Key Peninsula Solar Project Offsets Costs for Non-Profits
PenLight partnered with several community non-profit organizations to install a 4.86-kilowatt solar system at the Key Peninsula Civic Center in Vaughn. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the Key Peninsula Livable Community Fair on May 10, 2014.
The project, which was built on a shelter constructed by community groups, began to generate electricity on March 7, 2014. It helps to offset the energy costs for operating the civic center, and provides real-time data used in cooperation with Peninsula School District classrooms. Teachers and students will have access to the system through a web-based monitoring system. They will follow a curriculum that details renewable-energy science, and they will be able to tour the project site.
The shelter was constructed through the support of the Key Peninsula Civic Center Association, the Key Peninsula Metropolitan Parks District, the Key Peninsula Parks and Recreation Foundation, the Key Peninsula Land Use Advisory Commission and the Angel Guild.
The solar project was installed with direction and funding from Peninsula Light Company and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Artisan Electric, Inc., a Seattle-based union electrical contractor, installed the solar system and monitoring station. Energy produced will benefit civic center tenants, which include the Key Peninsula Family Resource Center, Children’s Home Society, Key Peninsula Historical Society, Two Waters Arts Alliance and the Key Peninsula News.