Draft Project Site Plan
Work on the district’s solar project has begun!
Preparation for the array installation will take place through June.
Please note that the stone parking lot near the Maine Memorial playground will not be accessible until further notice.
Array construction begins in July. Permanent fencing will be installed in August, followed by array and mechanical completion (August) and transformer completion (September).
The Maine-Endwell School District is about to embark on a Solar Energy Project that will produce over 100% of the district’s electricity use, district-wide. The solar field will be constructed on district-owned vacant land adjacent to Maine Memorial Elementary School. Residents authorized the district to purchase the 34 acres in a capital project referendum in 2007. It has remained undeveloped since. At their Sept. 12 meeting, the district’s Board of Education entered into a predevelopment agreement with Renovus Energy. The district will now work with Renovus to take actions that are required before the district enters into an Energy Performance Contract (EPC) for the construction of the solar field. An EPC is a way of financing an energy project which allows funding from cost reductions.
Why now?
In August 2018, the district began formal exploration of a district-owned grid concept presented to them by Renovus Solar. The Board approved a feasibility study contract with Renovus which included working with NYSEG to determine how much electric their system could accept if a solar project were to be built. NYSEG approved the maximum allowable amount for the project (4.1MegaWatt). The amount of energy generated, along with grants and state aid, will lead to the 100% offset of electricity costs for the district, AND produce a positive revenue of $6 million over 25 years, or approximately $240,000 a year on average. Voter approval is not needed to proceed with the project.
What’s next?
The goal is to meet the deadline to secure NYSERDA incentives. Construction could begin as early as summer 2020.