Town of Friday Harbor Solar Array

The Town of Friday Harbor is located on beautiful San Juan Island. It is one of the most popular destinations on the west coast with an abundance of activities including fishing, swimming, kayaking, hiking, boating, whale watching, etc.

The people in this community are very forward thinking, so when Apollo Solutions Group first approached the Town about the Department of Commerce Solar Grant and TransAlta Energy Technology Grant available to them and how the Department of Enterprise Services Energy Program could facilitate this project, the Town became very interested in exploring a Solar Project further.

After performing a Preliminary Energy Analysis it became very apparent that the City would be eligible for both Solar Grants. This made the project more attractive to the Town as they made it known early on in the process that the project would have to be completely self-funding, meaning that the energy produced by the solar array would have to cover the payment of any loan the Town would have to take on top of the Department of Commerce’s Solar Grant and TransAlta Grant.

Apollo was successful in applying for and securing the solar grants on behalf of the Town of Friday Harbor which covered two-thirds of the cost of the project. The 100 kW Fixed Solar Array, located south of their Wastewater Treatment Plant, will produce nearly $9,585 annually in utility cost savings.

Relevant Project Details:
  • Secured a Department of Commerce Solar Grant = $235,000
  • Secured a TransAlta Energy Technology Grant of = $320,000
  • Fixed 100 kW Photo-Voltaic Solar Array.
  • Energy Cost Produced per year = $9,846.
  • Guaranteed Annual Electrical Production of 95,180 kWh/Year.