Issaquah School District To Unveil New Community Solar Site

SAMMAMISH, WA —Issaquah School District's partnership with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to make Pine Lake Middle School in Sammamish the company's third Community Solar site is nearing its operational phase, the district has announced.

The partnership is designed to allow PSE customers in east King County to subscribe to renewable energy, while also teaching students about the importance of sustainability.

At 4 p.m. Thursday, the district will host a ribbon-cutting event at Pine Lake Middle School, located at 3200 228th Ave. SE.

There, the district will unveil the solar installation at the school, which features 48 solar panels that will provide 175 kilowatts of AC power.

Local residents will have a chance to voluntarily subscribe to the 100-percent local solar energy generated at the school without the need to install or maintain their own rooftop solar array.

The shares help reduce those residents' carbon footprint by replacing some or all of their regular electricity use with renewable energy, according to PSE.

PSE said the site offers approximately 119 total shares available to PSE electric customers for a subscription.

It's all part of PSE's Community Solar program, which launched in 2021, and is designed to build multiple new, local solar energy installations by placing solar panels on the rooftops of publicly owned buildings and other properties across our service area.

The other two sites are in Kittitas County near Ellensburg and at Olympia High School in Olympia.

"Partnering with the Issaquah School District is the right thing to do for our customers in East King County who are looking to share the benefits of local solar," said Andy Wappler, PSE senior vice president and chief customer officer. "Being able to offer our customers the option to subscribe to renewable energy generated within our communities is helping us work together to create a clean energy future for all."

According to Issaquah School District superintendent Ron Thiele, the program contributes to the district's mission of encouraging students to be stewards of the environment and helps to educate them about the benefits of renewable energy.

"The district is thrilled to be able to partner with Puget Sound Energy in providing green energy," Thiele said. "Sustainability is one of the pillars my superintendency has been built on, in an effort to encourage environmental stewardship. While the district has received national awards for these efforts, providing green power is yet another great example of showing how the district and our students care about the planet."

Details about the Community Solar program and how to enroll are available on the PSE website.

Though enrollment currently is full for subscriptions to the Pine Lake Community Solar installation, customers can add their name to a waitlist for future availability at that site, or they may choose to subscribe to a different site that may be available.