Description

NOTE: This program is currently being revised and will be changed in January 2011.

Orcas Power and Light (OPALCO), an electric cooperative serving Washington’s San Juan Islands, provides a production-based incentive for residential and commercial members who generate energy from wind and micro-hydroelectric sources. To receive an incentive, members must sign an Agreement for Interconnection granting OPALCO rights to the system’s Green Tags (renewable energy certificates).

For wind and micro-hydroelectric systems, the member receives $1.50 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for half of the estimated first-year production. At the end of the year, a "true up" is paid based on the actual generation as determined by an OPALCO meter minus the initial estimate. The total incentive may not exceed $4,500. For 2010, the overall renewable energy program budget is $25,000.

Orcas Power & Light also offers a rebate for solar photovoltaic systems.