Submitted by Puget Sound Energy
Puget Sound Energy is continuing its Green Power Solar Grant awards for the seventh consecutive year, ushering out $782.599.12 to nine local organizations and tribes across our service area.
All recipients range from local non-profits and tribal entities serving low-income and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) community members. In addition to saving recipients money on their utilities, the projects will serve to advance access to clean energy in the region.
The Family Support Center of South Sound, one of this year’s recipients, provides more than 4,000 parents, children and survivors of violence with coordinated support services in one location. The Family Support Center is using the funds to install solar panels on a new 62-unit permanent housing facility with supportive services project.
“In addition to supporting our values of environmental stewardship; the savings generated by the solar panels provide income for the project that will be utilized to ensure that tenants have access to variety of rich programs and services to support their long term housing stability,” said Trish Gregory, the Executive Director Family Support Center of South Sound.
The annual electric generation from these GPSG projects will total about 335,000 kWh, equivalent to powering nearly 32 average homes. The goal is to help local organizations reduce operating costs while also reducing their carbon footprint by using renewable energy they’ve generated.
This is the third year the Suquamish Tribe has been a Green Power Solar Grant recipient. This year, the funds will help the Tribe fund two solar projects on its Administration Building and the Marion Forsman Boushie Early Learning Center.
“The Suquamish Tribe has a long-standing tradition of caring for our natural environment, so deploying solar power is a priority. We are happy to partner with PSE to switch some of our facilities away from hydropower, coal and other climate polluting forms of energy to clean solar power,” said Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman.
PSE has provided a total of $4.8 million in grant funding over the last seven years, resulting in more than 2.2 million kWh of estimated annual solar generation. PSE’s Green Power Solar Grant program will release another competitive funding cycle in summer 2024.
“Collaboration is one of the cornerstones of our collective clean energy future,” PSE’s Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Transformation Officer Aaron August said. “We’re grateful to be able to partner with our communities through the Green Power Solar Grant program, not only to enable clean and sustainable energy, but also to help communities offset their energy costs to allocate dollars into other projects and initiatives for our hometowns.”
Recipients partnered with local solar installation companies such as Sphere Solar, South Sound Solar, Western Solar, Mad Energy and Sun Energy Systems. The solar companies helped recipients complete their grant applications and will work to have their solar panels installed and producing energy in 2024.
List of recipients:
| Organization | County |
| Family Support Center of South Sound | Thurston |
| Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County | Thurston |
| Homes First | Whatcom |
| Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority | Kitsap |
| Lummi Nation Housing Authority | Whatcom |
| Midway Community Covenant Church | King |
| Olympia Little Theater | Thurston |
| Puyallup Food Bank | Pierce |
| Suquamish Tribe – Administration Building | Kitsap |
| Suquamish Tribe – Marion Forsman Boushie Early Learning Center | Kitsap |
