For Islanders who want to get involved in sustainability efforts, an opportunity to invest in a community solar project may soon become available.
The city and school district are working together to try to put solar panels on the south-facing roof of the Mercer Island High School gym, but there’s a time crunch, and a question of whether the roof could structurally support the panels.
At a joint meeting between the City Council and Mercer Island School District (MISD) Board of Directors on Oct. 16, MISD construction manager Brandy Fox said that the proposal is feasible.
Investors need to be found soon for the project to progress and provide a payback, as state solar incentives end in 2020.
There have similar ventures in nearby cities. In Seattle City Light’s project, customers enroll by paying upfront to purchase energy from a portion of the city-owned solar modules. Customers will receive an annual credit through 2020 for the amount of electricity generated by their portion of the array.
Mayor Bruce Bassett said many Island residents have expressed interest in solar energy, but may have too many trees or not enough money to complete a project at their homes.
“It would be essential to get the system installed this winter so that by the time the sun starts to be useful in the spring, the system’s up and running, if we want to have a payback for it,” Bassett said at the joint meeting.
This would be a way to buy into a group project that pays a dividend each year, said city Sustainability and Communications Manager Ross Freeman.
“By 2020, investors have made back all the money they put in,” Freeman said.
The ideal location is a big rooftop that can fit 75 kilowatts of production power like the high school or City Hall, Freeman said.
“The city’s current array is 4.4 kilowatts, so this would be a lot bigger,” he said. “Until 2020, all power produced by a community solar project earns $1.08 per kilowatt hour from the state, which is how it pays people back. That bonus ends in 2020.”
Other solar power projects are being considered for the middle school and new elementary school, Deputy Mayor Dan Grausz wrote in an email update.
The city has another meeting with the School District on Nov. 5, Grausz said, and more information will be known then.
Earlier this year, the city signed an agreement with regional non-profit group Northwest SEED to launch a solar installation initiative.
This program, called Solarize Mercer Island, aims to bring at least 30 new residential solar arrays online in 2014.
By gathering dozens of homeowners, the campaign can offer 10 to 15 percent off normal pricing.
The current deadline to sign a Solarize installation contract is Oct. 31, with installations continuing into early 2015.
Washington’s solar incentives mean a typical system can pay for itself in six to nine years, depending on equipment selected, and should last another 20 to 30 years, according to the city’s website.
The five Solarize workshop dates (June, July, August, September, October) have occurred and no additional workshops are scheduled. To view the one-hour workshop presentation as a recorded webinar or receive it as a PDF file, contact Sustainability Manager Ross Freeman at 206-275-7662.
MI solar history
In 2010, Mercer Island High School senior Harry Bolson spearheaded the first solar energy project at the school, making it a part of his senior project to install a new 1.61 kilowatt solar panel system.
Installed on the roof of the Commons, the $8,675 panel was intended to power the school store with 2,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.
On July 22, 2013, the city activated a $35,000, 4.4 kilowatt solar array at the Community and Event Center. It was the 25th solar project on the Island, bringing local production of renewable energy from solar PV to 124 kilowatts.
