Town Receives $500K Energy Grant

Town of Friday Harbor Receives $500,000 Energy Grant from Washington State Department of Commerce

The Town of Friday Harbor is pleased to announce that it has received a grant award in the amount of $500,000 from the State Department of Commerce for Energy Efficiency Projects on Town owned real properties. The Town made application for the grants in October of this year and was one of 70 submittals from around the State of Washington. Of those applications, 28 were awarded funding for a total of $8.6 million. In total, 21 local jurisdictions, two State agencies and five higher education institutions received monies.

The Town will be responsible for a $50,000 match bringing the total budget to $550,000. The match portion can be repaid over five years after completion of the improvements. The grant will facilitate a number of projects including, in part, new VFD pumps, lighting, insulation and heat pumps at the Town’s Water filtration plant; tank mixers and lighting at the Water Pumphouse; heat pumps, insulation, variable speed pumps and new controls at the Sewer Treatment Plant; and new indoor and outdoor lighting, HVAC and duct work at Town Hall.

Projections prepared by contractor Sunset Air Incorporated estimate annual savings on energy by the Town in excess of $39,000. At that rate, the Town’s match on the grant will be recouped in less than 18 months.

The Town expects to start the engineering process on these improvements in January and hopes to have most projects complete in 2015. “Special thanks go out to the selection committee at the Department of Commerce”, said Duncan Wilson, Friday Harbor Town Administrator. “A jurisdiction of our size can usually not afford to make improvements of this magnitude. This is an amazing opportunity.”

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