit this renewable energy project in harmoniously with its surrounding natural beauty,” said Tom Federle, Saddleback’s general counsel, who led the development of the project.
“The Saddleback project is representative of the very real benefits available to businesses in proactively addressing the climate challenge,” said John Murphy, Nexamp senior vice president of corporate development.
“In pursuing this initiative, the resort is helping to achieve Maine’s ambitious renewable deployment and decarbonization goals while controlling operating costs and generating meaningful revenue for additional capital improvements. We’re thrilled to partner with the Arctaris team to help make their vision a reality for the Saddleback community."
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This sounds great, it would have been even better with a Maine solar developer.
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