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The panels, installed by Solar Epiphany of Seattle, are expected to cover the power used by the warehouse and save the port an average of about $5,600 a year. The solar power will help offset the power needed for the warehouse’s lights, fire alarms and office heating, port officials said Thursday.
It also likely will help offset any power used by a potential tenant in the warehouse.
It has been several years since the port has been able to store materials in the warehouse because of a leaky roof, Port Executive Director Ed Galligan said. The roof since has been replaced with PVC membrane.
“We’re back in business,” he said.
The warehouse was built in 1983 and measures 77,000 square feet, said Rick Anderson, the port’s director of engineering. The warehouse, which overlooks West Bay, has been home to several products imported and exported by the port over the years. They include bulk cotton seed, aluminum, garnet – a sand-like substance used in industrial applications – lumber and barrels of butter, marine terminal director Jim Amador has said. Garnet was the last item to be stored there.
Now that the warehouse work is almost complete, the port plans to market it for more dry storage, such as industrial minerals used for drilling or for cut lumber, Galligan said.
The repairs to the warehouse roof, including the addition of the solar panels and new stainless steel gutters and down spouts, will cost the port about $1 million, port project manager John Thompson said. The work is expected to be completed Sept. 30.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403
rboone@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/bizblog
