Orcas Island Community Solar-Virtual Kiosk

At Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), we believe addressing the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges requires innovation, creative problem solving and discovering a new way of doing business that values the natural resources we depend on. We also believe education plays a critical role in securing a clean energy, low-carbon future. Our nationally renowned Solar 4R Schools program is inspiring a new generation of clean energy leaders with the insight and innovative thinking necessary to solve the nation’s most pressing energy challenges. To get there, we’re transforming solar technology into a complete STEM classroom learning experience. With the help of our corporate, nonprofit and utility funding partners, our vision is to integrate engaging renewable energy education into every science classroom in the nation. Learn more at Solar4RSchools.org.

The Bonneville Power Administration is a federal nonprofit agency based in the Pacific Northwest. Although BPA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, it is self-funding and covers its costs by selling its products and services. BPA markets wholesale electrical power from 31 federal hydro projects in the Columbia River Basin, one nonfederal nuclear plant and several other small nonfederal power plants. The dams are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. About one-third of the electric power used in the Northwest comes from BPA.

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is a member-owned, non-profit cooperative electric utility providing services to San Juan County since 1937. OPALCO’s mostly hydro-electric power is generated by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and delivered to the islands by way of submarine cables.  OPALCO distributes electricity to 20 islands in the archipelago and employs approximately 60 people in the county. The Cooperative is governed by its member-owners who elect a seven-member board of directors. Elections are held each year at the annual meeting.

And special thanks to the Community Solar participants that supported the San Juan Islands Community Solar project! The San Juan Islands Conservation District is partnered with Orcas Power and Light Cooperative (OPALCO) and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to install solar electric systems at the public schools on Lopez, Orcas, San Juan, and Shaw Islands in 2015. This exciting community solar project will deliver renewable energy to our public schools, reducing their electricity bills, and provide renewable energy education for our students. Participants receive a payback through production incentives.

The San Juan Islands Conservation District serves all of San Juan County and was founded in 1947; it is one of 45 local conservation districts overseen by the Washington State Conservation Commission (WSCC).Our Mission is to work cooperatively with San Juan County residents and partner agencies to develop and implement sustainable natural resource practices that protect and conserve our environment for today and tomorrow.