Kitsap Bank has gone solar

Published 4:06 pm Monday, October 13, 2014

A 9.84 kW solar array has been added to the newly expanded East Bremerton Branch of Kitsap Bank.

“In our efforts to become a more sustainable organization, we continue to look for solutions that reduce our impact on the environment but also benefit our bottom line,” said Tony George, Kitsap Banks’s president and chief operating officer.

“Installing solar at our new East Bremerton location made perfect sense. We were able to work out a plan to place the panels over our drive up canopy where they not only maximized the amount of light collected, but also maximized their visibility to the public.

“It is our hope that as people notice these panels, it will inspire them to consider solar as one of a number of viable energy efficiency options.”

The glass modules are the longest lasting panels manufactured in Washington State with a 40-plus year usable life expectancy.

The project developer, Rick Lander, said a 30 percent tax credit, bonus depreciation, and up to $5,000 per year in state production incentives makes solar an excellent long term investment.

“It’s equivalent to buying five years of electric power and getting forty.” Lander said. “Clean Energy and financial success are no longer mutually exclusive.”

Lander and Cascadia Solar have installed several, residential, commercial and public solar projects in Kitsap County, including a 75-kW array on North Kitsap High School, the first full size Community Solar Project in the state.

Others include solar arrays on Liberty Bay Auto, Hall & Company in Poulsbo, Rice Fergus Miller Architects in Bremerton, Kingston High School and latest announcement of a solar covered trellis at Pleasant Beach Village Pool project on Bainbridge Island.