Innovative Energy

Seattle Magazine, March 2007
By Roddy Scheer

What do wind and waves have in common? They both generate energy and Northwest businesses are busy trying to figure out how to harness them—and other—renewable energy sources

If you haven’t traveled to Eastern Washington recently, you might be surprised by the newest crop that’s been planted there. The local hills along the Washington-Oregon border, between Pasco and Walla Walla, have been sprouting windmills, built by local energy companies who are investing heavily in this fast-growing renewable form of power. But while wind power will make up a sizable portion of the new renewable energy mandated by last November’s Initiative 937—which calls on the region’s major utilities to generate 15 percent of the power they provide from new renewable sources by 2020—other environmentally friendly energy alternatives are also coming of age thanks to the hard work of some local entrepreneurs

One of the most surprising and conspicuous new green technologies showing up around soggy Seattle is solar power. “Believe it or not, it’s very viable in the Pacific Northwest,” says Eric Greenberg of HouseHold Power, a Ballard-based company that has installed more than 40 photovoltaic arrays at residences large and small in the greater Seattle area since its inception in 2004. The company’s installations are designed to connect to the existing electric grid so that customers can sell excess solar energy back to their utility to offset installation costs. Complete system installations usually cost between $15,000 and $45,000, but Greenberg reports that various municipal, state and federal incentives can bring costs down by as much as 50 percent; the company works with customers to figure out the best financing to make solar pay. Most customers can expect to break even on their solar installations in 10-12 years, he says, at which point the rest of the power their rooftops generate is gravy, so to speak.

While looking to the sky is one approach to finding energy, others are tapping into the power of the ocean. Seattle-based Puget Sound Tidal Power is developing underwater turbines to mine coastal currents for small-scale energy needs. “The nice thing about tidal power is that, unlike the wind, it’s 100 percent predictable, all the time,” says company founder Burt Hamner, adding that the company’s technology will be ideal for owners of waterfront homes who don’t want to rely on grid-based electricity purchased from utilities, or who live so far away from other development that extending power lines doesn’t make sense. While the equipment is still in the prototype stage, Hamner expects to sell commercially-viable tidal power systems to residential customers by the end of 2007 at a cost of about $50,000 per installation.

Hamner is also leading a consortium that is trying to convince area utilities to devote more resources to developing larger tidal arrays in and around Puget Sound. Already, the city of Tacoma as well as Snohomish County have expressed interest in hosting tidal power test sites, and both are likely candidates for future utility-scale installations thanks to an abundance of strong prevailing currents close to shore. “We expect that tidal power and ocean energy in Puget Sound will be happening on a commercial scale in 7 to 10 years,” posits Hamner.

Another promising eco-friendly renewable energy source in the Pacific Northwest is biodiesel, a biodegradable alternative to diesel motor fuel that is derived from crops grown east of the Cascades. Environmentalists appreciate biodiesel because it generates less pollution than regular diesel fuel and does not contribute any new carbon dioxide—the chief greenhouse gas linked to global warming—into the atmosphere. Any diesel-powered car—including that old beater Mercedes you like to keep around—can fill up on biodiesel for about the same cost as regular diesel, thanks to recent spikes in oil prices, without sacrificing performance.

The biggest player on the local biodiesel scene is Seattle Biodiesel, which churns out five million gallons of biodiesel each year at its South Seattle refinery while it builds what will be the world’s largest biodiesel refinery in Gray’s Harbor, scheduled to open for business later this year. Meanwhile, recent upstart Washington Biodiesel, which was launched by the folks behind the ill-fated plan to expand Seattle’s Monorail into a regional public transit system, is building its own mammoth biodiesel refinery in Warden, Washington, right near the canola farmers that will serve as key suppliers. The company expects the new plant to be at full production—about 35 million gallons a year—by early 2008.

Consumers looking to fill up on biodiesel have several options, including Laurelhurst Oil (4550 Union Bay Place NE in Bryant/Laurelhurst) and Dr. Dan’s Alternative Fuelwerks (912 NW 50th Street in Ballard). As part of its effort to meet carbon dioxide emission cutbacks mandated by the international Kyoto Protocol on global warming, the city of Seattle fills up its diesel-powered trucks and buses with biodiesel. Likewise, Washington State Ferries now operate its boats on the stuff as well.

Perhaps the common thread between all the companies working locally in the alternative energy space is confidence that Seattle is a great place to be doing business. The convergence of entrepreneurial spirit and technical acumen with environmental consciousness makes the city an ideal proving ground for lots of emerging alternative energy technologies. And with so many alternative energy choices coming online so quickly in and around Puget Sound in recent weeks, months and years—and prices coming down accordingly—who can’t afford to do the right thing?

Resources
HouseHold Power
Ballard company that installs solar power systems
206.297.0086
hhpower.us/

Puget Sound Tidal Power
206.491.0945
pugetsoundtidalpower.com

Seattle Biodiesel
206.767.5095
seattlebiodiesel.com

Washington Biodiesel
605 First Avenue, Seattle
206.622.7078
wabiodiesel.com

Laurelhurst Oil
4550 Union Bay Place NE in Bryant/Laurelhurst
206.523.4500
laurelhurstoil.com

Dr. Dan’s Alternative Fuelwerks
912 NW 50th Street, Ballard
206.783.5728
fuelwerks.com