A 36.4 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric array was recently installed at Wavus Camp for Girls in Jefferson on Damariscotta Lake.

The system, designed and installed by ReVision Energy of Liberty, took less than two weeks to fully install. Now, 136 solar panels cover the Wavus Barn roof and will supply 11 percent of Kieve-Wavus’ annual electric use and will offset almost 20 tons of carbon pollution each year. The new solar electric system will join Kieve-Wavus Education's existing solar hot water arrays on the Kieve campus and will further demonstrate the organization’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

“The orientation and solar exposure of the Wavus Barn is ideal for this technology,” says Jennifer Jackson Albee, ReVision Energy’s Customer Relations Manager and a former Wavus camper. “A system this size will produce more than 42,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually and make power for thirty years or more.”

“Kieve-Wavus Education is very excited about this project,” says Henry Kennedy, Executive Director, “as it will not only help to reduce our energy costs, but it will also be utilizing a renewable energy source and is less impactful on the environment than other energy sources.”  Wavus Camp for Girls Director, Kirstie Truluck, said, “We are excited about the opportunity to expose our students first hand to solar production of electricity and to share the many values we see in this technology with our campers, families and community.  The solar array sits just a few yards above the camp garden in which campers spend some time each day tending to the growing plants and discovering the joys of fresh food.  It will be enlightening to experience firsthand more of the ways the sun’s energy can be harnessed and put to good work.”

This project was funded through a PPA – or power purchase agreement – in which ReVision Energy installed the solar array at no cost to Kieve-Wavus, a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. In the coming years, Kieve-Wavus will pay ReVision for the electricity produced by the solar array at a discounted rate; after six years, the Kieve-Wavus can opt to purchase the system outright at market price or continue to buy power from ReVision Energy.