An autopsy has shown that the death of a solar farm worker in Hancock County this summer was caused by heart disease, not electrocution as initially reported.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death – hypertensive cardiovascular disease – on Friday. The condition can develop if chronic high blood pressure goes untreated, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Edwin Kendall Jones, of Washington, was working at the Nexamp solar site in Surry Aug. 29 when he experienced a medical emergency. Surry fire Chief Bryan McLellan said the following day that firefighters were first on the scene and that a co-worker who administered CPR said Jones, a 52-year-old contract worker, had been electrocuted.

The state Department of Public Safety later said an initial investigation determined that Jones suffered an unspecified “medical event” while working at the site.

Surry Solar, where Jones died, is a 7.4-megawatt solar array on 18 acres that features 15,592 modules on a tracker mounting system, according to Nexamp. It is on Surry Road.

Eliza Donoghue, executive director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association, said at the time that had Jones died of electrocution, it would have likely been a first for Maine. She consulted colleagues who said they were unaware of any solar farm worker in the state dying on a job because of an electric shock.

Solar energy workers are exposed to potential electrical hazards at work that makes them more vulnerable to electrocution and arc flash hazards, according to the U.S. Occupational and Safety and Health Administration. Workers may be exposed to electric shocks and burns when hooking up the solar panels to an electric circuit, OSHA said.

In 2022, the most recent year available, 23 workers were killed in Maine; none were electrocuted, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.