The Town of Bowdoinham (population approximately 3,000) has chosen Nexamp to provide community solar that will lower its electric bills and enable it to support clean energy. Nexamp’s community solar farm in Madison, ME is a 5.3 MW facility featuring 10,000 solar panels capable of generating enough power for more than 750 average homes. The town is subscribing to an allocation from the farm that covers the power used by five of its municipal buildings.
The town analyzed a few options for going solar and the Selectboard decided that subscribing to a local community solar farm was the right approach for Bowdoinham right now. With no upfront costs, nothing to install, no long-term contracts, and no risk of being “upside-down” on energy credit purchases, the town will save up to 15% on its annual electricity costs and will be supporting the generation of solar energy for the local power grid.
Wendy Rose, Chairperson of the Community Development Advisory Committee said, “The Committee is happy to see that Bowdoinham will be getting its electricity from a solar source. This is a critical moment to be making this move and to be saving the town some money. Our hope is that in the future the Selectboard will explore installing a solar array in town for even greater benefit. It’s good to know that signing up with Nexamp now will not prevent us from exploring other alternatives in the future.”
Community solar allows anyone—from homeowners or renters to municipalities, small businesses or non-profits—in the local utility’s service area to subscribe to a share of the farm and receive bill credits that reduce their monthly electric costs. Because there is no fee to enroll and no long-term contract, subscribers are able to take advantage of the program with no risk.
“There are so many immediate and long-term benefits for towns that choose to participate in a community solar program,” noted Eric Misbach, Director of Community Solar Program Management at Nexamp. “Bowdoinham will realize measurable savings on its energy expenses, which is so important in today’s world of rising costs and tightening budgets. But more than that, the town is taking a bold step in supporting clean energy development—making it possible for others to more easily access the many benefits of solar.”
Nexamp has several dozen community solar farms in operation or under construction across Maine and many more across the country. The company, founded by two U.S. Army veterans, has been providing comprehensive solar and energy storage solutions to consumers, businesses and municipalities for more than a decade. With Maine committed to generating 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, community solar will play an important role for the state. For more information on Nexamp’s community solar programs, visit www.nexamp.com/community-solar.