The Jefferson County Public Utility District will receive $100,000 to use for the instillation of solar panels at public buildings in communities, such as hospitals, community centers, wastewater treatment plants, and schools.

The money is coming from the Washington State Department of Commerce. The agency announced multiple recipients of the department’s $3.5 million solar panel grants last week, including the Jefferson County PUD.

The utility district will use the grant funding to install 266 solar panels on top of its main facility on Four Corners Road. The solar array will provide 100 kilowatts of power once installed.

“We do not have a date yet for when construction will begin as we have many projects underway currently, but it will be complete by June 2023 at the latest,” said Will O’Donnell, communications director for the Jefferson County PUD.

The solar panel grants were distributed to 28 additional groups across the state, including three Tribal governments and five small communities with populations less than 5,000.

“Supporting solar projects in public buildings is one of the many ways Washington state is leading by example as we work toward meeting our goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050,” said Lisa Brown, commerce director for the state.

The installation of the solar panels at the Jefferson County PUD’s main headquarters will be much easier, considering that the utility district remodeled and expanded their facility in 2019 and 2020 to pave a path for solar panel installations to be a straightforward upgrade in the future.

“The grant is designed to reduce energy costs for publicly owned buildings,” O’Donnell said. “The energy generated [will] reduce power consumption and costs for the PUD’s operations center.”