Is OPALCO putting more solar on Decatur than their fair share (i.e. more than the expected load growth of Decatur Residents)?

The amount of solar being proposed for Decatur is NOT more than the expected increase (20-30% in new homes in next 10 or so years) in electricity needed for Decatur Island. Decatur is a logical location because OPALCO already has an existing solar site and substation on OPALCO-owned property. OPALCO remains committed to the cooperative principles which emphasizes fairness as a key tenet, so we are not asking Decatur to shoulder more of this burden – the potential solar OPALCO is still less than the expected load growth on Decatur. In addition, OPALCO plans to site microgrids throughout San Juan County.

Here is historic data for Decatur’s load growth:

Here is a link to the over local load forecast based on the San Juan County Comprehensive plan: https://www.opalco.com/quick-fact-local-energy-forecast/2025/07/.