On June 29 the Gorham Saving Bank (GSB) dedicated its new solar array, located behind the bank’s operations center on Wentworth Drive, off the Gray Road (Rt.202). Named for recently retired CEO Daniel Hunter who spearheaded the project, the solar farm will generate one million kilowatt hours annually, enough to offset virtually all electricity costs for 11 branches and several office locations.
At the ribbon-cutting, Hunter said that he came up with the idea for constructing the planned solar array behind the building. “A severe storm had felled the trees,” he explained, “making this an ideal place.”
Photo credit: Kathy CorbettL to R: Alden Joy (Facilities Director, Gorham Savings Bank), Carolyn Eyerman (Town Planner, Town of Gorham), Kevin Jensen (Economic Development Director, Town of Gorham), Nate Niles (Director of Development, ReVision Energy), Dan Hunter (former COO & CFO, Gorham Savings Bank), Steve deCastro (President and CEO, Gorham Savings Bank) with Tom Poirier (Director of Community Development, Town of Gorham).
ReVision Energy, a Maine-based company, designed the 2,310-photovoltaic, five-inverter array.
It is estimated to offset more than 1.1million pounds of carbon annually, or the equivalent of 59,042 gallons of oil, over the next 40 years. “We’re carbon neutral,” said Steve deCastro, GSB president and CEO, “clearly the right thing to do not only for the bank but for our environment and the community.”
Photo courtesy of Gorham Savings BankTom Poirier, Gorham’s director of community development, worked with the bank through the permitting and construction process. At the September 2021 ground-breaking, he said the town “supports the sustainability of the environment and natural resources and should be open to considering new technologies or new ideas.”
As reported earlier, five solar projects have received final approval by the Planning Board in the last year, including the large Nexamp solar farm under construction on Rt.114. Another is still in the planning stage.