Seattle City Light statement on President’s Clean Power Plan

August 3, 2015 by thomses Leave a Comment

Seattle City Light Interim General Manager and CEO Jim Baggs

Today, Seattle City Light Interim General Manager and CEO Jim Baggs issued the following statement in support of President Obama’s new Clean Power Plan after the U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA) released final regulations that will, for the first time, set federal carbon emission limits for existing power plants:

“Seattle City Light, a carbon neutral utility since 2005, has long advocated for action to address climate change and supports EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.

“We believe that the impact of climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the electric industry. Research we have undertaken and our recently developed Climate Adaptation Plan shows that climate change has significant effects on the reliability of our system.

“Utilities such as Seattle City Light that depend on hydropower face loss of snow pack and glaciers as well as increased frequency and severity of floods on our rivers. Overall, the industry will face increased risk of fire, sea level rise, severe storms and landslides that threaten power lines. For these reasons, we urged the Obama Administration to ensure that the final rule delivers meaningful emission reductions from existing power plants and encourages investment in clean energy technologies.

“Seattle City Light will continue to invest in energy efficiency for our customers and in environmentally sound renewables. While we are still reviewing the details of the plan, we are confident that the final rule provides the states the flexibility needed to design their program implementation to address state specific characteristics and impacts. Seattle City Light looks forward to working with Washington State and other stakeholders as we develop a strong and effective state implementation plan.”

Seattle City Light on Track to Meet I-937 Goals

June 4, 2015 by thomses Leave a Comment

Seattle City Light is on track to meet the energy conservation and renewable energy requirements of the Washington Energy Independence Act, which was approved by voters as Initiative 937.

In addition to a requirement for large utilities to have 15 percent of their energy portfolios come from new renewable energy resources by 2020, the law also outlines energy conservation targets to be met every two years.

City Light used the Utility Analysis Option to set our two-year conservation target. City Light completed a Conservation Potential Assessment in 2014 to identify achievable and cost-effective energy conservation potential.

This study identified a biennial energy conservation potential of 207,437 megawatt-hours for 2014-2015 and a 10-year conservation potential of 1,037,184 megawatt-hours. The Seattle City Council adopted these targets with Resolution #31487.

City Light is ahead of pace in meeting the 2014-2015 goal. Through the end of 2014, City Light achieved 159,033 megawatt-hours of savings. That means halfway through the reporting period, the utility has already achieved 76.7 percent of its 2014-2015 biennial target. City Light relied on Bonneville Power Administration’s IS 2.0 reporting system to capture all its energy conservation savings for 2014, which reflects the most current data available as of May 2015.

City Light is required to submit a report on its progress in meeting the conservation targets to the Washington Department of Commerce by June 1.

In 2015, City Light needs to have I-937 eligible renewable energy resources equivalent to 3 percent of retail sales. City Light will meet this requirement with our purchase of energy produced by the Stateline Wind Project, the Priest Rapids dam and Wanapum dam, and renewable energy credits we get from our purchase from the Bonneville Power Administration.

The Stateline wind farm is one source of new, renewable energy for Seattle City Light.

In 2016, the target increases to 9 percent of sales. City Light will meet this requirement with contracts already signed with geothermal, biomass, bio-gas, and wind-powered projects in the Northwest.

Sonic Bloom Inspires Musical Streetlights in South Korea

March 27, 2015 by thomses 2 Comments

Sonic Bloom

Sonic Bloom, a solar powered artwork commissioned by Seattle City Light that delights visitors to Pacific Science Center has inspired the Seoul Municipal Government in South Korea to install musical streetlights.

According to Korea Times, the planned Seoul streetlights “will include playing tunes that best match the weather of the day, and changing them based on the movement of people underneath it.” Read the full Korea Times story here.

Sonic Bloom was created by Seattle Artist Dan Corson, who has been exploring green design and new technologies and how these tools can frame and amplify the natural world and our shifting relationship to it.

The artwork consists of five giant flowers that are powered by solar panels on the tops of the blooms and the science center roof. When people walk by, the each of the flowers “sings” a different musical note. At night, the blooms light up in a variety of colors.

A grant from City Light’s voluntary Green Up program and in-kind donations paid for the Sonic Bloom installation. Green Up allows customers to invest in renewable energy and sets aside some of the money collected from participants to promote awareness.

Among the other numerous projects locally and nationally that Corson has created are “Wave Rave Cave” under the Alaskan Way viaduct for City Light, the “Rain Drum Courtyard” at the Cedar River Watershed Visitors Center in North Bend for Seattle Public Utilities and the green and black striped “Safety Spires” at the Sound Transit maintenance facility.

Seattle City Light Thanks Green Up Customers for Supporting Renewable Energy

December 17, 2014 by thomses Leave a Comment

Clean, affordable hydroelectricity supplies 90 percent of Seattle City Light’s power. Add to that a zero carbon footprint and a 35 year history of energy conservation, and you can see why we are the nation’s greenest utility.

The Pacific Northwest outside of City Light’s service territory is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels. So we’d like to thank our Green Up participants for making a big difference in our region by supporting new renewable energy sources.

From January to October 2014, City Light Green Up participants added 80,760 megawatt-hours of clean, green energy to our region’s power grid, avoiding the release of 108 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That’s the equivalent of planting 1,258,873 tree seedlings or taking 10,337 cars off Seattle’s streets.

Way to go! You’re making a difference every day.

Want to go further? You can support adding more clean, green energy right here in your own backyard with Community Solar. Find out more and sign up today.

Community Solar at Phinney Ridge Sold Out, Units Still Available from Capitol Hill Project

December 16, 2014 by thomses Leave a Comment

Photo of solar panels at Woodland Park Zoo Rainforest Cafe.

The Community Solar at Phinney Ridge project is located at Woodland Park Zoo and the Phinney Neighborhood Association.

Seattle City Light customers love the Sun and the energy it can produce.

Our Community Solar at Phinney Ridge project sold out Dec. 11. At 74.79 kilowatts, it is the largest Community Solar project in Washington.

Cutomers who still want to participate in Community Solar need not worry. We still have about 600 units available at our Community Solar Capitol Hill project, which went live in November.

The 26 kilowatt Capitol Hill system is being installed on the roof of the Holiday Apartments, an affordable housing building owned by Capitol Hill Housing (CHH). CHH provides low-income housing to over 1700 Seattle residents and actively works to create equitable and sustainable communities in central Seattle. CHH also leads the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, a neighborhood initiative that works to address Capitol Hill’s most pressing sustainability challenges.

Community Solar lets renters, condo owners or those who don’t want to buy a whole system get the benefits of a solar array built by City Light and shared by the community.

Locations are chosen for solar exposure and connection to the greater community. The host must have an obvious commitment to and connection with conservation. Customers purchase virtual pieces of the system – solar units – for $150 each. State incentives and City Light energy credits pay back that contribution and should even pay out something extra. When the project ends, City Light donates the system to the host – providing free, clean, electricity to offset their operating costs and further their conservation mission.

Learn more about Community Solar here and sign up for your piece of the Sun.

Power from the Sun and Support for Affordable Housing

November 19, 2014 by thomses

Photo of workers installing solar panels.

Workers install the panels for Seattle City Light’s latest Community Solar project.

Seattle City Light’s latest Community Solar project can provide you with energy from the Sun today and it will help power affordable housing in the future.

The 26 kilowatt system is being installed on the roof of the Holiday Apartments, an affordable housing building owned by Capitol Hill Housing (CHH). CHH provides low-income housing to over 1700 Seattle residents and actively works to create equitable and sustainable communities in central Seattle. CHH also leads the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, a neighborhood initiative that works to address Capitol Hill’s most pressing sustainability challenges.

Community Solar lets renters, condo owners or those who don’t want to buy a whole system get the benefits of a solar array built by City Light and shared by the community.

Why participate?

“This is the democratization of solar power,” says Joel Sisolak, EcoDistrict Project Director for CHH. You don’t have to own a solar system, much less a house. Anyone with a City Light account can sign up.
Annual credits pay you back by 2020.
Your purchase of solar unit(s) supports Capitol Hill Housing by keeping their operating costs down.
Adding solar to the grid further diversifies City Light’s clean energy power sources, freeing up more green, hydropowered electricity to be sold to utilities that burn fossil fuels for their power.
Enhance City Light’s efforts to educate customers that “solar works in Seattle.”
A successful community solar project at the Holiday Apartments will lead to future community solar efforts directed towards Capitol Hill’s many renters that can be led by CHH itself.

Go to seattle.gov/communitysolar for more details, or if you have questions about the project, please call or email a Seattle City Light Energy Advisor at 206-684-3800 or SCLEnergyAdvisor@seattle.gov.

Seattle’s Trash to Generate Even More Clean Electricity for City Light

July 2, 2014 by thomses

Aerial photo of Columbia Ridge landfill power plant

The Columbia Ridge power plant in Oregon.

Seattle’s trash will soon generate even more clean energy for Seattle City Light customers.

Waste Management is doubling the generating capacity of its Columbia Ridge landfill gas power plant in Oregon and City Light will buy all the electricity it produces.

“Even the trash we throw away is a resource that can be used to generate clean electricity,” said Jason Rose, area vice president for Waste Management. “We are completing the circle of sustainable practices, maximizing the resources of even our garbage to find new, alternative energy in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Seattle Public Utilities ships Seattle’s garbage to Columbia Ridge for disposal. Since 2009, Waste Management has captured the methane created by the decaying garbage and used it to fuel a power plant on site. City Light then purchases the electricity that is produced and uses it to help power the more than 400,000 homes and businesses it serves.

Currently, Columbia Ridge has the capacity to generate 6.4 megawatts of electricity. The expansion is expected to be ready for commercial operations in August with a new capacity of 12.8 megawatts. That’s enough electricity to power about 12,500 typical Seattle homes.

Photo of Columbia Ridge power plant generators.

More generators like these are being added at Columbia Ridge to generate more clean electricity from Seattle’s trash.

“Adding the increased generation from Columbia Ridge to our energy portfolio helps us meet our customers’ electricity needs, continue our status as a carbon-neutral utility and meet the new renewable energy goals of Initiative 937,” City Light General Manager and CEO Jorge Carrasco said.

“Opportunities like this are how we limit our environmental impact while delivering reliable electricity to our customer-owners at some of the lowest prices in the country,” he said. “It’s another example of why we are the nation’s greenest utility.”

Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to about 750,000 Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.

City Light Manages Skagit Flows to Protect 300,000 Salmon Eggs

June 26, 2014 by thomses 3 Comments

Salmon eggs and fry in a redd, or nest.

Summer Chinook salmon spawn in the Skagit river from August through October each year — Photo by Dave Bickford, courtesty of U.S. Forest Service

Many Chinook salmon eggs laid in the Skagit River system last fall faced grim prospects for survival amid challenging water conditions. But a coordinated effort by Seattle City Light working with state and federal resource agencies and tribes along with an exceptionally wet March and April gave more than 300,000 of them the chance to grow up.

“From November through February, this appeared to be one of the worst water years we had seen in quite a while. It was some great teamwork and a huge increase in precipitation in March and April that really turned things around,” said Dave Clement, Resource Planning, Forecasting, and Analysis Director for City Light.

Chinook salmon spawning season typically lasts from mid-August to mid-October each year. This past September, during the peak of spawning activity, record rainfall levels allowed chinook salmon to dig nest sites in areas that would be dry when water levels returned to normal.

The summer Chinook salmon are a federally-listed species with Endangered Species Act protection. But dry weather conditions from November 2013 through February of this year meant those salmon eggs were likely to be left out to dry and die.

“The situation required the release of far more water from the hydro project than we had originally planned so as to protect as many of the salmon nest sites as possible,” explained David Pflug, fisheries biologist at City Light.

City Light manages flow levels in the Skagit River system to meet a several key objectives each year: protecting fish that live and spawn in the river downstream, generating sufficient power to meet the energy needs of our customers throughout the year, preventing floods downstream of the dams and keeping the river and Ross Lake at elevations that permit recreation such as boating and fishing. In addition, Ross Lake serves an important function as a reservoir to hold water that is used to generate electricity in drier times during the year.

The trick is managing the right water levels for each of these objectives, while working with highly variable precipitation levels that are ultimately decided on by Mother Nature.

That’s the situation City Light found itself in earlier this year. The region had one of the lowest levels of precipitation in more than a decade from November to February, and was facing perhaps one of the worst water years in history.

Ross Dam on the Skagit River creates Ross Lake, which is full for summer recreation and hydropower generation.

Pflug works closely with the utility’s Resource Planning staff, who plan optimum water levels. He discovered that there were many Chinook salmon redds spawned high on the riverbank in September during the rainy spawning season. The dry weather conditions during winter meant it would be difficult to protect the redds under normal operations.

That information went to the Skagit Project Flow Coordinating Committee comprised of state, federal fisheries resource agencies and tribe. City Light’s Resource Planning team worked with the committee to come up with a plan to protect the nest sites, which required the release of additional water and taking the risk of not being able to refill Ross Lake for use later in the year. With the survival of the Chinook at stake, the plan was approved.

City Light kept the river flow levels up to protect the salmon nests from November of 2013 to May of 2014. It took a significant amount of teamwork, including daily monitoring of water elevation levels and careful management to ensure the protection of the nests. Coordination between multiple divisions ensued, including Pflug, Power Management planners Ole Kjosnes and Don Tinker, the Power Marketing team and the System Control Center team. Continuing dry conditions also worried resource planners about the ability refill Ross Lake, which powers Ross Dam through the summer and is a key recreational area within the North Cascades National Park complex.

These graphs show the cumulative snowpack and precipitation levels, measured in inches. The blue line is the average level, while the green line tracks the dry water year of 2014. The yellow line, by way of comparison, measures levels during the severe dry spell of water year 2001.

Then came the wettest March in history.

And more precipitation in April.

That rain and the snow that fell higher up in the mountains provided the water for City Light to protect the redds and refill the lake. This voluntary effort resulted in the protection of 31 nest sites that would have otherwise been lost– a resounding success, especially considering their initial odds of survival.

Those 31 redds add up to approximately 300,000 protected salmon eggs.

A full Ross Lake will allow for increased river flows through July, enabling better protection of Steelhead that will be spawning the Skagit River and additional energy generation from City Light’s Ross, Diablo and Gorge hydroelectric dams.

“It was a good thing we released more water than we normally would have – because that made room in Ross Lake to collect more of the large amount of water that came in March and April and avoided some spill through the spill gates,” Clement said. “So in a way, the fish helped us out, too.”

Seattle City Light is the 10^th-largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 750,000 Seattle-area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction. More information at: http://www.seattle.gov/light/

City Light Staff Help Third-Graders with Solar Energy Project

June 20, 2014 by thomses

Renewable Energy Outreach Coordinator Jack Newman meets with third-graders at John Stanford International School in Wallingford.

Seattle City Light employees met with third-graders at John Stanford International School in Wallingford recently to discuss the students’ project related to global warming and climate change.

While City Light gets 90 percent of its electricity from clean, renewable hydropower and the utility has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, worldwide production of electricity from coal- and gas-powered plants is the leading contributor of carbon dioxide emissions.

At the Stanford school, teacher Margie Butcher challenged her students to propose a strategy with the aim of addressing this concern. The strategy the students picked was to support the installation of solar panels.

Jack Newman and Suzanne DuRard from City Light’s Conservation Resources Division met with the class to discuss the utility’s clean energy fuel mix, renewable energy programs and recently completed solar energy projects, including Community Solar and Sonic Bloom. Students also asked about state financial incentives for the installation of solar panels; the economics of installing solar panels at your home or business; and the challenges of maintaining the electricity distribution network as more people generate their own solar electricity.

“The students were very alert, with each group’s selected note-taker thoughtfully recording notes throughout my presentation,” Newman said. “It was an honor to talk with and learn from such engaged 3rd graders. I am proud of their focus to support renewable energy in Seattle.”

With residential solar installations on the increase, Seattle City Light’s customers are eager to learn more about renewable energy and how their utility will position itself in the new landscape of distributed generation. Jack Newman’s work as renewable energy outreach coordinator serves as one response to this growing demand for solar energy education and community engagement. As the Nation’s Greenest Utility, Seattle City Light is learning every day about the community’s interest in renewable energy, which was highlighted in the John Stanford International School’s solar energy student projects.

Seattle City Light, Seattle Aquarium Celebrate Solar Project Success

April 25, 2014 by thomses

Photo of City Councilmember Mike O'Brien

City Councilmember Mike O’Brien shares his enthusiasm for renewable energy at the Community Solar celebration.

Dozens of solar electricity investors joined City Light and the Seattle Aquarium today, to celebrate the successful installation of the largest solar array at any aquarium on the West Coast as part of the utility’s Community Solar and Green Up programs.

“Investing in alternative energy is an important element of the aquarium’s vision, and fits perfectly with our mission of Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment” aquarium President and CEO Robert Davidson said. “Using clean, green energy supports healthy marine ecosystems by reducing our facility’s carbon footprint. It also supports one of the Aquarium’s key messages: that everyone can make a difference in the preservation of Puget Sound and our one world ocean.”

NW Wind & Solar of Seattle installed the $330,000 system, which covers a large portion of the south side of the Seattle Aquarium’s roof. The 247 panels for the 49.4 kilowatt system were purchased from Marysville-based Silicon Energy, promoting more green jobs in Western Washington.

Most of the panels produce electricity on behalf of 187 City Light customers who bought 1,800 units of solar power through the utility’s Community Solar program. The rest of the panels serve as a demonstration project through the utility’s voluntary Green Up renewable energy program with the electricity produced helping to power the Aquarium’s operations.

Each 24 watt unit of the solar installation cost $150.

This is Seattle City Light’s second Community Solar project. The first was installed in Beacon Hill at Jefferson Park in 2012.

“Community Solar demonstrates Seattle City Light’s commitment to meeting the energy needs of our customers in an environmentally sustainable manner and shows why we call ourselves The Nation’s Greenest Utility,” City Light Chief of Staff Sephir Hamilton said.

“This innovative project lets customers promote and benefit from solar even if they rent, have shady roofs or can’t make the big investment of installing their own solar system,” Hamilton said. “When customers invest in solar, they also think harder about reducing their own electricity use in order to make the most of their solar production credits.”

Participants receive credit on their City Light accounts for their portions of the solar panels’ output through 2020 along with all state production incentives. Together, those credits amount to $1.15 per kilowatt-hour. City Light estimates that participants will receive more than $150 worth of electricity and production incentives for each unit purchased by the end of their agreements. Details are available online.

“As soon as I found out about this program I was excited about the opportunity to participate in solar even though I live in a multi-family building,” said Gina Hicks, who purchased the maximum 125 units. “I knew how attractive it would be to renters and people who live in buildings like mine where it’s difficult to get their own solar arrays installed. I’ve been spreading the word about Community Solar ever since.”

Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.

Powerlines Blog Seattle City Light

Power Lines

News and Updates from Seattle City Light