By Sam Merrill
In early 2021, following persistent work led by the Thurston Climate Action Team and support from partner organizations including BHAS, the Olympia, Tumwater, and Lacey city councils as well as the Thurston County Board of Commissioners, accepted and committed to implement the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan. In addition, Tumwater, Olympia and Thurston County have adopted a “Declaration of Climate Emergency”. Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will focus especially on buildings and energy, transportation and land use, water and waste, and agriculture and forests. In particular, it will be necessary to reduce natural gas use, reduce the amount that people drive and increase fuel efficiency for when they do, and store additional carbon in soil and plants. State and local policies, as well as community and personal action, will also contribute to that effort.
The consultant who helped create the Climate Mitigation Plan indicated that all 72 items outlined in the detailed Plan would need to be done in the 30 years specified, starting quickly to meet the science-based goals, in fact, “more promptly than governments usually move”. So, citizen organizations need to keep up the pressure to implement items in the Plan to address climate change.
One route to increase the use of renewable energy is the installation of solar panels. Community action and individual participation have been brought together by Olympia Community Solar (OCS), which has installed solar panels on the Olympia Children’s Museum in what they call their Hummingbird project. The organization is now soliciting donations and/or purchase of solar units for their next project – the installation of solar panels on the Olympia Farmers Market. As the solar generates electricity, they send an annual return proportional to a participant’s share of the project until the latter receives the full value of their investment. For the Farmers Market installation, Olympia Community Solar expects to raise about $120,000 from solar unit sales and donations, with a payback to take approximately 18 years. More information and how to donate or participate in the Farmers Market installation is at the Sunflower Project.
Alternatively, Thurston County residents and businesses can access residential solar installations at prices more than 25% below market rates, thanks to a solar group-purchasing program, Solarize Thurston, which follows a model used throughout the country to reduce costs and simplify the solar installation process. Installing solar not only saves money on your electric bill, but reduces pollution, addresses climate change, and you may qualify for a 26% federal tax rebate. By participating in the program, you will also be contributing to low-income solar access — for every 50 kilowatts installed OCS will support a local low-income family to install solar.
