Ellensburg Renewable Energy Park
Live Solar Electric Generation
Ellensburg Renewable Energy Park
In partnership with BEF, the City of Ellensburg installed the first "Community Solar" project in the nation in 2007. The striking 57-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system, deemed the Ellensburg Community Renewable Park, sits just off of Highway 90 in Ellensburg, Washington and piques the interest of nearly every passing driver.
The groundbreaking project allowed local individuals and businesses to make essential financial contributions to the project. In return, these contributors receive direct credits on their electricity bills for the green power produced by the system. Because of strong community support, the city expanded the system from 36-kilowatts to 57-kilowatts in December of 2008.
Energy monitoring awarded to the City of Ellensburg Community Renewable Park has connected the real-time performance data from their PV system to the Energy Exploration Center at Solar4RSchools.org. Students and educators nationwide can now chart, graph and analyze the system's performance data for educational purposes.