Community solar farm has its day in the sun (Maine)

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http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/15/community-farm-has-its-day-in-the-sun/comments/

WAYNE — Watching things leave and return to earth was a regular part of Rosanne Graef’s childhood. Her father, Howard Holman, was a commercial pilot who enjoyed flying smaller planes in his free time and built an airstrip on their 90-acre property overlooking Androscoggin Lake.

Holman is now dead, but his daughter has ensured a family legacy next to the airstrip with an installation of five solar panels. Like Holman’s airstrip, the solar farm is now known as “Sky Ranch.”

Besides being a tribute to her father, that name also hints at the reason Graef – who inherited the land but lives in Portland – and eight other Central Maine Power customers collectively contributed $200,000 to have the photovoltaic panels installed.

Community solar farms, as such setups are known, are designed for those ratepayers who would like to get their electricity from the sun, but can’t install solar panels on their own home for whatever reason: Their rooftops aren’t large enough, they rent an apartment, or trees block the sunlight.

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