Abandoned gravel pit turned solar project now powers Maine community

ReVision Energy held a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a 14,256-panel community solar farm in Hampden, Maine, on Feb. 29. The facility, called Wishcamper Hampden, was built on a 25-acre abandoned gravel pit.

“Because Maine is one of the most heavily forested states in the nation, meaning lots of shady rooftops and places where solar isn’t viable, we need these large-scale, ground-mounted solar projects to help our communities and institutions move away from burning oil and gas,” said ReVision Energy co-founder Phil Coupe. “Every time we build a clean energy project like this one, we keep our dollars right here at home in the local economy, creating good jobs, and giving us that energy independence and resilience that we truly need.”

The project was a joint effort of Wishcamper Companies, a clean energy and real estate investor, and ReVision Energy, which served as the project developer. Wishcamper Companies is the investor and owner of the project.

“This is our 29th project we’ve partnered together on,” said Charlie Duprey, Wishcamper Companies VP of solar development. “This definitely wasn’t an easy build. We ran into some bumps along the way, but ReVision’s expertise and guidance mitigated those factors, and we were able to come online in our desired time frame.”

Project offtakers include local educational institutions such as the Deer Island/Stonington School District and College of the Atlantic (COA). Other offtakers include Isle au Haut Power Company, Bangor Water District and the town of Blue Hill.

“This project is a key ingredient in our commitment to eliminate the use of fossil fuels on campus by 2030,” said COA President Darron Collins. “One-fifth of the 5 million kWh/year of this energy will provide all of College of the Atlantic’s commercial electrical needs not produced on campus. That’s an amazing, very tangible story of the kind of progress that needs to be made all over our state, our country and our world.”

The clean power generated by the Wishcamper Hampden facility is the equivalent to the energy use of 776 homes.

“This is such a great example of a project that’s bringing together folks from Maine. You’ve got a Maine-financed project, built by a Maine company, supporting Maine off-takers. This project is a really significant milestone for the state,” said Dan Burgess, director of the governor’s energy office.

The site became operational in December and will generate an estimated 8,690 MW hours of clean energy yearly.

News item from ReVision Energy