This small photovoltaic system in Nahahum Canyon near Cashmere was one of four new solar installations added to the SNAP program in 2011.

Note: An earlier version of this story provided an incorrect figure for the number of new producers. The error has been corrected in this version.

Chelan County PUD’s SNAP program added five new private producers in 2011 — the most in any one year since SNAP began in 2001.

The PUD operates three hydropower projects so already is into renewable hydropower in a big way. SNAP — short for Sustainable Natural Alternative Power –  focuses on small-scale solar and wind power. 

A total of 47 schools, nonprofit agencies and individuals are producing power for the PUD through SNAP. Five new private producers joined the program in 2011: John Alt of Entiat, Dennis Vogt of Chelan, Regge Egger of Plain, Lauren Johnson and Barbara Rossing of Leavenworth, and Shlomo Freiman and Mindy Stern, who have a summer home in Cashmere. The five are generating solar with rooftop and pole-mounted systems; together they added 22 kilowatts of capacity to the SNAP program. 

Three of the four new producers are using solar modules and inverters manufactured in Washington state, making them eligible for the highest payouts available through the state’s renewable incentive program. Taking advantage of the state program, in addition to SNAP, brings an earlier payback and helps make the investment in solar equipment more cost-effective. 

While state payments come from the state’s utility tax fund, SNAP payments come from green-minded PUD customers who want to see new renewable resources developed. In the 2010-11 production year, customers contributed $25,506 to SNAP. 

There’s a place on the electric bill where customers can sign up to support SNAP in any amount. There’s also a spot on the PUD website where customers can sign up.  

The website is also the place to go if you’re looking for information on becoming a SNAP producer, or want to see facts and photos about producers in the program. 

In 2010-11, producers generated 117,792 kilowatt hours of electricity. To put that in perspective, that’s the average annual use of about six homes in Chelan County. “While that’s not a lot of power, that’s really not the point of the program,” said Susan Gillin, SNAP coordinator. “The point is to plant the seeds for a future resource that, as time goes by, will become more and more viable.”

Ron Johnston-Rodriguez is retiring this summer from the Port of Chelan County, where he’s been the tireless leader of efforts to make this region a nationally recognized center for plug-in electric vehicles. 

But he won’t be going far. He’ll become the new director of Plug-In North Central Washington. It’s essentially the same job he’s held for the past six years but with a new salary (none to start) and under the auspices of a different agency. 

The North Central Economic Development District is becoming the umbrella organization for Plug-In North Central Washington, formerly known as the Advanced Vehicle Initiative (AVI) Consortium. The district covers Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties. 

That momentum includes installation of electric vehicle charging stations at Stevens Pass and at Sleeping Lady Resort near Leavenworth. Both are Level 2 stations, requiring four to six hours for a full charge. The City of Leavenworth has applied for a grant to set up a Level 3 station, with a fast-charge time of 20 minutes. Several businesses, including the new Marriott Springhill Suites in Wenatchee and Icicle Ridge Winery in Peshastin, plan to install charging stations in the next year. Eventually, Johnston-Rodriguez said, there will be an extensive network of charging stations available from Seattle to Wenatchee. 

Johnston-Rodriguez serves on the Washington State EV Task Force which has applied for a $500,000 federal grant for infrastructure planning.  Corporate sponsorships, membership fees, and revenue-generating events and services will augment grants and other sources for the new Plug-In North Central Washington, he said.  

He predicted 2012 will be a big year for electric vehicles. More all-electric Nissan Leafs, delayed due to the Japanese earthquake, will become available. State and federal funding will kick in to build the much-anticipated fast-charge stations on both sides of Stevens Pass. Businesses will learn more about EV and install their own charging stations. And consumers will be looking for information to help them decide whether to charge ahead with EV. 

The development of practical electrical vehicles and consumer acceptance of them is gratifying for Johnston-Rodriguez. Establishing a new Plug-In Center as a limited liability corporation under the regional economic development district makes sense and assures a permanent home for EV efforts, he said.

“We’ve had 30 people (in the AVI Consortium) here who’ve been working on this for years,” he said. Members of the consortium performed ground-breaking work, including transforming the port’s white Toyota Prius into Washington’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

The port’s goal – and Johnston-Rodriguez’s job – has always been to enhance economic development. But the focus has evolved. Initially the AVI group hoped to make Chelan County an important testing ground for plug-in hybrid vehicles. Now the push is to make the area friendly to eco-conscious tourists driving EVs and to attract visitors to demonstrations of EVs operating in real-world applications. The fact that the area’s electricity comes from clean, renewable hydropower is an added benefit, he said.

Pledge $4 and receive four Apple Sox baseball tickets

Chelan PUD’s SNAP program is sponsoring the Apple Sox game July 22, and customers who sign up to support SNAP can attend for free.

Pledge $4 a month for SNAP (Sustainable Natural Alternative Power) and receive four tickets to the game against the Bend Elks.

Tickets are available to the first 100 customers who agree to begin contributing $4 a month, or increase their existing contributions by $4 a month, for six months. The limit is four tickets per household.

SNAP is the PUD’s award-winning solar and wind power program. Under the program, customers voluntarily pay a little extra on their utility bills. These customer donations are collected by the PUD and distributed once a year to SNAP producers –45  individuals, schools and nonprofit agencies that are generating solar and wind power. Renewable energy generated by SNAP producers goes into the PUD’s electrical grid and is distributed to PUD customers.

 In addition to great local baseball, the game will feature the PUD’s popular solar splash fountain and drawings for energy-saving items for your home. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Sign up at any Chelan PUD office  in Wenatchee, Chelan or Leavenworth or on our website by July 18. Help SNAP hit a home run while you root for the home team!

Solar yard lights like this are being offered to new customers who sign up to support SNAP in August.

During August, Chelan County PUD is offering customers a free set of six solar yard lights when they sign up to support  SNAP.

SNAP is the PUD’s alternative energy program for small-scale solar and wind power. With SNAP, customers voluntarily pay a little extra on their utility bills. These customer donations are collected by the PUD and distributed once a year to our SNAP producers who are generating solar and wind power, which goes into the PUD’s electrical grid and is distributed to all customers.

SNAP started in 2001 with a committed group of about 600 supporters. With the downturn in the economy or for other reasons, that’s dropped to under 500 now. The PUD is aiming to improve those numbers by raising  customers’ awareness and interest in the program.

The solar yard light sets are available to the first 100 new SNAP supporters. Customers must agree to pay at least $2.50 a month for six months in order to receive the lights. Customers need to come into a PUD office at Chelan, Wenatchee or Leavenworth to sign up. After that the SNAP payment is automatically added to utility bills each month.

SNAP compliments the abundant, renewable hydropower enjoyed in this region. And it underscores the value of buying locally – helping your neighbors pay for their investment in equipment, helping schools fund programs, helping nonprofit agencies assist people in the community.

There are 44 producers around the county.

Larry Hibbard of Manson shows a small turbine runner to Kydykbek Isaev, governor of the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan. In the foreground (with backs turned) are PUD Commissioner Randy Smith and translator Natalya Goncharova. The runner was recently replaced after being in service at the 5-kilowatt project for 20-some years.

A Manson orchardist’s renewable power project has drawn the interest of a governor from Kyrgyzstan.

Kydykbek Isaev, governor of the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan, visited the small hydro installation on Lower Joe Creek at the home of Larry Hibbard and Mary Murphy earlier this month. The visit was part of a day-long tour arranged by Chelan County PUD Commissioner Randy Smith. Smith and the governor were joined by interpreter Natalya Goncharova and PUD Commissioner Dennis Bolz.

The governor is interested in how small hydro and irrigation technology might benefit farmers in Kyrgyzstan, Smith said.

Hibbard told the group how his 5-kilowatt project is powered by water that travels through about 1,500 feet of six-inch pipe above Joe Creek Falls to the power plant 120 feet below. The power plant consists of a six-inch-diameter Pelton-style wheel with a two-jet system that provides flexibility for operating with varying seasonal water volumes.

The system has been producing electricity for 27 years. Since 2004, it’s been producing power as part of the PUD’s Sustainable Natural Alternative Power (SNAP) program.

Smith said the governor’s main focus in coming to the U.S. was to meet with officials in Washington, D.C. But the side trip to North Central Washington was suggested by Zamira Sydykova, ambassador to the U.S. and Canada, who had visited the Wenatchee area in May. Smith had coordinated a tour for the ambassador and she suggested the follow-up visit to the governor.

The tour included stops at TreeTop, two local orchards, Blue Star Growers in Cashmere, and a small hydro project on the west canal of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project.

Hibbard and Murphy shared Aplets and Cotlets fruit candy with their grateful guests.

Smith’s connection stems from a friendship with Seattle attorney Gary Furlong, who Smith said “has a long-standing desire for the Northwest to help in economic development of that region. He’s worked tirelessly for years and years to that end.” Smith and Furlong met while involved in the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Leadership Program.

Smith said Kyrgyzstan is one of the major fruit-producing regions of central Asia. The governor commented that the Wenatchee area felt like home to him, Smith said.

Smith will soon find that out for himself. He plans to visit Kyrgyzstan later this year. In the meantime, he’s working with Chelan County and the Port District to develop a sister city-type relationship with the Issyk-Kul region.

Larry Hibbard and his wife Mary Murphy (center) hosted (from left) translator Natalya Goncharova, PUD Commissioners Dennis Bolz and Randy Smith, and Kyrgyzstan regional governor Kydykbek Isaev.