A Unique Arrangement
Thetford-Strafford Community Solar differs from projects in neighboring towns because it was the first solar farm to serve a mix of customer sectors — the array is a partnership between residential customers, a commercial farm, and the town of Thetford itself.
It’s that “combination of commercial and residential community members participating in the array” that makes it unique, according to Jim Merriam, president of Norwich Solar.
150 +
Home's Energy, Equivalent
900 +
Acres of Forest, Equivalent
165 +
Cars Per Year, Offset
770
Tons of CO2, Offset
The Thetford-Strafford Community Solar array is designed to generate 230,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity during its first year, enough to power about 35 average Vermont homes.
It will also be the first solar farm in Vermont to serve a mix of customer sectors — a “hybrid” partnership between residential customers, a commercial farm, and the town of Thetford itself.
A commercial entity — Thetford-based Long Wind Farm — acts as the anchor, and purchased enough of the roughly 185 shares on offer to create a critical mass that allowed area residents to buy into the entity.
The shareholders who live in Thetford, Strafford, and Norwich expect to recoup their investment and then some through reduced electric bills — about 85 percent of the electricity produced at the site will be sold to Green Mountain Power through the state’s net-metering program, which guarantees customers a minimum rate for feeding solar energy back into the grid.
The remaining 15 percent of the power will be sold to the town of Thetford at 90 percent of the normal utility rate, which Wolfe said will exert downward pressure on the property tax rate.
The site was designed to accommodate the abundant wildlife in the location and the unique terrain, with no fences to impede longstanding animal pathways.
Read more about the project on VT Digger.
Growing the Solar Community
In 2024 we added another array nearby. We added an additional 375 kW to an existing 121 kW array we completed in 2014 that benefits the local elementary School. The new expansion is another unique project that serves a local farm and 24 individual homes, most of them qualified as low or moderate income.
