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A 7-acre solar array will be built on the western portion of Martin-Place Farm on Fort Hill Road in Gorham.
Perennial Renewables, a Hallowell-based energy development and consulting firm, is signing a 30-year lease to develop the project on a 10-acre plot from Norman Martin, the farm’s owner. The 2,400-panel development, called Perennial Gorham Solar, will produce 1 megawatt of electricity, enough to power roughly 200 homes, through a contract with Central Maine Power, said company partner Nick Lacasse.
After receiving planning board approval this week, Lacasse said he plans to break ground on the $3 million project in the spring and energize by the end of 2027.
The project is part of Perennial Renewables’ effort to expand its solar production outside of Kennebec County, Lacasse said. The new array will join a 30-acre solar farm already built by Gorham Solar on Fort Hill Road.
U.S. Energy Information Administration data show solar energy accounted for nearly 18% of Maine’s electricity in 2025. 
The site will be accessed by an approximately 1700-foot access drive from Fort Hill Road. No residential properties abut the parcel.
“This site is naturally buffered by the topography of the farm itself,” Lacasse said. He estimated paying $20,000-$25,000 per year to the town in taxes.
Martin said the lease will create more revenue streams for his roughly 150-acre farm as property taxes rise. The land for the project is not suitable for farming high-value crops like vegetables, he said.
Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's… More by Madeleine Kaptein
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