By Stacee Sledge
Graeme Sackrison has been both a City Council member and the mayor of Lacey. These days, though the description makes him chuckle, he’s also an environmental activist, having created or laid the groundwork for local events such as Electrathon car races and Lacey’s Alternative Energy Fair.
Sackrison is currently the Chair of Thurston Climate Action Team (TCAT), a local non-profit dedicated to creating a healthy and sustainable future for Thurston County by encouraging action, coordinating action, and taking action on climate change.
“When an opportunity presented itself with Thurston Climate Action Team to put together a small group to work on hands-on things, taking on the Thurston Solar Tour seemed like the logical thing to do,” he says of the annual tour set for Saturday, September 29th.
The free event is part of the National Solar Tour, now in its 17th year, and has been put on by a variety of local groups and individuals in years past. The American Solar Energy Society coordinates this grass-roots event nationally.
The focus of this year’s self-guided tour is to show how solar works in Thurston County and will highlight 19 different local homes and businesses that use solar power to reduce monthly bills and help reduce carbon emissions.
Experts will be on hand at each site to answer questions about solar technology, energy efficiency, and how other sustainable technologies have been put to work in incredible ways.
Thirteen of this year’s sites have never been on the tour before, including seven brand-new solar installations and the first church to go solar in Olympia. Three sites feature electric vehicle charging stations.
Technological advances are a large part of what’s driving increased interest in solar power.
“We’re getting to the beginnings of what’s referred to as a ‘smart grid,’” Sackrison explains. “The electric grid has historically been one way: from the power company to your house. But the smart grid operates in both directions.”
For example, someone with a solar array on their house may be generating electricity even while they’re at work during the day, when they don’t have much use for it.
Through the smart grid and what’s called net metering, excess power generated goes back into the system so other people can use it.
“And when they’re using a lot of electricity – more than they can generate or at night – then they draw it back out of the grid,” says Sackrison. “So it becomes a two-way process both for generation and consumption.”
This relatively new technology is catching on in Thurston County. Puget Sound Energy numbers show increases every year in net metering installations: from 6 new installations in 2006 to 35 last year. There have been 24 installations so far this year.
In total, there are now 132 homes and businesses in our area generating their own power by the grid and net metering system.
Those numbers are expected to continue to climb.
“In the coming decade or so, energy is going to become more expensive,” says Sackrison. “Thurston County is expected to grow, so demand for energy will increase. It’s a good time to say: ‘What are some options? How can I better prepare myself for this?’”
From solar hot water installations to electrical systems – in private homes, businesses, farms, and churches, tour-goers can travel around at their own pace and see now just how it works but that it really does.
“The leading country in solar-distributed generation is Germany,” Sackrison explains with a laugh. “They’re north of us and have fewer sunny days than us. But it really does work.”
For Sackrison, it’s important to help people interested in solar power understand that it’s not a pipe dream. “Go talk to owners who have actually invested in it and are gaining benefits from it,” he says of the opportunities provided by the Thurston Solar Tour.
Sackrison and TCAT haven’t worked alone to create this year’s event.
“We have a group of people who are helping – it’s a team effort,” Sackrison says, mentioning Chris Van Daalen from the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild and fellow TCAT board member Sam Garst.
The Thurston Solar Tour is sponsored by several prominent local organizations, including The Community Foundation of South Puget Sound, Generations Credit Union, Olympia Federal Savings, Puget Sound Energy, Scott Homes, South Sound Solar, Sunset Air, Titus Will Automotive Group, and more.
The Thurston Solar Tour website includes a map and identifies all the tour stops, with driving directions to each site. Blue and yellow directional signs will help guide visitors along the way.
Thurston Solar Tour
Saturday, September 29
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
