Dixmont, ME Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Section 3 of the Dixmont Solar Ordinance makes every Solar Energy System subject to location and permitting requirements. A system approved for construction before the effective date is not bound by it. Expanding or relocating the footprint of an existing system requires approval, while routine maintenance or replacements do not require a permit. A permit cannot be transferred without notice to, and approval by, the Planning Board, and all conditions of the original permit bind the new holder.

Applications go on town forms to the Code Enforcement Officer with the required fees and plans, and the officer forwards them to the Planning Board when applicable. The Planning Board decides whether an application is complete. Section 10 vests the Dixmont Planning Board with authority to approve, approve with conditions, or reject any application, and lets it hire independent consultants at the applicant's cost.

Fees under Section 5 follow the class. The application fee is $2,500 for industrial systems (2 acres or 500 kW and above), $500 for commercial systems (3,000 square feet or 31 kW up to those limits) and $150 for residential-business systems (under 3,000 square feet or under 31 kW). The permit fee is $1.00 per kW with a minimum of $25 for those three classes. A private residential system under 2,000 square feet and 21 kW has no permit fee, is subject to the terms of the Dixmont Building Code, and is treated as an Accessory Structure or Use for application fees.

Section 6 lists what an industrial or commercial application must contain, at the applicant's cost: owner and operator contact details, proof of technical and financial capacity, evidence of title, how and to whom the energy will be sold, the interconnection agreement, equipment specifications, a construction timeline, an operations and maintenance plan, an emergency management plan, a stormwater plan certified by a Maine licensed professional engineer, a background noise measurement and a decommissioning plan with a removal guarantee. Under Section 7(3), approved industrial and commercial permits are recorded at the Penobscot County Registry of Deeds within seven calendar days of approval and before construction begins.