City Operations Switch to 100 Percent Wind Power

Dec 1, 2020 - The City of Mercer Island announced today that 100 percent of its government operations are now powered by clean, renewable energy. A twenty-year contract to purchase carbon-free windpower from Puget Sound Energy will replace the City’s current mix of electricity, over half of which is still generated by carbon-emitting fuels like coal and natural gas.

“When we made the decision to power 100 percent of our facilities with clean wind energy instead of fossil fuel electricity, we hoped it would encourage other cities to do the same,” said Mercer Island Mayor Benson Wong. “Now that PSE’s Green Direct program is in full operation, we’re proud of the major role it plays in our City’s ongoing commitment to reducing our greenhouse gas impacts and promoting sustainability.”

Located on private timber land near Centralia, Washington, the Skookumchuck Wind Facility is the largest in western Washington and hosts 38 massive turbines with 137 Megawatts of total capacity. The new Green Direct program will provide 100 percent carbon-free energy directly to the City’s account (a total of 2.7million kilowatt-hours/year), significantly lowering the City’s entire carbon footprint. Approximately 40 percent of City government greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are due to electricity usage; however, the City’s power usage represents less than 2 percent of the entire Mercer Island community’s consumption.

“Thanks to low starting rates, the City’s total electricity bill will also drop as it switches over to this green power supply,” said Ross Freeman, the City’s Sustainability Manager, “and rates are locked to a fixed schedule that increases only 2 percent per year, which is less than past increases in conventional power rates.”

Mercer Island joins many other entities such as King County, Western Washington University, Sound Transit, the Port of Seattle, Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, as well as major commercial brands such as REI, Costco, and Target, in launching this innovative program in Washington state.

Today, about 1000 homes and businesses (10 percent of total accounts) on Mercer Island purchase over 12 million kilowatt-hours of green power offsets per year through PSE’s Green Power program, helping offset the carbon emissions from their own electricity usage, and providing funding for the operation of large-scale clean energy projects. 

The City also has a robust solar panel installation program that recently achieved its 200th array on Mercer Island, with over 1,700 kilowatts of local generating capacity, including two 100-kilowatt arrays on public school roofs, and a demonstration project at the City’s Community Center.

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