Cities may invest in Clark Public Utilities’ community solar project at Port of C-W industrial park

Officials in Camas and Washougal are considering participating in  Clark Public Utilities’ community solar project at the Port of Camas-Washougal’s industrial park. 

Camas City Council members discussed purchasing up to 10 kilowatts from the community solar project during their Aug. 7 workshop. 

Camas City Administrator Doug Quinn told Council members he would like Camas officials to consider investing in the community solar project. 

Quinn said the city could invest in up to 10 kilowatts, at a cost of $1,700 per kilowatt for a total investment of $17,000. 

“That purchase has a 12-year break-even point,” Quinn said. “We will, at that point, begin receiving benefits of that power against our energy bills.” 

Clark Public Utilities has said it expects the solar array — which will be installed on buildings at the Port’s Washougal industrial park later this year — to be operational for at least a decade after the city’s break-even estimate, Quinn said. 

“The estimated lifespan on those panels is 25 years,” Quinn told Council members at the Aug. 7 workshop.

Under the community solar project, businesses and government entities can purchase up to 10 kilowatts while individual citizens can buy-in to the project for up to five kilowatts’ worth of energy. 

According to Clark Public Utilities, customers can begin purchasing “units” of the east Clark County solar project starting Sept. 1. 

“This is a perfect solution for the customer who wants the benefits of solar energy, but isn’t able to install a rooftop system at their home or business,” Clark Public Utilities stated on its website. “The cost, on average, for a residential rooftop system can range between $3 to $4.50 per installed watt. Community projects however, offer the benefit of capturing economies-of-scale, resulting in a lower cost per installed watt. Clark Public Utilities is building this 799kW community project for a cost of less than $1.70 per installed watt.”

The east Clark County solar project will have various buy-in options for residential, business and government customers, as well as 199 kilowatts reserved for the utility’s Operation Warm Heart fund to benefit lower-income customers. 

Clark Public Utilities has said it expects its east community solar project at the Port of Camas-Washougal to be “installed and operational by January 2024.” 

Clark Public Utilities has data from its 8-year-old community solar project at its operating center in Vancouver’s Orchards neighborhood. 

In January, Matt Babbitts, a program manager for Clark Public Utilities’ energy resources department, told Port of Camas-Washougal commissioners that the community solar arrays benefit Clark County residents, businesses, Port districts and the environment. 

“There’s been a lot of background to this project. When we started these conversations, we knew we had two high-level objectives — we wanted to develop a new renewable energy resource that our mutual customers can participate in, and we also want to highlight our commitment to clean energy, not just for Clark Public Utilities, but certainly for the Port of Camas-Washougal,” Babbitts said. “It shows everyone we want to reduce greenhouse emissions, diversify our energy sources and have our constituents participate.” 

Port of Camas-Washougal staff have determined there are five buildings at the Port’s industrial park where the community solar panels could be installed. 

Buying-in to a community solar project like the Port’s saves residents, governments, nonprofits and businesses from having to purchase individual solar panels and find room for them on their individual homes and buildings. 

And the price for community solar buy-ins is competitive, Babbitts told Port commissioners in January: “If you were to install an average 5-kilowatt system in your house, you’re probably looking at about $15,000, maybe even a little more,” he said. “So, by developing a large project over five buildings, we can really capture the economies of scale that comes with volume pricing and bring the cost down for the participating customers.”

Clark Public Utilities’ five existing community solar projects currently have more than 700 participants.

Clark Public Utilities Commissioner Jane Van Dyke told Port of Camas-Washougal commissioners in January that the solar projects have drawn side support from the Clark County community. 

“We’ve had so many requests,” Van Dyke said, referring to CPU’s existing community solar projects. “I think it’s really great that we have the different levels because that really will make it affordable even for a regular family to say, ‘We’re participants.’ I’m very excited about the project, and I appreciate the Port of Camas-Washougal stepping forward.”

Some Camas City Council members have questioned the city’s possible solar project buy-in. 

Camas Councilmember Jennifer Senescu said Aug. 7, that she wondered if the project had “some cons to it,” including the 12-year wait to see the benefits of the city’s $17,000 investment. 

“So once you realize the benefit you have to buy again?” Senescu asked during the Council’s Aug. 7 workshop. 

Quinn explained that the solar panels are expected to produce energy for an additional 13 years after the city hits its break-even point in 12 years.  

Camas Councilmember Leslie Lewallen asked Quinn if the $17,000 was in the city’s approved budget. 

“No,” Quinn replied, “but I don’t believe $17,000 will be noticed in the $124 million budget we currently have.”

The city of Washougal is already planning to buy-in to the solar project, Washougal City Manager David Scott said. 

“This has a 12-and-a-half-year (return on investment) and 12 and a half years of lower utility rates,” Scott said. “When you take a long view, that is a complete no-brainer from an economic perspective. And then from a policy perspective, in terms of supporting our partners and all the other reasons that you can think of, it makes sense. It seems like a very wise decision.”

Scott said the city of Washougal intends to participate “at the same level that the Port is participating” and the level he hopes the city of Camas as well as the Camas and Washougal School Districts will choose to participate. 

“All of us will enjoy a 12-and-a-half-year ROI (return on investment), and the electric utility costs to our constituents will be reduced,” Scott said during the Washougal City Council’s Aug. 14 workshop.

Other entities in Camas-Washougal also plan to take advantage of the solar project and its guarantee for environmentally sustainable, lower-cost utility rates in the future. 

Port of Camas-Washougal Commissioner Larry Keister said the Camas-Washougal Rotary Club and the Camas-Washougal Community Chest have each bought into the community solar program on behalf of the Inter-faith Treasure House in Washougal to help that nonprofit be better able to afford its high utility costs. 

“My intention is (for the city of Washougal) to participate at the same level that the Port is participating, and (the level that) our friends at the city of Camas and hopefully the Washougal School District and Camas School District and all the government entities in our neck of the woods (are participating at),” Scott said during the Washougal City Council’s workshop session on Monday, Aug. 14. “All of us will enjoy a 12-and-a-half-year ROI (return on investment), and the electric utility costs to our constituents will be reduced.”

Port commissioners praised Clark Public Utilities’ community solar project in January. 

“This is such an efficient way to get that size of solar installation into east Clark County,” Port Commissioner Cassi Marshall said in January. “Putting in that large of a system makes it that much more affordable for anybody who wants to participate. The big thing is the scalability, which feeds into the whole equity part of it — people who maybe wouldn’t participate in anything solar in any other way have that option.”

For more information, visit clarkpublicutilities.com/community-environment/what-we-do/green-programs/community-solar/community-solar-east/

Editor’s note: This article was updated Friday, Aug. 25, to reflect the fact that the community solar project is spearheaded by Clark Public Utilities and will be sited at the Port of Camas-Washougal’s industrial park.