Nooksack Tribe, PSE get creative to make warehouse solar project possible
The Nooksack Indian Tribe is celebrating the completion of its first solar panel project. “It is amazing to watch the meter actually go backwards,” said Nooksack project manager Ross Cline Jr.
The 124 panels have been installed on a Deming warehouse and will provide 49,554 kilowatt-hours annually, according to partner Puget Sound Energy, reducing 47,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
The panels don’t directly power the tribe’s buildings, instead energy is sent back to the power grid, and the tribe gets a credit, Cline said.
The tribe celebrated the completion of the project Wednesday, Sept. 28, with PSE and Spark Northwest, a non-profit organization that brought this project to the tribe’s attention.
“We are all adapting to change, and we are all working for solutions on this clean energy transition, and that requires leaders. The Nooksack Indian Tribe is clearly a leader in pursuing clean energy transitions.” said Liz Purdy, PSE senior community engagement representative for Whatcom county, who was at the celebration.
Cline said he didn’t think the project would be possible, because in order to offset the energy costs, PSE needed to first know how much energy the building uses in a standard year. However, the warehouse the panels were installed on had only been built a few months earlier. There was simply no record of how much energy the building used in a year because it hadn’t existed for a year.
The problem was solved by having the energy be transferred to a meter on a neighboring building that has been up for several years.
“I initially didn’t think it was going to be feasible, but when we asked if we can aggregate the solar panels to another, nearby meter, I realized it was going to be possible,” Cline said.
The project was funded through a Washington State Department of Commerce grant for $84,061 and a PSE Green Power grant for $41,287.
Cline said this project may just be the start of bringing solar power to the Nooksack Tribe. Future solar panel projects are something he is going to consider, depending on location, size and grant availability.
This story was originally published October 4, 2022 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Nooksack Tribe, PSE get creative to make warehouse solar project possible."
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