Farmington, pop. 7,760, is located in Franklin County in Western Maine. It is an hour by car from Augusta, less than two hours from Portland, three hours from Boston, and four from Montreal, Canada. Its landscape of forested mountains and rolling fields, along with its remote location, gives Farmington a distinctly rural character. Read more about Farmington and the Sandy River Valley
Where are the panels installed?
The vast majority of the panels are located on land owned by Bussie York, a local farmer and community member. Sandy River Farm, Bussie’s operation, encompasses lands on both sides of Rt. 2 southeast of town. Some panels were constructed on the south side of the road, but most are tucked away in the hills and valleys to the north. The land was previously used for pasture in the open areas and logging in the forested ones.
AM I able to see the facility?
NextEra Energy Resources, the developer of this project, took care to make sure the panels interfered with Farmington’s beautiful vistas as little as possible. In response to feedback from the community, the company changed the locations of many of the panels to be less visible from the road and from an abutting neighborhood. They also planted various trees and shrubs that, when grown, will help to obscure the view. However, many panels are currently still visible, particularly from Mt. Blue High School and the Stanwood Park Circle neighborhood.
WHO PAID FOR IT?
Ultimately, the purchasers of the power (or more accurately, the buyers of the renewable energy credits (RECs)) are what made the project financially possible. These buyers include the NECRP colleges (Smith, Amherst, Williams, Hampshire, Bowdoin) and New England utility companies. NextEra Energy Resources financed and developed the project.
What is NextEra Energy Resources? How are they involved in the project?
NextEra Energy Resources is an energy company based in Juno Beach, Florida. It is the “world’s largest producer of wind and solar energy,” according to the company’s website. NextEra Energy Resources is the company developing the Farmington Solar Project. They designed the facility, responded to community input, obtained financing and power purchasers, completed the regulatory requirements, and constructed the facility. Read more about NextEra's involvement in the FSP
WHY WAS FARMINGTON CHOSEN FOR THIS FACILITY?
The Farmington site offers many advantages for solar energy development, despite its high latitude and dark winters. First, Maine is part of the New England grid, meaning the solar facility, despite its distance from many of the power purchasers, is connected to the same electricity grid. In comparison to Massachusetts, where many of the FSP electricity buyers are located, Maine has less existing solar development, more land, and lower population density. Massachusetts also has less farmland available to be converted into solar farms. The Farmington site was also appealing in that it was located close to a place to connect to the grid, which is an important consideration when siting large projects. It also had the benefit of being located mostly on the land of a single landowner, Bussie York, who was highly supportive of the project.
Who is Bussie York? How will the project benefit his family?
Bussie York is a dairy farmer in Farmington. He is also the largest landowner, and he is deeply involved in the community. The Farmington Solar Project facility is located almost entirely on his land. The York family has been under financial duress due to low milk prices, which have led to the shuttering of dairy farms all over the country in recent years. Before the project location was chosen, Bussie lost his milk buyer, and has had to downsize his herd considerably. By leasing his land to the Farmington Solar Project, Bussie has been able to make up much of that lost income, putting his family in a much improved financial situation. Read more about Bussie's involvement in the FSP
Where is the electricity going? Who gets the credit for the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions?
This is a complicated question. Technically, the electricity generated by the project does not flow directly to the organizations buying that electricity. It is helpful to think of the New England electrical grid as a “bathtub” with electricity generating facilities like the FSP pumping electricity into the bathtub and electricity consumers pulling electricity out. In the bathtub, the electricity gets mixed together, so no electricity consumer can be sure of exactly where the electricity they are using comes from, or whether it came from a renewable or nonrenewable source. However, because electricity tends to follow the “path of least resistance,” much of the energy generated by the Farmington facility is used by customers close by--that is, by residents of Farmington and the surrounding areas. So why would electricity customers far away from the Farmington site pay to construct this facility, if they are not going to receive the most of the renewable electricity generated from the project? The answer: while they don’t receive all of the electricity generated from the renewable energy project they paid for, the organizations financing the FSP do get the credit for the renewable electricity they added to the grid. This credit comes in the form of legal entities called renewable energy credits (RECs), which allows the organizations to claim the carbon emissions reductions they paid for as their own. So while Farmington uses much of the electricity generated by the project, the entities who paid for the project get the credit for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
will it change my cost of electricity?
While NextEra Energy Resources has no control over Farmington's electricity prices (those are set by Central Maine Power, the local utility company), former Project Manager Liz Peyton suggested that regional prices could decrease because of the Farmington Solar Project, an additional stable source of electricity in the New England grid.
What is the impact on the town government?
The project was anticipated to have a significant impact on the town’s finances, potentially increasing revenue by around two million dollars through property taxes generated from the site. The site was not expected to generate much if any additional need for government services such as police protection or infrastructure, and therefore was not expected to create much additional cost for the town. As the value of the project depreciates, however, the town will gain less and less revenue. According to Richard Davis, the Town Manager for Farmington, the town will likely try to keep the tax rate stable, setting aside the additional tax revenue in reserves.
Who are the government officials involved in this project?
The Farmington Solar Project will add a massive 75 megawatts of clean, renewable energy to the New England grid, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and slowing climate change. Because of this, we consider the overall environmental impact of the Farmington project to be overwhelmingly positive. With the acknowledgement that no project of this size can be built and operated without local environmental impact, the Farmington Solar Project’s impact is relatively low. The developers took great care to avoid destruction of wetlands, and thoroughly assessed the other environmental impacts of the project. The project did require removal of trees in its 490 acre footprint. However, the forest is relatively young and degraded from constant logging, and its loss will not have a significant impact on the health of Maine’s vast forest ecosystems. Though this deforestation will create some carbon emissions from the decomposition or burning of the trees, the facility will prevent many more emissions than it will create.
How many jobs will this project create?
The project created around 180 temporary construction jobs, and a few jobs lasting the period of the facility’s existence.
What will happen at the facility after the panels reach the end of their working life?
The panels are expected to last 25 to 40 years before they are retired. Once they reach the end of their useful life, NextEra Energy Resources will remove the panels and salvage any additional value they can. The land the panels are situated on will not be negatively affected in a significant way, and could be used for more electricity generation or for other things. Bussie expressed hope that the cleared land could be used for farmland, a valuable resource in heavily forested Maine.
How are Williams College, Hampshire College, Smith College, Amherst College, And Bowdoin College involved in this project?
These five colleges form the New England Colleges Renewable Partnership (NECRP), a consortium of schools that have collaborated to buy electricity from the Farmington Solar Project. Read more about the NECRP and its history
What are some educational opportunities created by the FSP?
The Farmington Solar Project creates many educational opportunities, both for students in Farmington and for students farther afield. Jake Bogar, a teacher at the Foster Tech Center in Farmington, uses the project’s permitting documents to educate students in his pre-engineering course. He hopes to use the site to give his students additional hands-on experience once the project is completed. The facility may also benefit students at Mt. Blue High School and other schools in the area. The project could also be a learning opportunity for students and faculty at the NECRP colleges, as well as UMaine Farmington. It certainly has been a fruitful avenue of research for the interns involved in this research project!
Who made this website? How was this information gathered?
The information on this website was compiled by Witter Swanson of Amherst College, Larissa Holland of Smith College, and Evan Wright of Williams College, as part of the 2019 Collaborative Solar Research Project (CSRP). Read more about the CSRP and the three interns.