Fire Station Solar Array

New Fire Station Solar Array Saves Money on Town’s Electric Bill

At the 2025 Town Meeting the Town approved a new solar array on the Fire Station to save $111,288 in electricity costs. 

 
Check out the live feed of the power production here: https://monitoring.solaredge.com/mfe/flutter/kiosk/index.html?guid=1df26c08-c046-4d94-8750-a5367dd94c6d

The Town has been presented with a proposal from Maine Solar Solutions to purchase and install a 44.5kW solar array on the Municipal Fire Station. The energy produced by the system is anticipated to cover 50% of the Town’s energy use and will be directly credited to the Town’s accounts. This $100,000 project would be paid for with undesignated funds. Further, the system would qualify for a $30,000 Federal Tax Credit Program. 

 

Moreover, the payback period is 9 years, which is less than half of the system’s warranty period of 25 years. After the system reaches its payback period in year 9, all the electricity the system continues to produce for its final 16 years of service costs the Town nothing and is valued at an additional $111,288.

 

More information/resources:

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the funding for the array come from? 

The money comes from the undesignated funds, meaning this money is already in our reserves and will not increase your tax bill. These funds have become available over time as extra revenue is generated, and expenses come in under budget. 

 

Where does the power go that is produced?

All of the power produced by the system will be credited to the Town’s several CMP accounts (including but not limited to the Fire Station account) each month. Any power not used during the month it was produced will be reserved in a Net Energy Billing account with CMP. The Town will have 365 days to use those kWh credits towards our bills. 

 

How does Net Energy Billing work?

The kWh credits in the account are applied to both the delivery portion (handled by CMP) and the supply portion (the electricity). Put another way, if the Town was powered 100% by solar the Town would only be paying connection fees for each account connected to the grid which is not covered by Net Energy Billing. The connection fee is around $30 per account. All CMP customers with or without solar are assessed this fee.

 

What % of our electricity bill does the energy generation from this solar array cover?

The power produced by this array is estimated to cover 50% of our needs.

 

What are the maintenance costs?

Solar does not have any moving parts, fuels or filters so there is no maintenance required. Further, the panels do not need to be washed. Snow does not need to be removed from the panels as they essentially act like a metal roof and will shed the snow. Power production can be monitored at any time on an app.

 

Who owns the panels and equipment?

The Town owns all of the equipment. Nothing is rented from the company. 

 

What are the costs to dispose of the panels?

Bowdoinham’s Solid Waste Facility’s e-waste consolidators will charge $0.60/pound. The 72 panels each weigh 61.73 lbs and would cost $2,667 to recycle. However, this is significantly higher than the cost of landfill disposal, which can be as low as $1 to $5 per panel. 

 

Are solar panels hazardous?

The panels are not considered hazardous waste and do not require any special handing or licensure to dispose of them either in a landfill or through recycling. Moreover, Jinko solar panels do not contain PFAS. 

 

Does it require a utility upgrade?

Maine Solar Solutions reduced the project size to ensure the system did not require a utility upgrade.

 

Is the roof capable of holding the array? What about roof damage?

Yes, it can handle the load. Further, the installation is on a standing seem roof which requires no roof penetrations. The racking system clips onto the seams and the panels onto the racking system. 

 

What are the warranties?

Jinko 540W Panels: 12-year workmanship warranty & 30-year power output warranty. Bloomberg has rated Jinko solar panels as Tier 1, meaning they have the highest bankability and financial qualifications of manufacturers. 

 

SolarEdge Inverters: 12-year warranty (includes system monitoring) & SolarEdge Optimizers: 25-year warranty (1 per panel). The company has been in business since 2006 and is a reliable and widely used brand throughout the industry. 

 

Maine Solar Solutions has a 5-year labor warranty, this is three years longer than one of the other quotes received and on par with the other company who provided a quote. 

 

What is the payment schedule for the system? 

Contract signing - $10,000

CMP approval - $23,333 (2-6 weeks later)

Start of installation - $33,333 (3-5 months after CMP approval, could be sooner)

Completion of installation - $33,334 (~1-2 weeks after start of installation)

How many quotes did the Town consider?

The Town sought after quotes from the three oldest solar companies in the state Sundog Solar, ReVision, and Maine Solar Solutions.

 

Why is this project not being sited at the Public Works building?

While this location was originally sought in a previous project the location does not have as much solar access due to the tall pines surrounding the building. It would be an additional cost to take them down which makes this new location more attractive. 

 

If you have any questions, feel free to be in touch with Yvette Meunier, Director of Planning & Development at [email protected] or 207-666-5531.