Solarize Mercer Island v1 - 2014 Residential Solar Installation Campaign

47 new solar installations achieved! The City appreciates receiving grant funding that made this program possible from the WA Dept of Commerce (Northwest Solar Communities), the King Conservation District, and Puget Sound Energy (PSE). 

In the summer of 2014, the City partnered with regional non-profit group Spark Northwest (known at the time as Northwest SEED) to launch a mass solar installation initiative on Mercer Island, along with help from committed citizen volunteers.

A group discount of approx 10% off normal pricing, and Washington's solar incentives at the time meant a typical system was projected to pay for itself in just five years, depending on equipment selected -- and should then last another 20-30 years. Most residents found they could cover 50-70% of their annual power needs. Low-interest solar loans were also available from local banks and credit unions.
After attend one of 5 public informational workshops, offered in-person or online June through October 2014. (photos), participants were eligible for a free site assessment to determine the feasibility of their rooftop location, and hundreds of people took advantage of this offer.  The most interested parties then signed a contract directly with the qualified solar installer (Northwest Wind & Solar) pre-selected by a Solarize volunteer committee through a competitive RFP process.

Campaign Goal & Successes:

The initial goal of the campaign was 30 signed contracts, with a "stretch goal" of 40 or more. By the end of 2014, we reached 47 contracts (46 residential and 1 small-business), with a combined generating capacity of 331 kilowatts (kW). That's over 70 times the capacity of the array at the Community Center.  Solarize installations averaged 7kW in size, but some were right at the 10kW maximum.

Before the 2014 Solarize campaign, the Island had just 35 arrays, with a generating capacity of about 100 kilowatts.