The Columbia press., January 25, 2019, Page 5, Image 5

January 25, 2019
T he C olumbia P ress
5
County gets greener with new solar panels
Clatsop County’s commit-
ment to renewable energy took
shape last week with the instal-
lation of a solar panel structure
on the roof of the Boyington
Building.
The project comes courtesy
of Pacific Power in recognition
of the county’s participation in
the utility’s Blue Sky Challenge.
The solar array, consisting of
45 panels, is expected to gener-
ate up to 15 kilowatts of energy
for the building, which serves
as the meeting space for the
Board of Commissioners and
other bodies, as well as the bal-
lot-counting site for the Elec-
tions Division.
Pacific Power provided a
$30,000 grant for the installa-
tion, which was performed by
Precision Heating of Warren-
ton.
The Board of Commissioners
voted in March 2017 to join the
Blue Sky Challenge, an initia-
tive of Pacific Power to promote
renewable energy use by lo-
cal-power customers, followed
by the cities of Warrenton, As-
toria, Cannon Beach, Gearhart
and Seaside. Blue Sky is a vol-
untary program that provides
power customers the oppor-
tunity to support new energy
sources and help build a larger
market for renewable energy.
More than 900 residential
and business customers in
Clatsop County have signed up
for Blue Sky, nearly double the
local goal of 500. The coun-
ty was the first in Oregon and
only the second in the nation
to join the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency’s Green Power
Partnership.
Courtesy Clatsop County
Workers install a solar panel array atop the Boyington Building.