Air agency grants fund clean energy projects for Bellingham, Opportunity Council
Funds from a settlement with a Whatcom County petrochemical company are paying for clean-energy projects in Bellingham aimed at helping low-income residents and reducing the effects of climate change.
Officials at the Northwest Clean Air Agency announced grants of $3 million for the city of Bellingham and Opportunity Council in a statement Thursday afternoon:
▪ The city of Bellingham was awarded up to $1.7 million for a proposed solar array that could result in $69,000 per year in cost savings. That money will go toward undefined “community climate projects,” the city said at its website.
▪ The Opportunity Council was awarded up to $1.3 million to install energy-efficient ductless heat pumps at Mercy Housing’s Sterling Meadows complex for farm workers and their families.
Money for the grants is from the Northwest Clean Air Agency’s 2023 settlement with Petrogas West LLC over air-quality issues at the company’s Cherry Point plant.
“We are pleased to be able to support local projects that will have meaningful results in communities we serve,” Mark Buford, executive director of the Northwest Clean Air Agency, said in an emailed statement.
Separately, Bellingham recently received a $165,000 grant from the Washington state Department of Commerce to look at places to locate the community solar array with a capacity of 1 megawatt, enough to produce electricity for 100 homes every year. A community solar array is an installation that residents can subscribe to instead of placing on their own roof, the city said in a Feb. 14 post at its website.
“Community members have called on the city to lead on climate action,” Mayor Kim Lund said in a statement. “Through this funding partnership with NWCAA, we are not only making progress toward our renewable energy goals, but we are also reinvesting our gains toward other projects that help us build a more sustainable and resilient climate future for Bellingham.”
The Northwest Clean Air Agency is the main government agency that monitors air quality in Island, Skagit, and Whatcom counties. San Juan County is joining the agency on July 1.
