PORTLAND, Maine — Editor's note: The video attached to this story was published April 18, 2022.
Solar energy projects on Maine farms are expected to bring millions of kilowatt hours of electricity to the state.
The projects will get a boost of $10.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Energy for America Program, according to a news release issued April 22 by Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine. Pingree said the projects are expected to produce more than 7 million kilowatt hours of combined electricity in their first full year of operation.
One of the projects is a ground-mounted solar project in Windsor called Maxcy's Mill Solar. The other is Waldoboro Solar, a slightly larger ground-mounted solar facility in Washington.
Pingree, who is a farmer, said the projects “give small businesses and food producers in my district a huge opportunity to fight climate change at the local level and reduce their operating costs at the same time.”
Waldoboro Solar is in an old gravel pit, while the Windsor location is on open land.