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The La Conner School District and the La Conner Fire Department have each been awarded a grant from the Washington state Department of Commerce. These grants will fund work required for each to evaluate the feasibility of and complete a preliminary design for installation and use of combined solar generation and energy storage systems.

Both grant applications were submitted to DOC with assistance from the Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooperative. Co-op volunteers Mary Wohleb and Marylee Chamberlain helped the district and the fire department identify the grant opportunities and write both applications. The Co-op is working with DOC and local governments to pursue state and federal funds to use modern energy technologies in Skagit County.

The schools grant will enable it to conduct a feasibility study to define the readiness, costs, capacity, community benefits and technical design options for a solar photovoltaic generation system combined with an energy storage system. The fire department grant has the same purpose for a solar plus storage system at the fire station. Each electric generation plus energy storage system will improve energy resilience by providing enough energy to back up essential loads and continue limited operations during a power outage, enabling the schools and fire station to function as emergency shelters.

The elementary and middle schools and fire station are designated emergency shelters for the service area of the school district and the town. These facilities meet a critical need for the community, as there are few structures large enough, with kitchen facilities, that could be used for emergency shelter. The school district buildings are ADA compliant and will soon have updated HVAC systems and the fire department provides first aid services.

Over the next year, the two institutions will work closely with Cascadia Renewables, a Bellingham-based energy consulting firm, to coordinate development of preliminary system designs for each of their relevant buildings. Cascadia will assist the district and the fire department with technical elements of the designs and with soliciting and including input into the designs from other critical parties, such as local emergency response agencies and local utilities. Outcomes of the first-phase work will include definition of the capacity necessary to support essential loads during power outages and relevant technical design options.

Community input will also be sought. Cascadia will work with the school district and the fire department to promote and schedule community workshops to further discuss the grant opportunities, potential systems, use case scenarios and emergency planning. This will provide an opportunity for community feedback to be considered before applying for construction funding.

The town and the Co-op expect to follow up next year with second-phase grant proposals requesting further funds from DOC to complete the design and installation of these advanced energy resilience systems. Applications are expected to be requested by DOC in April 2024. Phase II funding will probably be awarded in the fall of 2025, for final design and construction in 2025-2026.