Wiscasset’s first community solar farm is nearing completion and if all goes according to schedule it will be online sometime next month. The solar array is located on the Morris Farm property on Route 27. It was designed and constructed by ReVision Energy of Liberty and Portland.

In a Feb. 24 email to the Wiscasset Newspaper, Hans Albee, P.E. with ReVision reported the system’s modules and inverters were installed over the last two weeks.  “The remaining work is primarily wiring from the modules to the inverters and from the inverters to the utility meter,” he said.

Before the solar farm is activated, Central Maine Power needs to install a larger transformer. Albee estimates the solar farm will generate around 59,000 kilowatt hours a year for its community membership.

“The ... power output is directly proportional to the sunlight intensity,” Albee explained. The panels continue to produce power on cloudy days, but how much depends on how thick the clouds are. Clear sunny days are best for producing solar power.

Albee is the engineer and designer of the project that began back in August 2015 when plans for the solar farm were first outlined to the Wiscasset Planning Board. ReVision had hoped to begin construction in early December but was delayed.

“The planned foundation and racking structure was discovered to be incompatible with the soil conditions, requiring a full re-design with different racking and foundation equipment,” Albee said. 

According to Albee, the solar modules are expected  a “useful life” of 30 to 40 years. The array supported by an aluminum frame faces southwest for maximum sun exposure. The panels are made up of a glass front sheet containing silicon solar cells, and a protective composite film back sheet.

Due to its size, membership in the solar farm is limited. The Morris Farm site has eight members. Albee said with a bigger site, or smaller individual shares, there could be one additional member. At present Maine law limits the total meter sharing credits to 10, one of which is the generation meter. Members can claim a 30-percent federal solar tax credit even though the equipment is not on their home.

“Members receive credits from monthly solar production in proportion to their ownership share, so a 10-percent share gets 10 percent of the credits in each billing period,” added Albee.

“Credits can be used anytime in the 12 months after they are produced,” he said. Albee likens it to using the sun to fill an electrical “wood box” during the summer months and saving it for use in the winter.

In a separate project, ReVision constructed the new solar array on the Morris Farm’s barn. The firm has also had talks with Wiscasset selectmen about entering into an agreement to construct solar arrays on the municipal building and highway garage.