Orcas Power & Light Cooperative

What do college-resume building, making new friends and screaming down an avalanche water slide all have in common? They are all aspects of OPALCO’s Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholarship Program and Youth Rally. The OPALCO Board of Directors established a scholarship program in honor of Nourdine Jensen, a long-time board member and advocate for the… READ MORE »

Earlier this year, a volunteer group of OPALCO members built a new green power program in support of local renewable energy—electricity generated by our fellow co-op members and interconnected to OPALCO’s distribution system. OPALCO members contribute to the MORE (Member Owned Renewable Energy) Program with voluntary donations on their monthly bills to fund incentive payments… READ MORE »

OPALCO’s Nissan LEAF (Leading Environmentally-friendly Affordable Family car) has arrived on Orcas. OPALCO staff will drive the 100% battery-powered, zero-emission electric vehicle around the islands for co-op business. The LEAF can reach a top speed of 90 miles per hour and go up to 100 miles between charges. The OPALCO Board supported the purchase of the 100%… READ MORE »

OPALCO now offers compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) recycling stations at its offices on Orcas, Lopez and San Juan Islands—and coming soon to the Shaw Community Center. Spent CFLs are collected and recycled in accordance with EPA standards. The best practice for disposing of spent CFLs is to place the bulbs into a sealable plastic bag and deliver… READ MORE »

For five days in November, San Juan County experienced a cold snap—with an average daily temperature of only 25 degrees—and OPALCO members are going to notice the difference on their power bills that go out at the end of the month. “When temperatures drop below 50 degrees,” explained OPALCO System Engineer Joel Mietzner, “we see electrical usage go… READ MORE »

An independent steering committee made up of OPALCO members has begun to meet with the mission of developing a proposal for a new green power program that would provide financial incentives for renewable generation and, potentially, fund energy efficiency and conservation measures beyond what OPALCO can offer through Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) conservation program. Why is OPALCO rebuilding… READ MORE »

The first meeting of the OPALCO MORE (Member Owned Renewable Energy) Steering Committee is scheduled for July 8th, 2010, from 10:30 – 12:30 at the Orcas Ferry Landing. The meeting will take place in the county’s meeting room below the Russell’s Landing Store (10 Killebrew Lake Rd). The doors will be open at 10:00 am. OPALCO extended an… READ MORE »

After three years of upgrades through OPALCO’s Commercial Lighting and EnergySmart Programs, Island Market is now “one of the most energy efficient grocery stores in the Northwest,” according to Mark Larson of Portland Energy Conservation, Inc. Larson is the Field Energy Analyst Manager for the EnergySmart Program. “Island Market is the leader that other NW grocers are now… READ MORE »

This past December, we experienced some of the coldest weather on record. Temperatures hovered in the teens and low twenties for ten days. We all did the best we could with the cold, with the snow and ice – and with the frozen pipes and lost days of work and school. Another consequence of the cold temperatures… READ MORE »