Buying Out Our Solar Lease Saves Us Money and Builds Resilience — April 1 Action Alert
Mar 31, 2025
Camden made some bold, insightful moves to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 when we partnered with Revision Energy to install a small solar farm on the town-owned parcel of land known as Sagamore Farms. We signed an agreement to lease the arrays for seven years, with the intention of buying them as soon as allowable—after 7 years (2025).
Camden’s Comprehensive Plan makes a strong case for town-owned solar. See sections on climate change/emissions reduction, pages 51 and 151; capital improvements, pp 156-160; and the 10-year capital improvement plan, which includes solar energy—“install as opportunities arise”—and recommendation to buy out Sagamore Farm in the last 8 pages of document.
The solar array provides about 9% of Camden’s electricity. The town spends approximately $320,000/year on electricity —electrical rates vary widely per year, with this estimate based on 2019 data—with the the Snow Bowl as the largest user.
For two years now we’ve had the contractual right to buy out this lease and take ownership of our first solar array—following the lead of Lincolnville, Thomaston, and Hope. Each of these municipalities has been thrilled with their investment: They’ve reduced their annual electricity costs, and also receive annual rebates known as RECs (Renewable Energy Credits). You can hear these towns’ staff discuss why buying out the solar farms has been such a good move in this recording of an event we hosted last fall.
The cost for Camden’s buyout is approximately $200,000. The first year we own the farm, we immediately cut approximately $33,000 off our electricity bills. We’ll also receive approximately $4,500/year in RECs.
According to Revision Energy (12/4/24): “Based on current electricity rates, the Town would be cash positive from owning the system after 7 years and be up $267,000 by the time the PPA[Power Purchase Agreement] would otherwise end in 2038. In determining the value to the Town, we factored in operational costs for operation and maintenance services to keep the system operating well.”
The Planning Department head has recommended that the town buy out this lease in the upcoming budget year (2026)—see below. The town manager and the Budget Committee rejected this suggestion at their March 27 meeting.
Each year we delay costs the town—in higher electrical bills and higher borrowing costs.
Camden taxpayers won’t be served by pushing this purchase down the road. We should purchase this now. There is $57,000 for “energy conservation” in our capital reserve fund that could provide a start to financing the buyout.
Capital purchases will be discussed at upcoming Select Board meetings, and this Tuesday night (4/1/2025), at 5:30 pm there is time for public comment on the 2026 budget. See more about the meeting here and here. You can find more about the budget here.
Let our select board know you’d like the town to invest in this win-win infrastructure. If you can’t attend, you can email them at: tocselectboard@camdenmaine.gov
And if the Select Board members can’t at this week’s budget discussions bring themselves to invest climate-wisely—let’s ask them to allow residents to vote on the buyout in the June 10 election.
Letting Camden voters decide will demonstrate to the Select Board and town staff that climate change investment is a top priority of residents—and a chance to live up to the promise made when the town manager signed the Global Covenant of Mayors in 2018.
Upcoming Events
4/8/25, Tuesday, 6:30-7:45 pm, Camden Public Library. Another in our Camden Talks Climate series: Backyard Gardening Adventures for Biodiversity, Resiliency, Food, and Fun. Camden gardener Anna Dembska shares stories, techniques, and tips from her experiments in turning her undersized, once-neglected yard into a thriving, evolving environment providing nourishment both physical and psychic. Topics include: rapid, inexpensive, low-input yard-to-garden transformation; seed saving and promiscuous pollination to develop locally thriving plants for food in a changing environment; and freely incorporating elements of permaculture, native planting, and community for maximum success and enjoyment. The evening will also include some hands-on activities, including creating your own seedling pots from sustainable materials. In person and via zoom. See poster below, and more here and register via zoom here.
4/16/25 6-7:30 pm, Rockport Public Library, Cleaner Greener Homes: Climate Friendly Buildings. Speakers: Andrew Frederick, Founder, Croft Builders; and Danny Salomon, Habitat for Humanity, Second Story Builders. This talk will explore local approaches to building climate-friendly housing, as well as the state’s climate plan for sustainable buildings and housing. We’ll talk about building zero-carbon houses with low-carbon materials, as well as “circular construction”—an alternative to traditional demolition that repurposes and reuses building materials. By highlighting these strategies, the discussion will showcase how individuals can help expand housing while being planet-friendly.
Exciting News: Rockport’s Climate Resilience Hub
Rockport’s Conservation Commission has announced the creation of a Climate Resilience Hub—a trove of information and events about that town’s climate vulnerabilities as well as the exciting plans they’re making to create resilient Rockport. Have a look—it’s inspiring.
Concluding Thoughts
We’ve known that climate change was going to be expensive for Camden. The reality is evident in our town expenses: continued water and sewer repairs, Laite Beach repairs, Steamboat Landing repair, Library building repair, etc. And we don’t yet have a reserve fund to cover these inevitable climate expenses—as many neighboring towns have implemented.
Yet, solar power has finally broken through, proving itself a wise municipal investment, providing costs benefits for today and tomorrow. This is not a new idea for the town—in 2020 there was a large push for this. For insights into the hopes the town had for reducing reliance on fossil fuels, see a memo from town manager Audra Caler to the Select Board 1/7/2020 [“Discussion on Energy Initiatives”] on solar for the town, page 44 Select Board packet. Town solar allows us to build our energy resilience.
Let’s invest in our resilient future by buying out Sagamore Farms. This year.
In the meantime, we’ll also celebrate the lengthening days, and look forward to seeing you at our Backyard Gardening Adventures event on April 8.
