This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.

Fred Hill’s family has owned a large 20-acre plot of land in Warner for generations. The space, off Poverty Plains Road near I-89, was once a cornfield that was converted into a gravel pit in the late 1940s.

More recently, the land has sat unused for several years, and solar companies from as far as California and Texas have called Hill seeking to develop it.

But Hill knew that if a project were to start there, he would want a local company to spearhead it. Then he found Encore Renewable Energy, a solar company based in Burlington, Vt.

“They had done projects very similar to this in gravel pits,” he said. “I figured it’s a good use of the property.”

On Thursday, the sun shone down on hundreds of metal poles that will soon hold 12,000 solar panels, the largest solar array project in New Hampshire to date. Over 30 stakeholders stood on the property to celebrate its progress and to award Warner a community gift.

Encore Renewable Energy broke ground on the $10 million Poverty Plains solar project in mid-September and expects it to be fully operational by next summer.

Founder and CEO Chad Farrell said the amount of energy the project will produce could be enough to power at least 1,000 typical New England-sized homes.

“We’re really excited to be able to deliver what is a signature project at this point for the state of New Hampshire,” he said. “[We’re] really trying to help shine a light on the opportunity that the solar economy can bring to the state.”

The project is a partnership between Encore and the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, a nonprofit comprised of over 60 municipalities and county members that tap into solar power to offset energy costs.

Eleven municipalities agreed to subscribe their facilities to the project and to utilize group net metering, which allows the cities and towns to receive credits the projects generates and reduce their energy costs, all without installing their own solar infrastructure.

Mark Bolinger, the director of projects and programs at the coalition, said this is the first major project the nonprofit has been a part of since its incorporation in 2021. He said using an unoccupied space so close to the highway is a great space for a solar project.

“It’s a daily reminder to commuters and others passing by about the fact that solar can work here in New Hampshire, even though we’re not the sunniest state in the nation,” he said.

New Hampshire lags behind on solar energy production, with solar accounting for only about 2% of the state’s energy. This is the lowest percentage out of all New England states, which average a production rate of 15%, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. In 2021, legislators increased the net metering cap for municipalities from one megawatt to five megawatts, clearing a path for larger-scale solar farm constructions.

State Rep. Tony Caplan, who represents Warner, Bradford and Henniker and sits on the House Committee on Science, Technology and Energy, said the Poverty Plains project is on the right path to increasing the state’s solar energy output.

“We really need to make a big step forward, and this is one of those,” Caplan said.

At the end of the ceremony, Encore awarded the Warner Beautification Committee a check of $20,000. Farrell said Encore’s philosophy is to engage with the communities it works in early and often, and to support them along the way.

Kathy Carson, a member of the beautification group, said they will use the funds to install lighting around town hall to increase visibility and public safety.The remaining funds will support future initiatives.

“We feel pretty good about this,” Carson said. “It’s kind of a lasting testament to Encore, their commitment to Warner [and to] clean energy. I just see so many positives in this.”

There are a host of other large solar arrays in development across the state, from Concord to Kingston. According to Fannell, Encore is starting development on a three-megawatt project in Derry.

In order to drum up more interest in and demand for solar in New Hampshire, projects like Poverty Plains need to be shown to produce good results for residents, Farrell said.

“This project can be a good example of how good projects can be delivered to the state of New Hampshire for the benefit of communities and rate payers as a whole,” he said. “We just need to see more of them.”