Renewable Energy on the Peninsulas

Posted: August 1, 2019, 7:00 am

Dreary, cloudy Washington? It’s really not that dreary. During the summer especially, the region enjoys considerable sunlight. Thanks to all that sunlight and the PenLight net-metering program, members can build energy credits in the summer and work them off during our darker months. Solar panels also operate more efficiently in our cooler summer weather, which means more power than hotter climates, not less.

Solar energy systems keep working on cloudy days, collecting scattered light and generating power. Sure, cities such as Gig Harbor and Portland may not produce as much solar power as states in the southwest, but we still generate enough to make solar a financially and environmentally viable solution.

During our long, sunny summers, production can be much higher than energy use. That means the meter is spinning backwards and generating credits with PenLight.

Washington offers a rich set of incentives for solar, both at home and for your business, including cash incentives for the power your system produces. In 2017, the state legislature approved the Renewable Energy System Incentive Program. It’s intended to reward solar system owners for the benefits their clean energy provides to the state. This program will enable thousands more to go solar during the program’s eight-year timeline.