BAILER HILL SOLAR MICROGRID UPDATE: Conditional use permit hearing will be Dec. 18
Saturday, November 30, 2024
by Jeff Noedel
In January, OPALCO announced details for an intended 2.7 megawatt solar array paired with 1 MW of battery storage on 19 acres on Bailer Hill at Douglas Road on San Juan Island. The project has been in planning since 2021, about the time the rural electric cooperative won a Washington State Department of Commerce $1 million grant for new energy production to benefit low-income energy users in San Juan County.
After the project is permitted and the construction plan is in place, OPALCO will sell shares in the Community Solar portion of the project.
OPALCO said the site was chosen because “it is close to the to the circuit that feeds the town of Friday Harbor, Peace Island Medical Center, the SJI Fire Department and the Friday Harbor Airport to offer back up power in case of emergencies. It’s an open, sunny location and the property was available.”
This would be OPALCO’s second microgrid project. The first, Decatur Island Microgrid, has been producing solar and generating credits for member investors since 2018. OPALCO’s long-range plan includes building multiple microgrids to provide a small supply of lower energy resilience to keep essential services running when our mainland power supply is disrupted. These projects are funded by member subscriptions and grants.
By March, opposition to the proposed Bailer Hill project had developed. On March 16, approximately 30 citizens protested at the site. It was also the first-ever CNL2 (now SanJuans.Today) live televised remote (non-studio) event.
On April 15, San Juan County’s Department of Community Development (DCD) announced delay of the public hearing examiner meeting for the project. It had been scheduled for April 24, 2024, when verbal testimony was to be heard.
Some of the same activists who oppose the Bailer Hill microgrid also opposed the County’s plan for a public trail through San Juan Valley, including Royce Meyerott, a private citizen. The trail project was dealt a serious blow at a June 5 public meeting at the Marie Boe Building on the County Fairgrounds.
There are signs, however, that support for the solar microgrid, as proposed, has deep quiet support among many citizens of San Juan Island and other islands, as well.
Renewable energy projects have become more politicized in America and more controversial. Regionally, permitting for a proposed lithium-ion battery storage array in Sedro Woolley was at least temporarily stopped in September.
Some renewable energy projects have become a fault line between older and younger generations, with the latter impassioned over what they see as looming climate catastrophe. Others see the microgrid as a necessary step toward energy independence for the islands.
The depth and breadth of support and opposition for the Bailer Hill microgrid project will be evident in the Dec. 18 conditional use permit hearing, when impassioned opinions on both sides of the issue will be heard.
The hearing will be an online meeting. SanJuans.Today has not yet acquired the web address or meeting time for the online access to the meeting. As soon as we do, we will publish it on our front page.
