Approval comes after developers and state officials revise plan to no longer require overhead power lines on Tall Pines Way, through part of the Bond Brook Recreation Area.
BY KEITH EDWARDS KENNEBEC JOURNAL
The approval came after the developers and state officials offered a revised plan that would no longer require overhead power lines to be installed on the city’s Tall Pines Way, through part of the Bond Brook Recreation Area.
The original plan for the site was also modified to reduce the impact on trails — used by hikers and mountain bikers — on state- and city-owned land in the surrounding area.
The project, which received permit approval in a 6-0 vote Tuesday, would consist of ground-mounted solar panels on an enclosed area spanning 18.42 acres, with solar arrays attached to a fixed-tilt racking system.
It would be located on undeveloped, forested land northeast of the airport’s main runway. The project would feed electricity into the power grid, offsetting the state’s electrical costs over the 21-year lease with a private developer that would build, operate and maintain the system for the state.
State officials expect the project to generate electricity that could save Maine $6 million over 20 years.
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