ReVision Energy says its offer to pay the town $8,000 per year to lease 5 acres of George J. Mitchell Field for a solar farm could go up as it determines expenses for the project.
A representative of the solar energy company also said the town’s old landfill is too small to consider as an alternative, but it is open to multiple sites at the 120-acre Mitchell Field.
“We’re flexible in terms of the exact location,” said Michael Bartner, a commercial solar consultant with ReVision Energy. Bartner presented the company’s proposal to the Harpswell Select Board on June 6, two weeks after it was first unveiled.
The company would pay the town $7,500 for a five-year option to lease the land, according to the proposal. If it moves forward with the lease, it would pay $8,000 for the first year, with a 2% increase each year. The town would receive a total of $407,456 if the farm operates for 35 years, or $263,742 for 25 years.
The lease payments could start at more than $10,000 per year, Bartner said.
“The biggest unknown, which drives this range, is the eventual utility interconnection costs,” he said. “Preliminary indications look very promising here, but we will not know for certain until an interconnection application is filed and a system impact study is done.”
The figure of $8,000 per year to start “is the worst-case scenario and would reflect significant interconnection and utility upgrade costs,” Bartner said.
The 1.25-megawatt farm would offset more than 1.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide per year, equivalent to the energy use of 219 homes, or more than 2.7 million vehicle miles, according to Bartner’s presentation. It would produce more than 55 gigawatt-hours of electricity over a 40-year period.
“We recognize Mitchell Field is considered a valuable resource for the town. At the same time, I think we all agree local action is important to combat climate change,” Bartner said. “Having a visible, prominent community solar farm on a town property is a beautiful way to display the town is doing its part to solve the climate crisis.”
Bartner noted that Harpswell is on the Gulf of Maine, which is warming faster than 99% of the global ocean, according to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
“It’s also a great opportunity for the town to earn some revenue that can help offset taxes,” Bartner said.
ReVision Energy, established in 2003, has offices in Montville and Portland, as well as locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Bartner said the employee-owned company’s mission is to “make life better by building our just and equitable electric future.”
He said part of his role with the company is to seek out opportunities to install solar arrays on “brownfields.” Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government offers a bonus tax incentive for solar development on the sites.
“I’m here in front of you because you happen to have one, Mitchell Field, that really lends itself to solar well,” Bartner said.
A brownfield is a property “where the current or future use is affected by real or perceived contamination,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Environmental contamination poses a threat to the environment or human health.”
“Typically, brownfields properties were used for commercial, industrial, or residential activities in the past,” the agency says. “Properties may be blighted and vacant, abandoned or occupied.”
Mitchell Field was a U.S. Navy fuel depot before the federal government transferred the property to the town in 2001.
Bartner, in response to questions, said the town’s former landfill is not big enough for a 5-acre array and does not qualify as a brownfield for purposes of the incentive.
After Bartner’s presentation, Harpswell Select Board Chair Kevin Johnson said the board would refer the proposal to two town committees, the Energy and Technology Committee and the Mitchell Field Committee, and ask them to report back with their findings.
If the board eventually advances the proposal, it also would need approval from voters.
