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“Forget about short-term profits. There aren’t going to be long term profits unless we mitigate the climate crisis. Investing in solar, wind, and geothermal is the way to go for the future, as well as tightening up our buildings and making them more energy efficient. The generating of power has to come from renewable energy.”
These words from John Wasileski embody a guiding philosophy for OceanView at Falmouth and Cumberland Crossing. John and his team are passionate about renewable energy, installing solar and other renewable technologies on hundreds of buildings in Cumberland County. OceanView at Falmouth is an active retirement community at the forefront of sustainability, and its sister property, Cumberland Crossing, has a 14-panel solar array on every home. They’re building an offsite solar farm in Topsham, which will further reduce their electric bills. With over 2,000 solar panels installed across their neighborhoods and more on the way, John and his team believe in leaving a legacy for future generations.
“We as grandparents need to look at our grandchild in the other chair,” explains John. “Too many decisions are made today with short-sighted profits in mind. That’s what gets us into problems. We need to look at the lifecycle analysis of our power systems and we have to look at where we generate our electricity. And what better place to generate it than from the sun!”
Solar Attracts Residents
Sustainability Coordinator Mitchell DeBortoli says that many residents of OceanView and Cumberland Crossing are thankful to live in a community where they feel the environment is a priority.
“Solar and general care for the environment are big attractions for our residents,” says Mitchell. “The residents run an Environmental Group that meets about once a month and has speakers that come to discuss different topics from local ordinances to large renewable energy projects taking place abroad.”
“Right now, we are exploring the installation of more EV chargers both at OceanView and Cumberland Crossing,” says Mitchell. “With potential new construction this year, John’s goal is to have every appliance, and heating and cooling needs run on electric power. Our plan is to install panels on every new roof where it is feasible to install solar panels.”
The solar farm in Topsham will help greatly reduce their electric bills due to the type of credits that provide real dollar amounts for kWh produced. This will be especially helpful with reaching OceanView and Cumberland Crossing’s goal of making Evergreen Commons and the new Blueberry Commons buildings all electric. Because of the increased production capacity, they are confident the power produced by the solar installations from ReVision will be able power most if not all the new homes on renewable energy.
For many ReVision solar customers, tracking their solar production monitoring via an app or their meter becomes an engaging pastime. Similarly, residents at Oceanview can be updated on Oceanview solar production via real-time meters displayed around campus.
“For me, it’s really a no-brainer,” says John. “My customers want it. They’re loving the fact that every one of the homes at Cumberland Crossing is equipped with solar, and every one of our future homes will have solar, and mitigate that power bill. They can feel good about their decisions.”
A Comprehensive Sustainability Mission
OceanView’s sustainability goes beyond renewable energy. The OceanView kitchen composts all vegetable scraps, and leftover food is used for dining staff meals. They offer battery recycling and soft plastic film recycling so residents can recycle things like grocery bags, plastic wrap, and food storage bags, keeping plastics out of landfills. They planted a wildflower garden at OceanView to attract pollinators and increase native plant species, and Cumberland Crossing has a large community garden for residents. They have EV chargers on campus and heat pumps in many of the homes. And a priority of their new construction is using sustainable building materials as well as ensuring no materials go to waste. There will also be the removal of some outdated structures, and OceanView is in the process of working with Habitat for Humanity and other organizations to find homes for old appliances and other items that could still be used.
“This is the model for the future,” John explains, “We hope to build future solar farms to offset the power bills for buildings that will be energy efficient, have heat pumps, and have solar as the main energy source. Our goal ultimately is to knock out our propane use and knock down our electric bill. It’s good for us, it’s good for our business to have solar, it’s good for the environment, it’s good for our grandchildren.”
