Harrington and Malden, small rural communities in eastern Washington, are expanding their energy capacity and long-term energy security with Clean Energy Grants from the Washington Department of Commerce.
Secured by Partners for Rural Washington and managed by Zero Emissions Northwest, the grants will pay for increased solar power generation and storage. Harrington will receive nearly $600,000; Malden nearly $146,000.
“Helping rural communities secure the resources they need to increase their long-term security and prosperity is a primary focus of Partners for Rural Washington,” said PRWA Executive Director Jody Opheim. “These grants will help both Harrington and Malden be more resilient.”
Harrington was the inaugural community in The Giving Grid, a joint initiative of PRWA, ZEN and Washington State University Community Solar Program that installs solar power systems in school districts. The Clean Energy Grant funds will be used to install an expanded battery energy storage system at the school. According to the grant award, “The battery system will enable the school to function as an emergency shelter, powering critical loads such as lighting, cooling, refrigeration, and communications during outages. This ensures reliable refuge for residents during wildfires, ice storms, or other disasters.” It also will provide backup power during outages to support other communities in Lincoln County and neighboring communities such as Ritzville.
The second project at Harrington is installation of a solar power system at the Harrington Sewer District, which is expected to dramatically reduce municipal electricity costs. Altogether, the town expects net approximately $450,000 in energy savings over the life of the system.
“Small rural towns need to be creative in the face of the affordability challenge,” said Harrington Mayor Joe Armand. “Our partnership with PRWA and ZEN allowed Harrington to win a Department of Commerce project with no burdens related to grant writing, installation, and operations. It is a win win win.”
At Malden, the Clean Energy Grant will be used to install solar power arrays – one on the town’s old municipal well, one on the new municipal well and one on its cellular tower. According to the grant award, “powering the wells that supply Malden’s drinking water and fire response along with the cell tower enables Malden to be a positive example of rebuilding better. These projects will remove their last few remaining municipal energy costs and make Malden almost 100 percent green.”
The award also noted the regional benefits of the Malden projects for neighboring communities such as Rosalia, Pine City and Thornton, which depend on Malden’s communication network and water system during fire response events. The project is expected to save Malden $443,000 over the life of the system.
Washington state’s federally designated Rural Development Council, Partners for Rural Washington is a non-profit organization dedicated to partnering with rural communities – especially those with fewer than 1,000 residents – to tackle and complete some of their most challenging infrastructure and community development projects. Funded completely with grants and partnerships, PRWA provides its services at no cost to the communities.
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