2023 ETIPP Renewable Energy Program

Getting to 100% Renewable Energy on Bainbridge Island

In June 2022, the City was selected as one of 12 communities in the country to receive technical assistance as part of the second cohort of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP). The ETIPP Community Technical Assistance program helps remote, island, and islanded communities transition their energy systems and increase energy resilience. 

The City is working with various stakeholders to analyze the feasibility and associated costs of renewable energy options to move the city towards our goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2040, and to increase the resilience of our electric systems on the island, per actions outlined in our 2020 Climate Action Plan.  

Goals & Anticipated Impacts

  • 100% Renewable Energy by 2040: The City aims to achieve 100% renewable energy generation for the island’s electrical system by 2040, 5 years ahead of the state mandated goal.
  • Energy Resilience: The City aims to increase the community’s energy resilience by allowing for portions or the entirety of the community to be able to operate as an islanded grid during outages.

The ETIPP technical assistance will help the community meet these goals by analyzing pathways to 100% renewable energy and exploring and developing options for increasing energy resilience in the face of natural hazards. While the City recognizes that some homes on Bainbridge Island use heating oil, propane, and wood as primary heating sources, COBI’s 100% Renewable Energy goal and the ETIPP project are primarily focused on transitioning the generation of electricity to renewable resources.

In collaboration with the City and other stakeholders, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will identify specific pathways towards 100% renewable energy for the island, which includes an analysis of future electric loads, quantifying what portion of those loads can be met by different on-island renewable energy technologies, and the estimated cost for different options. In addition, PNNL will work with the community to identify critical infrastructure, the vulnerabilities of that infrastructure, and how microgrids or energy storage could address those vulnerabilities and expand existing and planned reliability.

The ETIPP team includes technical staff from PNNL, a Regional Lead from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), and the Regional Partner, Spark Northwest. Learn more about the City's ETIPP program, including expected deliverables, in the webinar recording from January 12, 2023 (click on the YouTube video recording below). 

Stakeholders 

The City is working with various stakeholders on Bainbridge Island as part of this program, including: 

  • Bainbridge Island School District 
  • Bainbridge Prepares
  • Bainbridge Island Fire Department
  • Bainbridge Island Parks & Recreation
  • Climate Change Advisory Committee
  • Kitsap County Sewer District #7
  • Puget Sound Energy
  • Utility Advisory Committee
  • Washington State Ferries
  • Washington State Department of Transportation

Program Timeline

The project team met with City staff and local stakeholders multiple times during the fall of 2022 and finalized the scope of work for this program in December 2022. There will be multiple opportunities for community members to provide input on concerns and priorities related to energy resilience and on-island renewable energy options as part of this program. Results of the technical analysis are anticipated to be presented to the community by January 2024. 

Questions? Please contact Autumn Salamack, Climate Mitigation & Adaptation Manager, via email or at 206-780-8590. You can also learn more about ETIPP by watching the short video below.