The Orcas Island Exchange Harnesses the Power of the Sun

The Exchange – Orcas Island’s unique non-profit transfer station and reuse facility started – generating electricity from the sun on July 2. The nonprofit flipped the switch on a new 94 kW solar array expected to generate more than twice the amount of power that the entire facility uses.

It is the fourth largest solar array in San Juan County.

The Exchange is an icon of island living. Starting in the 80s, it was on the forefront of the reduce, reuse, recycle philosophy. For years, it was a cluster of shacks where islanders could find a variety of gently used treasures. It was housed next to the solid waste transfer station run by San Juan County.

In 2013, The Exchange took over management of the transfer station. This created one of the only non-profit garbage and recycling companies anywhere and has turned into a hugely successful public/private partnership with San Juan County.

In 2013, The Exchange had a fire and was not able to operate for several years. A band of dedicated volunteers and staff helped design the new facility, keeping in mind that eventually they would want solar panels on the structures.  The new south facing reuse building opened in 2017, recirculating tons of material back into the community.

The new grid-tied 94 kW solar system is spread between two south facing buildings that will produce about 94,461 kWH each year. While no battery storage has been installed yet, it may be in the future. The Exchange also hopes to transition their fleet trucks and diesel-powered heavy equipment to electric power.

Once the project got underway, they realized that they needed to upgrade their electrical equipment which was an unexpected expense for this project. “That’s one good thing about being a non-profit utility – we can get help from the community to continue our mission,” says Executive Director, Pete Moe. A significant portion of the project was funded by the generous donors on Orcas Island. They were also able to qualify for a 30% rebate from the federal government. The array should pay itself off after about 10 years.

“OPALCO is very supportive of organizations like The Exchange, that are stepping up and getting their businesses ready for our energy future. Investing in renewable energy and efficiency measures are only going to make our community more resilient,” says OPALCO General Manager Foster Hildreth.

The Exchange continues to have innovative solutions that are making our island more resilient and accomplishes their mission to be a zero-waste community. They have installed a glass crusher that turns the glass into usable building material and a baler which takes cardboard, aluminum and other recyclables and crushes them down to about a tenth of the size—vastly reducing the amount of waste shipped off the island.

We decided several years ago that climate change and solid waste management are directly connected,” says Moe. “In some ways all of our future plans include upgrades that help our community become more and more climate friendly.”

Find out more about the Exchange and their exciting projects at https://exchangeorcas.org/