Submitted by the Orcas Power & Light Cooperative.

The Bailer Hill Microgrid project on San Juan Island is a future community solar and battery storage site.

In “Part 1: Why local, renewable power generation,” OPALCO outlined the critical point we are at as an essential service facing grave uncertainties with the future power supply in the Northwest region. The increasing demand is not keeping up with the limited supply. And now more than ever, looking at reliable, renewable carbon-free solutions is critical to avoid potential blackouts.

In “Part 2: Why the Bailer Hill microgrid,” OPALCO described why that site was chosen and the benefits of pairing solar power arrays with farming. OPALCO sees projects like the Bailer Hill microgrid as critical to the energy future of the islands.

OPALCO has a long history as a cooperative serving our island communities, including moving from small diesel generators for our electrical needs to installing submarine cables to deliver power. Our island communities are at a point where we need to rally together and figure out our future energy supply. It’s time to start thinking differently than we have before and work together to find solutions to these big issues to ensure these essential services are accessible and reliable.

OPALCO has been working for four years to site, plan, permit and construct the Bailer Hill microgrid. The process started with a preliminary application which did not flag any unusual issues. OPALCO worked for the next 18 months to design, study and engineer the project to submit for a conditional use permit for this site.

In July of 2023, OPALCO submitted the full permit application. Since that time, the San Juan County Department of Community Development has stalled and made additional information requests, often with no code citations to back up their requests, or arbitrarily discounted expert reviews. OPALCO had two hearings scheduled and then canceled with multiple promises of dates in the nine months between the hearing dates. Due to unforeseen circumstances within the Department of Community Development, the project was turned over to a third-party contractor who had to start from scratch to review the extensive materials.

In December 2024, 12 days before the scheduled hearing, OPALCO learned that yet again the hearing had been delayed and a request for additional information was made a requirement. In the preliminary application, OPALCO submitted a Critical Areas Ordinance Exemption report prepared by a qualified wetland professional. Based on a site visit, the report concluded that the mapped wetland on the project site was an artificially created farm pond in a non-wetland area and therefore exempt from regulation under the County’s Critical Areas Ordinance. The County accepted this report.

OPALCO is confident in its analysis that there is no regulated wetland on the property. Subsequently, OPALCO provided another report prepared by a licensed hydrogeologist, which confirmed that the project site contains an exempt, artificially constructed farm pond and that the source of hydrology on the project site is the County’s own stormwater overflow via ditches that run onto the property.

The San Juan County Code states that artificial farm ponds, drainage ditches and similar stormwater facilities are not defined as regulated wetlands. OPALCO’s reports are supported by multiple site visits and on-site data collection by qualified professionals, a detailed analysis of historical data spanning decades, current on-the-ground field investigations and the application of wetland manual definitions and methodologies.

OPALCO is ready to perform the additional requirement made by San Juan County to further investigate any needed wetland delineation but this will take many more months to accomplish. With these constant delays, it has become unfeasible for OPALCO to keep moving forward with the project. After three extensions, the Department of Commerce grant may not be extended for a fourth time, which could be a $1M loss of funds that would have helped to reduce the energy burden of the low-income community.

OPALCO is not giving up on local, renewable projects, but the team is hitting pause for this project. OPALCO is looking to the community to take the time to learn the ins and outs of these issues and help take steps to get more renewable energy projects implemented throughout the islands. OPALCO fully supports protecting conservation, natural and jurisdictional wetlands. We will need to address the various land-use designations to protect the most important parts of our islands and open up other areas to ensure we can site these kinds of projects close to where people live. Electricity is an essential service that our community relies on for all aspects of our lives. Ensuring that the community has a reliable energy grid into the future will take a big effort from all of us as we work to find solutions.

Throughout 2025, the OPALCO team will continue communicating on these issues and looking for feedback from co-op members. OPALCO will also be analyzing the electricity rates to ensure a fair and responsible way to bill members. OPALCO will continue working with San Juan County to change land use designations to ensure siting and installing renewable energy projects can be done in a reasonable and timely manner. The Co-op team has reached out to the County to find a solution to site an alternative location and save the $1M solar grant aimed at benefiting low-income residents – despite current permitting challenges, OPALCO is hopeful a reasonable solution can be accomplished.

OPALCO will be doing a survey later in 2025 to get feedback from co-op members. Please get involved, learn more and take the survey. We want to hear from you!

Read “Part 1: Why local renewable energy?” at https://www.islandssounder.com/life/why-local-generation-is-important-part-1-of-3/. Read Part 2: “Why the Bailer Hill location?” at https://www.islandssounder.com/opinion/local-power-generation-why-the-bailer-hill-microgrid-part-2-of-3/.