Orcas Center Powers Up!
Orcas Center is a local hub of culture and community for Orcas Island and greater San Juan County. Incorporated as a nonprofit arts and cultural organization in 1976, Orcas Center has been a mainstay of island life for decades. It features community meeting rooms, art galleries, a 216-seat center stage theater, a blackbox theater and a newly unveiled dance studio.
While home to much of the island’s arts and culture, Orcas Center also serves as a gathering place for community members during a crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, community members relied on Orcas Center as a designated testing and vaccination facility. Dimitri Stankevich, Orcas Center executive director from 2019 to 2025, saw the need for a robust emergency response center that can remain powered during extreme weather events or long-term outages. Dimitri’s background in emergency management and a partnership with Brendan Cowan, director of emergency management for San Juan County, inspired the plan to install solar panels and backup power sources at Orcas Center. The project was funded through the Washington State Department of Commerce and Climate Commitment Act funds and partially financed using Orcas Power & Light Cooperative’s Switch It Up program.
In October, Orcas Center finished commissioning a solar array and battery storage system. The 134-kilowatt photovoltaic solar array is mounted on the roof of the Orcas Center dance studio and on the ground behind the building. A 1.3-megawatt battery energy storage system and a 150-kW propane backup generator are paired alongside the solar array to extend the resiliency of the emergency response system. In the case of a long-term outage and lack of sunlight to produce energy via the solar panels, the battery can be discharged or the propane generator can be switched on to continue providing power as needed. With this new solar array and backup system, Orcas Center serves as a designated emergency operations center.
As a project partner, OPALCO hopes to continue working with community members on projects of this kind. “We’re really excited that the Orcas Center has taken the lead on a project like this,” OPALCO Manager of Communications Krista Bouchey says. “It benefits our whole community here on Orcas Island. OPALCO is looking for partners like the Orcas Center to install these kinds of projects to work toward a more reliable energy future.”
In the past 10 years, OPALCO has made strides in fortifying the electric grid and infrastructure and reducing the number of outages that affect the community. However, even with improved grid conditions and increased energy reliability, residents are at risk of emergency power shortfalls by virtue of living on an island served by undersea cables. Being disconnected from the mainland power source is a worst-case emergency scenario and is not something to be alarmed about on a day-to-day basis. However, it is good sense to prepare for emergency situations by upping local energy generation and increasing energy independence. OPALCO would like to see San Juan County use local renewable energy sources to power emergency services whenever possible.
Despite the recent sunsetting of many residential renewable and energy efficiency project tax incentives by the federal administration, the investment tax credit for commercial businesses is available through 2026. Now is a great time for commercial businesses or local organizations to get the ball rolling on a renewable energy or efficiency improvement project. Just like Orcas Center, organizations can use OPALCO’s Switch It Up program for similar projects. The on-bill financing program is for qualifying energy-efficiency or renewable energy projects. Five- or 10-year terms are available, with a 3% amortized service charge for projects less than $100,000. Commercial co-op members are eligible for extensive energy audits through Sustainable Connections. Members get a customized report with tailored recommendations and potential funding opportunities based on their facility’s needs. From initial questions to project completion, the team supports businesses throughout the process.
The Orcas Center solar and backup project serves as a great example of how community members can come together to accomplish a goal and meet a community need. OPALCO is excited to continue to support community members in planning and executing renewable energy and efficiency projects, especially those serving the island community as a whole and providing resources during times of need. We are all in this together, and together we are stronger than what we face.
