Wiscasset, Maine. The landscape of the Chewonki’s Eastside pasture has taken a brilliant new turn. Chewonki Foundation is thrilled to announce that construction of its brand-new 420-panel agrivoltaic solar array is nearly complete, and will be activated within days. Generating 230 kW of clean, carbon-free electricity, the system is now poised to capture enough power from the midcoast Maine sky to fulfill Chewonki’s total electricity needs.
Built as a “dual-use” agrivoltaic array, the solar panels sit high enough off the ground to welcome some familiar lawn-mowers back into the field: the flock of sheep from Chewonki’s Salt Marsh Farm. Throughout the year, the sheep will graze happily in the panels’ shade, providing natural vegetation management while demonstrating that clean energy and farming go hand-in-hand.
“Standing out here in the Eastside pasture, and looking at what our community has accomplished, is profoundly inspiring,” says Nancy Kennedy, Chewonki President & Head of School. “Sustainability and stewardship have always been at the heart of the Chewonki mission, and it’s a wonderful thing to know that this solar array will dramatically lower our carbon footprint, and move us closer to our 2030 carbon-free energy goals. I especially appreciate the extremely generous financial support provided by our alumni network to make this new solar array possible.”
Behind the scenes, the successful deployment relied on multiple years of planning, and coordination, led by Chewonki’s Land and Buildings committee, the campus facilities team, and partner company ReVision Energy.
“Getting this array built and tied into our campus infrastructure while maintaining the integrity of our existing systems is no small feat,” says Josh Reed, Chewonki facilities director. “The team pushed hard to bring this project online, and knowing it will offset 140 metric tons of carbon each year makes it worth all the effort. We’ll be running on sunshine.”
New Chewonki Solar Array: Fast Facts
- The Setup: 420 solar panels powering a 230 kW clean-energy system.
- The Environmental Impact: Offsets roughly 140 metric tons of carbon emissions per year, the equivalent of saving 14,561 gallons of gasoline or 218,000 pounds of coal.
- The Economics: Delivers approximately $80,000 in immediate annual electricity savings, projecting a massive $1.5 million in savings over the system’s 40-year lifespan.
- Dual-Use Benefits: The shade provided by the array is beneficial for grazing sheep and lowers both the ground surface temperature and evaporation rate, aiding grass growth.
Looking Ahead: The Journey to 2030
While the completion of the new solar array is cause for celebration, Chewonki leadership notes it is just the latest chapter of a larger 2030 Decarbonization Plan. The overarching goal is an ambitious 80% reduction in total campus carbon emissions by the end of the decade. With an abundant supply of clean electricity generated on site, Chewonki is actively pivoting to the next phase of its strategy: beneficial electrification.
Over the coming years, legacy oil, propane, diesel, and gasoline systems across campus will be phased out and replaced with efficient, all-electric alternatives. Planned upgrades include installing high-efficiency heat pumps and HVAC controls across classrooms and office spaces, transitioning residential housing to on-demand electric hot water, expanding LED retrofits, and phasing more plug-in electric utility vehicles into the campus fleet.
As construction wraps up and the switch flips, Chewonki extends its immense gratitude to the community members, donors, and partners whose generosity funded the project, bringing the foundation a massive step closer to another sustainable, carbon-free century of learning in nature.
