There will soon be a solar field on the capped landfill next to Cape Elizabeth’s transfer station. 

After six years of consideration and planning, Encore Energy, a Vermont-based solar company, was approved for a land lease by the Town Council for the parcel off Spurwink Avenue near the Gull Crest Fields. The 6.5-acre parcel will be home to 2,796 solar modules.

“It doesn’t really have a higher or better use,” Town Manager Patrick Fox said. “It still made a lot of sense to do something that would generate income for the town.”

Fox said that construction could begin as early as this fall. Encore has already done all of the engineering and has even started purchasing components, according to Fox.

The approved lease has a base term of 20 years, with Encore owing the town $50,000 a year, with the option for three five-year extensions. Beginning in the 10th year of the contract, the annual rent will increase by 2% each year. Fox said the town will look to put the revenue toward other energy projects.

The solar field project has been years in the making.

The town began pursuing it in 2019 as a power purchase agreement. With those terms, the town would have directly used the energy produced by the solar panels to power town and school buildings. Early estimates predicted the solar field could offset 75% to 80% of municipal and school energy costs. But the project was delayed by the pandemic, supply chain issues and equipment costs.

Encore received site plan approval in 2023, with construction scheduled to begin that October.

But it was sidelined because Encore had other projects, and the projected energy savings under the old agreement wasn’t going to work for both parties, said Fox. The town’s Energy Committee and facility director redid the calculations and realized that the town would not see the same savings that it originally projected in 2020.

“We want the solar field to be successful, and we wanted to make sure the town is still seeing the revenue and savings that we can put toward other energy projects in the coming 20 and 30 years,” Fox said.

The town reentered negotiations with Encore this past January. This time, to become their landlord.

Now, with the project back on track, Cape Elizabeth will join other Maine municipalities like Portland, South Portland and Waterville in investing in solar farms.

And Fox said that the town is always looking to invest in renewable energy. The resident-led Energy Committee is always exploring options to diversify energy sources, and Thomas Memorial Library recently applied for a grant to put solar panels on the roof.