New Solar Project Planned At Issaquah's Pine Lake Middle School

ISSAQUAH, WA — The Issaquah School District will add solar panels to the roof of Pine Lake Middle School, which will contribute electricity to Puget Sound Energy's Community Solar program. The district announced the new partnership with PSE on Tuesday, making Pine Lake the second site selected to host solar panels since the renewable energy program launched earlier this year.

The Community Solar program offers PSE customers a chance to subscribe to renewable energy "shares" from the local solar sites, allowing them to tap into some of the benefits without needing to place panels on their own property.

Once completed, Pine Lake Middle School's rooftop solar will generate enough energy for 119 shares in the program. Residents interested in participating can enroll to claim the new shares starting Tuesday, Nov. 16.

Here's how Community Solar works, from PSE:

• The program is voluntary and enrollment is simple.
• You can subscribe to shares in one or more available sites, equal to up to 120% of your average annual electricity usage.
• Subscriptions are just $20 per month per share automatically added to your regular electricity bill.
• Subscriptions require a one-year minimum term. Early termination may result in a one-time cancellation fee.
• The energy generated by your share(s) offsets a portion of your monthly subscription fee as an energy credit on your bill.
• One share is equal to 1.46kW of 100% local solar energy. Energy credits are equal to $0.045 per kWh generated by your individual share(s) in your subscription.
• Monthly energy credits will vary based on real-time production of the solar energy sites—credits may be higher in the summer than winter and may vary by project based on location.
• You can keep your share(s) for the life of the program, estimated to be 15 years or more.
• After an initial one-year term, you can cancel your subscription at any time, if desired.

District officials said the new middle school array should be completed and operational before the end of this year.

Learn more about the Community Solar program via PSE's website.