OLYMPIA — Jefferson County leads the state in the number of solar, wind or other renewable projects per resident.
Clallam County ranked fourth in the state, the Washington Department of Revenue said Thursday.
The agency has certified 1,530 renewable energy projects to receive state tax incentives since 2005. The projects include rooftop solar panels and a few small wind turbines.
Jefferson County, including the city of Port Townsend, leads the pack with one project for every 337 residents, based on a of 29,300.
San Juan County ranked second among counties, with one project for every 434 residents, followed by Klickitat County, with one per 466 residents.
Jefferson County had 87 certified projects as of Sept. 1, the state agency said.
That includes 67 projects in Port Townsend, one for every 134 residents.
Quilcene has seven projects, while Port Ludlow and Chimacum have three each. Port Hadlock has two.
Port Townsend was named Washington Solar City of the Year in 2009 by the Washington State University Extension Energy Program, which reviews renewable energy project applications for the Department of Revenue.
Clallam County has one project for every 922 residents, based on a population of 70,100. It has had 76 projects certified in the last five years.
Sequim has the most projects in Clallam County, with 47 certified.
Port Angeles has 25, LaPush, four, and Gardiner, one.
Jefferson County’s high ranking stems partially from the benefits of the Olympic Mountains “rain shadow,” which also covers Sequim, said Jeff Randall of Power Trip Energy, a Port Townsend electrical contractor specializing in solar power installations.
The two areas have more sunshine than any other locations in Western Washington, he said.
“It jumps to people’s minds — we live in a sunny place, maybe solar will work here,” Randall said.
“This is electricity we don’t need to buy from out of state, and the money invested stays in local communities,” he added.
Power Trip Energy recently installed a solar array for the Holiday Inn Express and Conference Center in Sequim.
Andy Cochrane, Power Trip Energy owner and president, said the solar array is the only one on a hotel or motel in the North Olympic Peninsula.
In addition to Sequim, other cities with at least 30 projects include Bellingham at 62, Olympia at 45, Redmond at 40, Spokane at 39, and Anacortes at 33.
King County had the greatest number of projects in the state — 479 — but only one per every 4,036 residents.
The rankings are based on 1,530 renewable energy projects certified by the state since a series of state tax incentives were enacted beginning in 2005. Nearly all involve solar energy, with only a handful being wind-related.
Incentives for solar power include federal credits, state sales tax exemptions on the purchase of certain equipment and payments for each kilowatt-hour produced from a customer-generated electricity renewable energy system.
A total of 754 projects were certified from 2005 through 2008, and 421 were certified in 2009.
So far in 2010, 379 projects have been certified with another dozen or so under review.
More information on state incentives is available at http://tinyurl.com/349qgrp.
