Encore Renewable Energy, a renewable energy developer and operator, has completed its first two solar projects owned and operated in Maine.

The 4-megawatt solar array Brooks Solar located in Brooks and the 2.3 megawatt solar array Alpine Street Solar located in Auckland were both powered on last month. These are also the first two projects owned and operated by Encore during its transition from a project developer to a fully integrated independent power producer. As a long-term asset owner, Encore will manage the operation and maintenance of the project, including dual-use agricultural services such as solar grazing.

Every community scale solar project involves a wide range of stakeholders, and our company's philosophy is to work with every participant as a trusted partner, "said Chad Farrell, Founder and Co CEO of Encore Renewable Energy. If done well, renewable energy assets will create meaningful opportunities for utilities, power customers, and developers. Central Maine Power is an excellent partner for these projects and has worked diligently with us to inject vitality into them on a schedule that is suitable for both parties

Both projects provide locally produced clean energy to benefit the economy of Maine. Alpine Street Solar's clients include urban areas, schools, and other large power customers, under off take agreements facilitated by Competitive Energy Services headquartered in Portland; Brooks Solar also provides electricity cost savings for several municipal customers. Maine's remote net energy billing program allows these solar projects to distribute these economic benefits to local communities.

These projects are two of the more than 60 solar projects that will be launched in Maine communities in 2024, adding a total of 241 megawatts of solar power generation, "said Eric Sutton, Vice President of Power Operations at Central Maine Electric Power Company. We strongly support Maine's climate goals, and we will continue to connect more such projects to our power grid by 2025

Agrivoltaic Solutions will deploy local flocks of sheep to graze on the land below and around the photovoltaic array, promoting local agricultural industry development and improving long-term soil quality, while providing efficient and low-carbon vegetation management strategies for the site.

We are pleased to see the Alpine Street and Brooks Solar projects achieve commercial operation, "said Charlie Agnew, Vice President of Competitive Energy Services. These two projects will provide significant long-term economic and sustainable benefits to many commercial and institutional clients in Maine