UGE International Ltd a leader in commercial and community solar, announces that its 1-megawatt community solar farm in Dover-Foxcroft Maine reached commercial operation and has begun generating electricity.
Built atop an 80,000-square-foot fieldhouse at Foxcroft Academy, the project is now the largest rooftop community solar project in the state of Maine. Foxcroft Academy, which is a hybrid public-private high school, will earn long-term lease income from UGE for use of the rooftop space.
Foxcroft Academy and RSU 68, the local public school district, subscribe to the solar project, reducing both the carbon footprints and electricity costs of their operations. Every year, the project will offset over 1,200 metric tons of CO2, equivalent to the amount produced by burning roughly 140,000 gallons of gasoline.
In late October, UGE and Foxcroft Academy held a celebration of the project. Nearly 500 students, teachers, community members, and government representatives were in attendance. Remarks were delivered by Foxcroft’s Head of School, Board President, and Student Body President; Dover-Foxcroft Town Manager, RSU 68 Superintendent, UGE Chief Revenue Officer, and a Legislative Liaison from the State’s Energy Office.
“The unveiling of this solar power system represents a significant milestone for our community and marks our determination to find and use sustainable energy,” said Arnold Shorey, Head of School at Foxcroft Academy. “This solar power system will generate clean electricity for Foxcroft Academy and RSU 68 and serve as an educational tool, inspiring young minds to explore the limitless possibilities of green technology.”
“RSU 68 will reap the benefit of it through a lowering of our electricity bills,” said Stacy Shorey, Superintendent of FSU 68. “With monthly winter bills in excess of $10,000, it is certainly appreciated by those of us putting the budget together as well as the taxpayers of our communities. Those savings can then be reinvested in our real priority- the students.”
In addition to the Foxcroft community solar project, UGE’s portfolio in Maine includes a 1MW project in the town of Norway which began operating in October 2023, and nine projects totaling 17MW under development.
With the completion of this project, UGE’s operating portfolio now stands at 6.6MW. In addition to its operating portfolio, UGE has eight projects totaling 17.7MW in deployment and construction, the final phases of development.
