Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced $20 million for solar projects in Maine’s First Congressional District, made possible through the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The projects in Gorham and South Berwick are expected to produce more than 16,000,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of combined electricity in their first full year of operation, and will create good paying, green jobs for Mainers. Awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), the funded Maine projects are part of a $285 million investment in critical infrastructure to combat climate change and expand access to clean energy for people across rural America.

“As someone who has pushed for climate action for decades—in my community, in our state legislature, and in Congress—I am incredibly gratified to have voted for the most aggressive climate investment in in U.S. history and to have secured new funding to support our farmers and rural small businesses battling extreme weather challenges and high energy costs in that package. These two solar projects will jumpstart clean energy in my district and lower energy costs in rural Maine,” Pingree said.

Details of the funding awarded in Maine’s first district are as follows:

• $9,990,000 for Gorham ME 1 LLC to build a 6.9 megawatt (MW), direct current (DC), ground-mounted solar project located in rural Gorham, Maine. The project has interconnection and net energy billing agreements in place with Central Maine Power Company. It is expected to produce 9,140,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in the first full year of operation and create three jobs at an average of $30/hour.

• $9,930,000 for Knight’s Pond Solar LLC to build a 4.98 MW, DC, ground-mounted solar project in rural South Berwick, Maine. The project has interconnection and net energy billing agreements in place with Central Maine Power Company and is expected to produce 7,053,032 kWh of electricity in the first full year of operation while also creating three jobs at an average of $30/hour.

REAP helps farmers, agricultural producers and entrepreneurs purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements. It reflects the many ways USDA Rural Development helps agricultural producers and rural small businesses lower energy costs.

In August, Pingree helped pass the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic legislative package known as the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce energy costs for families and create thousands of good-paying jobs for people across rural America. IRA represents the largest single investment in rural electrification since the passage of the Rural Electrification Act in 1936. 

Pingree sits on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, which oversees discretionary funding for USDA programs like REAP. She is the author of the Agriculture Resilience Act, comprehensive legislation that sets a bold vision of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. agriculture by the year 2040, in part by boosting investments in on-farm and rural clean energy initiatives with programs like REAP.

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