State grant will cover LC school solar costs

On June 18, the State of Washington’s Department of Commerce announced that the La Conner School District has won a $1.96 million Community Decarbonization Grant.

This new grant will pay for the development, at the La Conner Middle School, of a grid-­interconnected solar electric generation system with a capacity of 138.2 kilowatts. Based on the U.S. Department of Energy’s solar generation model, the electricity produced by this system during an average year will be about 140,000 kilowatt-hours. (That’s about the same amount of electric energy used by 15 La Conner-area homes.) This will eliminate 45% of the school district’s annual net electric use. Over the project’s lifetime, it will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 2,200 metric tons (equivalent to almost 5 million automotive miles driven).

Last year, the Skagit Valley Clean Energy Alliance (SVCEA; a La Conner-based 501c3 nonprofit originally founded as the Skagit Valley Clean Energy ­Cooperative) helped the La Conner School District to envision this project; to apply for a grant for the detailed technical study necessary to design the system; and to apply for the just-­announced grant.

Subcontractor Cascadia Renewables, hired for the design work under the earlier grant, completed a preliminary design at that time. The final design will be developed as the first stage of the work under the new grant. Based on the preliminary work, Cascadia estimates that the school district will save $19,627 on its energy bill in the first year after the system is built. Annual savings are expected to increase each year following installation, by avoiding cost escalation on the relevant part of the electric bill. The school district receives funding based on enrollment. When utility costs go down, the savings can be applied to other areas of operation.

This year, Marylee Chamberlain and Mary Wohleb of ­SVCEA again provided significant assistance to the LCSD to create and submit the application for the new grant.

Solar generation is only part of this innovative system. In addition to reducing energy costs and carbon emissions, the overall system will be designed to enhance the school’s ability to operate during grid outages by incorporating both a grid-connected battery energy storage system and a backup generator.

This system will not only address La Conner’s critical need for a reliable, renewable energy source that can support the school’s operations during grid outages; it will also improve the school’s ability to serve as a community resilience hub. The La Conner Middle School is one of the designated shelters for the Town during an emergency. The school’s central location and role within the community make it an ideal site at which to offer shelter, and energy-dependent services like climate-controlled spaces and refrigerated and/or cooked food during natural disasters or other emergencies. Additional emergency functionalities, such as being a location at which cell phones can be charged, were identified during the earlier work via a community survey about resilience needs. As the new work proceeds, SVCEA and LCSD anticipate further outreach to the community, both to inform, and to get input from, the local population about emergency management planning and the concepts for using the school’s resiliency.

The system will also be a platform from which the District can provide student learning opportunities related to energy, sustainability and climate.

Completion of the system is expected within a year.