Syncarpha Capital, a full-service solar developer, owner and operator of community solar farms, and Pacolet Milliken, a family-owned investment company with roots in Maine, anticipate building approximately 74 MW of solar in the state.
Comprised of 11 projects located throughout the state, this portfolio includes projects in Augusta, Belfast, Corinna, Edgecomb, Old Town, Pittsfield, Readfield, Troy, Wiscasset and Waldoboro, and some are scheduled to break ground this summer. These projects will connect to the local electric distribution systems.
Central Maine Power residential customers who sign up with Syncarpha will receive guaranteed savings on their electric bill. Additionally, certain projects will allow commercial and industrial customers to participate, who will see guaranteed savings on their electric bills, as well.
As Syncarpha and Pacolet Milliken’s expansion in Maine unfolds, additional projects are currently in the permitting process, and Syncarpha hopes to have them start construction later in 2021 or early 2022.
Syncarpha’s 7-MW project in Old Town will be leasing land from the city to construct an array on Dewitt Airfield. This land, currently vacant, unused and untaxed and with little agricultural value, will now be a stream of rental income for the city over the next 20-years.
In Readfield, Syncarpha and a property owner struck an unusual agreement, whereby the owner will put approximately 75 of 95 acres into conservation. The remaining acreage will be leased to Syncarpha for the construction and operation of a community solar farm.
The power generated by this array will benefit households in the same utility “load zone,” ensuring that the land is not subject to permanent commercial development. After the operational life of the solar farm, equipment will be removed and the portion used for solar will be put into conservation as well.
Syncarpha has purchased rocky land located next to a highway in Augusta to build a solar farm, but will not develop the entire parcel. The project is donating approximately 10 acres of woodlands to the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, its largest sportsman’s organization, for the alliance’s outdoor education center.
Land arrangements like these will help Maine to achieve the Renewable Portfolio Standard goal of securing 100% of its energy from renewables by 2050.
News item from Syncarpha Capital
