Quietly, the Biggest Solar Power Project in Seattle Goes to Work

The High Point PV installation (Photo: A&R Solar)

You have to drive out to West Seattle’s Delridge district to see it, but High Point, designed to be an entirely green affordable-living community (Oh, those crazy Clinton years), is now the home of Seattle’s biggest solar power installation.

West Seattle Blog went out to visit the High Point Neighborhood Center, whose roof is providing the solar panel space necessary, and caught up with A&R Solar (an employee-owned company) as they installed an additional 128 panels (to an original 256), upping capacity to 73.6 kW.

Photo: A&R Solar

A&R Solar’s Dave Kozin says that’s enough, for perspective, to power 15 to 20 homes. Of course, High Point’s construction is not supposed to be average–”All homes meet a minimum of Built Green™ 3-Star standards, with many achieving 4-Star level and ENERGY STAR® certification”–so perhaps we can expect even more bang for the photon at the Neighborhood Center as well.

Once more, we refer you to the West Seattle Blog for energy-saving details.

The City of Seattle was a major funder of the project that, with installation and panels included, cost about $117,000. In the event that the panels produce more energy than the 20,000-sq.-ft. center needs, the whole system is tied into the grid so that City Light gets electricity back.

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But we’re sunless in Seattle, you cry? We covered that already in our Sunergy profile: Clouds still let plenty of light through, and our long, long summer days make up for long, long winter nights–in fact our weather cycle works very well with solar because when solar production is down during the winter, our hydropower is going gangbusters. When water flow is down during summer, solar power steps up.