$25M solar farm proposed for Buxton

Glenvale Solar personnel lead participants on a site walk of the Buxton site proposed for the Emery Meadow Solar Station. Contributed / Glenvale Solar

A $25 million, 119-acre solar farm capable of lighting up every household in town and then some is proposed for Buxton.

Glenvale Solar of Boston wants to start construction next year on the Emery Meadow Solar Station off Haines Meadow Road in the vicinity of Mark P. Emery Road.

“We are committed to spending about $10 million on construction and professional services locally,” Glenvale founder Aidan Foley said Wednesday.

The project would create about 100 construction jobs, he said.

Equipment, such as the solar panels, racks, inverters and transformers, account for the remaining project costs of $15 million, he said.

Buxton Selectman Chad Poitras said the project will “help the tax base for sure.”

The energy will be sold directly to Central Maine Power, said Foley, whose company has two other Maine projects in the permitting process, in West Baldwin-Hiram and Topsham. He said he hopes to start construction in Buxton in 2022.

The Buxton Planning Board in an ongoing review Monday didn’t set a public hearing date for the project, but Foley said he hopes for one Aug. 9 or Aug. 23.

The town is reviewing the application for the solar farm without a specific solar ordinance in place, but regulations are being worked on, Planning Board member Scott Warchol said at Monday’s meeting.

Planning Board Chairperson Keith Emery said Tuesday the guidelines being used until then fall under public utilities.

The solar farm, including roads, will be developed on property owned by Dana Packard and additional land owned by Brent Hill. Glenvale will lease the site from the property owners.

The project will include two small sheds and a small, power substation. The facility will be connected to an existing CMP transmission line and will generate enough electricity its first year to power 4,922 homes, Foley said. Buxton had 3,131 households between 2015-2019, according to the U.S. Census figures.

The forested site is secluded and the facility will not be visible from public roads or publicly accessible trails, the company says.

“The project will use advanced technology to maximize the energy production; it will incorporate single-axis tracking racks that follow the sun, and bifacial solar panels, which generate electricity from both sides,” the Glenvale web site states.