Two clean energy projects are underway in Sequim and Port Angeles, aided by funding obtained from the state Department of Commerce.
These projects will help reduce byproduct waste for the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) and aid in construction of an independent microgrid for the Clallam County Public Utility District (PUD) No. 1.
The CRTC will use about two-thirds of its $437,000 grant to buy equipment that can repurpose wood byproducts resulting from housing kit production. The remaining one-third will go to the Makah Tribe, which will also use the funds to reduce wood byproducts.
“I’m confident, with the grant, we’ll be landfill free,” CRTC chief executive officer Dave Walter said.
The CRTC’s housing kit production is a new venture that is still in the design and testing phase. Potential partners include the Makah
Tribe and the Department of Defense.
The plan for the venture is to use local coastal western hemlock lumber to build affordable, easy-to-assemble smaller housing kits that appreciate.
To get the coastal western hemlock lumber, the CRTC helped the Makah Tribe build a sawmill, which was finished in March. Now the tribe, which has a large quantity of coastal western hemlock, can turn those trees into lumber and sell them to different companies, including the CRTC.
The CRTC then thermally modifies the lumber, which collapses the wood and removes much of the moisture, resulting in pressure-treated wood without the use of chemicals. The wood is then more stable and resistant to mold, mildew and bugs, Walter said.
The thermally modified wood is compressed into cross-laminated timber panels, which can be used for the walls of the housing kits.
Walter said these houses will likely be between 800-1,200 square feet and will hopefully cost about $200 per square foot.
During the creation of these kits, pieces of wood and sawdust are generated as a byproduct. While the CRTC has been able to find some uses for these products, Walter said they will need more effective alternatives once they ramp up manufacturing.
That is where the grant will come in.
Some potential equipment that could be purchased with the grant includes finger joiners or tools that compress sawdust into logs, Walter said.
The PUD received a grant of $520,274 for construction of an innovative microgrid at the decommissioned Sequim substation. It also received a separate $128,000 grant to fund the microgrid’s design.
The microgrid “will create a model for enhanced resilience on the North Olympic Peninsula and beyond,” a press release stated.
“These grants represent a major step forward in our efforts to modernize the electric grid and increase energy resilience for our community,” PUD General Manager Sean Worthington said.
The project will implement a solar photovoltaic-powered microgrid that can run for an extended period in off-grid mode.
Additionally, small inverters and a 200 kWh lithium-ion battery will be able to store and supply a communications hut, which supports the central fiberoptic broadband network that serves all regional internet providers, the press release stated.
The project also will have two electric charging stations and use technology to prepare the distribution system for a greenhouse gas-free electrical grid.
“This project will serve as a model for how rural utilities can leverage clean energy technologies to strengthen grid resilience,” General Superintendent Shailesh Shere said.
The microgrid’s construction likely will be completed next year.
Most of the grant money is part of $37 million in grants that the Department of Commerce has distributed between 46 clean energy projects across the state. About $29 million of the funding is provided by the Climate Commitment Act.
