Courtesy / Migis Lodge
The historic Migis Lodge in South Casco is powered for the first time by a solar array, expected to offset 95% of the lodge’s annual electrical power needs.
Updated: June 13, 2019
Migis Lodge receives largest solar array for a Maine lodging
Courtesy / ReVision Energy
ReVision Energy installed a 912-paneled ground-mounted solar array in Rockland, for Migis Lodge in South Casco. The array is the largest that ReVision has installed for a Maine lodging.
ReVision Energy installed a 912-paneled, ground-mounted solar array in Rockland, to provide power to Migis Lodge in South Casco.
The array is expected to offset 95% of the lodge’s annual electrical power needs, according to a June 4 news release.
“The 314-kilowatt solar array will greatly reduce Migis Lodge’s carbon footprint and offset 610,753 pounds of carbon annually,” Nick Sampson, a commercial solar consultant at ReVision Energy, said in the release.
“Migis Lodge is committed to the environment and sustainability,” Jed Porta, general manager for Migis Lodge and managing partner for Migis Hotel Group, a hotel management company, added.
Sampson told Mainebiz the array is the largest that ReVision has installed for a Maine lodging.
For ReVision’s commercial customers in general, the array ranks in the top five for size, he said. And for commercial customers plus projects financed by investors through power purchase agreements, it’s within the top 10 or 15 projects installed by ReVision.
Remote site
Another interesting aspect of the array is its siting in Rockland, more than 90 miles from South Casco. Migis Lodge, which dates back to 1916 and has a lodge and 35 cottages on Sebago Lake, is situated amidst a pine forest on a 125-acre property.
“Most of their the campus property is fairly shaded,” Sampson said.
The shading made the property unsuitable for a ground-mounted or a roof-mounted solar array.
ReVision located and designed an off-site solution in a former gravel pit in Rockland.
“Through net metering, customers can install a project that’s remote,” Sampson explained. “As long as it’s in the same utility territory, they can send the credit from their off-site project” to their account.
The Rockland site was identified when a landowner approached ReVision with an interest in leasing his land for just this kind of project, he continued.
“After speaking with the city, it seemed like it was a great application for that site,” he said.
The arrangement calls for Migis to lease the Rockland property for 30 years, with an option to renew the lease after that.
The solar array has a life expectancy of 40 years or longer.
There’s a lot of interest from landowners in general, who have approached ReVision about leasing their land for this kind of project, according to Sampson.
“It takes the right motivated landowner as well as the right site to make it feasible, but there’s lot of interest and a lot of opportunity,” he said.
ReVision has completed at least three or four ground-mounted of-site projects for commercial customers and about 10 community solar farms, which also operate through the net metering system rather than being directly hooked up to the consumer, he said.
Typically, Revision is looking for 3 acres up to 40 or 50 acres for remote sites, he said. The Migis site is 2.5 acres.
Ground-mounted solar panels are ideal for locations that have restrictions on new construction, so the array has given new life to unused space in the heart of Rockland, according to the release.
The project came online at the beginning of the year and will offset Migis’s LED lights and electric heating of its cottages, as well as the electrical needs of its kitchen and laundry services.
Cost-effective
Ground mounts are common for larger arrays, Sampson noted. Five or 10 years ago, roof-mounts were more cost-effective because the roof acts as the racking system, he said. But the cost of racking components has come down over the last five years, making ground mount projects cost-effective. The racking system is what the solar array is mounted on.
Off-site ground-mounts involve going through a municipal permitting process, he explained. The racking system itself is designed and engineered for the specific projects, which also take a little more coordination in the procurement process.
Site preparation for ground mounts typically involve plant removal, grading and creating access for the installation team, as well as registering the site with the utility for meter installation, he said. Typically, the customer is the party who maintains the site by mowing in the years to come.
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