Ocean City breaks ground on solar power farm

Ground has been broken for the Gateway Solar Farm, a massive solar farm located near the intersection of Routes 50 and 90 in the town of Berlin, just 10 miles west of Ocean City.

“This is one of our flagship projects. We are actually one of the largest owners onsite and offsite of renewable energy in the state of Maryland, but this project alone makes up a tenth of our portfolio in Maryland,” said Brendon Quinlivan, of Constellation, an Exelon company.

Constellation is planning to install more than 30,000 solar panels on 113 acres. Officials said the project will generate as many as 200 temporary jobs and account for 20 percent of Ocean City’s electric power.

To put the size of the solar farm in perspective, as many as 85 football fields could fit into the site.

“The savings is about $140,000 a year. It’s a significant savings from a dollar standpoint and also from an environmental standpoint,” said Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan.

The project will reduce carbon emissions by 4,200 metric tons, equivalent to taking 900 vehicles off the road. The solar farm will power Ocean City municipal buildings including City Hall, the convention center, public safety buildings and the water plant.

“They’ll connect to the grid. We are essentially buying the kilowatts off that,” said Terry McGean, an Ocean City engineer.

Constellation is open to doing solar demonstration projects at its expense, either at City Hall, the boardwalk or during festivals. The Gateway Solar Project is expected to be fully operational by this December.

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