The fifth annual Clallam County Solar Tour, offering expert talks and up-close examination of operating solar facilities, will be Saturday.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., visitors can take free workshops and drive through a free self-guided tour of solar facilities on homes and businesses.
New to the tour this year is the Holiday Inn Express and Conference Center, 1441 E. Washington St., which installed a solar array in August.
The hotel will host a post-tour reception from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. where visitors can enjoy a no-host bar and talk with the hotel owners, the tour organizers and other tour participants.
The starting point of Saturday’s tour, sponsored by the Clallam County Public Utility District in conjunction with the American Solar Energy Society’s national tour, will be the Sequim High School, 601 N. Sequim Ave., which features a solar system installed in 2003.
The PUD’s solar-powered House-on-Wheels will be on hand, and staff members there will provide tour packets with information on individual tour sites, including maps.
Free workshops
Two free workshops are scheduled in the Sequim High School cafeteria.
The first workshop, “Going Solar,” from 10:15 a.m. to noon, will provide a basic overview of installing a solar energy system, including information on government incentives and financing.
The second, “Passive Solar Energy Efficient Design,” from 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m., will show how home design and energy efficiency measures can increase home comfort while cutting energy costs.
Experts in solar and passive solar design, energy efficiency and project financing will lead the workshops.
They include representatives of the PUD, Power Trip Energy, Sunergy Systems, Terrasol Eco Homes and First Federal.
During the self-guided tour, participants can see a variety of on-grid and off-grid solar-installations and energy efficiency measures.
On the tour will be solar tracking arrays, backup power batteries, solar water heating, passive solar design, alternative building materials and innovative designs, rainwater catchment systems, energy efficient appliances and weatherization measures — and a ground-source heat pump.
In addition to the high school and the Holiday Inn Express, 14 other sites are on the self-guided tour.
The nine Sequim homes and business are:
• Arndt and Susan Lorenzen, 283 Bell Bottom Road.
• Wohlgemuth residence, 233 Bon Jon View Way.
• Robert Zeff, 767 Stampede Drive.
• Matthew Barton, 244 Holgerson Road.
• McComb Gardens, 751 McComb Road.
• Todd and Laurie Yarnes, 481 Riverside Road.
• Stark family home, 2385 Palo Alto Road.
• Sandy and Nancy Goldstien home, 521 Spyglass Lane.
• Leonard and Wanda Horst, 870-880 N. Mariott Ave.
The five Port Angeles homes on the tour are:
• Jim and Linda McCullough, 211 Vogt Road.
• Smith/Winthrop, 496 Gasman Road.
• George and Catherine Lanham, 1922 Gasman Road.
• Janis Burger, 1328 Bent Cedars Way.
• Ed Giersch, 22 Mar Vista Way.
The Jefferson County solar tour was in June.
For more information, visit www.clallampud.net/conservation, www.solarwashington.org or www.ases.org.
