The Mountaineers
In spring 2024, we completed the Tacoma Program Center (TPC) net zero project, making The Mountaineers program center in old town Tacoma our first net zero facility. This accomplishment has become a cornerstone of our organizational efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of Mountaineers facilities and operations.
After our first year of energy production using the new system, we’re excited to report that we’ve produced more than double the energy we’ve consumed thanks to the TPC’s solar array, heat pumps, and battery storage system. Actual energy production at the TPC exceeded our forecast by more than 1,000 kWh as we produced 32,033 kWh of energy. What’s more, we used only 15,740 kWh, which is about 2,000 kWh less energy than forecasted. Before these energy upgrades, the Tacoma Program Center used about 8,200 kWh a year of electricity and 1080 therms of natural gas per year.
The below graphics produced by The Mountaineers Carbon Footprint Reduction Committee (CFRC) chart the month over month energy production by the TPC’s new system.
Interested in digging into the details? You can view real-time performance of the Tacoma Program Center's solar panels using our online egauge monitoring system. Thanks to this monitoring tool, CFRC member Charlie Michel was able to catch an anomaly in our energy production as we experienced an issue with one of our Tesla PowerWall battery inverters. “The system would work only intermittently on sunny afternoons, which caused some negative spiking of production. We replaced the inverter earlier this year, and have seen full production since,” says Charlie.
We continue to live out our organizational net zero vision and strive toward the ambitious goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions for our facilities and operations. One of the ways we’ve shared the TPC’s net zero success story was by hosting a Tacoma Green Drinks event earlier this year, which gave Tacoma community members and other nonprofits a chance to connect and support each other’s sustainability efforts.
The TPC doesn’t just serve as a teaching and gathering space for our South Puget Sound community, it can now serve as a community resilience hub in extreme weather or a natural disaster thanks to the building’s ability to store excess power. This project shines as an example of what’s possible for other community organizations seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and tackle the climate crisis at the local level.
“It’s amazing to know that this building is powered by the sun and pumping energy back into the grid,” shared Sarah Holt, The Mountaineers Associate Director of South Sound Programs. “We’re excited to be one of the first climate resilience hubs in Tacoma, and we’re hoping that other organizations in our area will follow suit.”
You can learn more about the Tacoma net zero project in this video from project partner Artisan Electric.
What’s Next?
After achieving net zero plus in Tacoma, the Carbon Footprint Reduction Committee has redoubled efforts to secure funding for additional energy upgrades at The Mountaineers Seattle Program Center (SPC). We’re happy to report that we’ve secured a grant award from the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment toward the installation of heat pumps, but are still far short of the funding needed.
The generous support of Mountaineers members has been instrumental in achieving important progress toward our energy reduction goals. Want to help get the SPC to net zero? Consider supporting through a gift to our organizational Net Zero Fund.
This project was made possible with funding support from Mountaineers members and the Solar plus Storage for Resilient Communities grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov
And by Evergreen Options, a Tacoma Power program funded by utility customers who support new renewable energy in the Pacific Northwest. If you purchase electricity from Tacoma Power, you can support renewable energy by enrolling in Evergreen Options at MyTPU.org/Evergreen. Tacoma Power’s hydroelectric generation portfolio is 97% carbon free. Hydroelectricity is a clean and renewable power source.
