A solar company has been fined almost $236,000 by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for polluting the Kennebec River during construction of a 5 megawatt array in Embden.
Sediment runoff from a development by Tower Solar Partners LLC ran into the river from nearby Alder Stream, according to its agreement with the department.
Erosion control measures were improperly installed, not maintained and overwhelmed, the department said. Thirty acres of soil was disturbed and unstable at one time, three times what the company was allowed under its permit, according to the agreement.
Multiple violations were reported to the department over a six-month period between 2022 and 2023, the department said.
Tower Partners has since fixed erosion control problems and installed a stormwater maintenance system to help manage runoff.
The company spent more than $722,000 to remediate the impact of noncompliance, in addition to the state penalty, according to the agreement.
Tower Partners was purchased in 2022 by Luminace, a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewables, which owns multiple Maine hydropower dams, according to a press release at the time.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
