Energy storage business coming to Thurston County. Plus, new south Lacey building seeking eateries
BrightNight LLC, a Florida-based business that earlier this year pitched a battery energy storage facility in south Thurston County, intends to follow through on that proposal, representatives of the business and a consultant told The Olympian this week.
The business expects to submit plans for that development, possibly as soon as this summer, they said. The first meeting with the county was a February pre-submission conference in which business owners and developers learned what local government will expect of their project.
Consultant Austin Hicks, BrightNight vice president of development Greg Vander Kamp and BrightNight development communications manager Yasmine Kattan weren’t ready to discuss the Thurston County project in great detail, but they did share more information about BrightNight.
The West Palm Beach business, which was formed in 2018 and has financial backing from the investment banking business Goldman Sachs, has two distinct operations: solar electricity generation and energy storage.
Under consideration here is energy storage.
“Energy storage has some different functionality and characteristics,” said Vander Kamp. “So it can store energy from the power grid, or it can store energy from adjacent generation sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, gas, coal, nuclear, whatever it may be, it’s agnostic to technology type.”
The stored energy can then be used for power grid resiliency or stability, he said.
“If there’s a surplus of energy during a time of day from a lot of hydroelectricity, or it’s a windy day, these batteries can charge during those surplus times, and then discharge at a peak demand time when there are a bunch of folks turning on their lights, or a bunch of people coming home from work and turning on their appliances,” Vander Kamp said.
“These batteries are able to discharge at those peak demand times, and overall help utilities and other types of customers maintain that stability and that grid resiliency,” he said.
The Thurston County proposal is one of six in Washington state.
BrightNight sees growth in power demand here from electric vehicles, data centers and the associated power demands created by artificial intelligence.
Given those demands, BrightNight argues there is a need for energy storage. For example, a 127-megawatt battery energy storage system can power about 50,000 homes for about four hours.
“Without projects like these, the risk of blackouts and brownouts would be much higher,” Hicks said. “This is a way to help avoid those and keep the lights on for homes and businesses.”
Summerwalk Village commercial update
The last building at the Summerwalk Village commercial development, which is already home to a Walmart and a Mod Pizza, is complete, according to an update the Lacey City Council received this week.
The 6,000-square-foot building off Yelm Highway at Parkside Drive is completed, but empty, said Sarah Schelling, current planning and economic development manager for the city.
“It’s got four tenant spaces,” she said. “Our economic development coordinator has been actively reaching out to different restaurant users who might potentially want to go into a space like this.”
A business that isn’t coming, despite rumors to the contrary, is Buffalo Wild Wings Go, a to-go-style business operated by the chain, Schelling said. Buffalo Wild Wings already has a full-size restaurant in west Olympia and a to-go spot on Martin Way East.
A milestone for Monohon
Olympic Rental & Landlord Services LLC has turned 20, the business announced. It was founded in March 2005 by owner Todd Monohon after he left a longtime career in the nonprofit sector.
The business started with one client and one single-family home, but has grown to manage 900 properties for more than 400 owners in Thurston County and southwest Pierce County.
The business specializes in single-family homes and small multifamily properties.
Monohon attributes his success to four things: creating relationships, planning for the long term, getting involved in the community and taking advantage of professional development.
The Olympic Rental offices are in The Warehouse at 115 State Ave. NE. Some also might know it as the Olympia Press Building at the corner of State Avenue and Capitol Way.
Want to own a piece of this business?
Tumwater-based Olympia Distilling Co., which produces a local vodka with an Olympia beer-style logo, is seeking equity investors through a StartEngine campaign.
Proceeds will be used to expand distribution, scale production, grow the Olympia Distilling team and potentially launch a future line of ready-to-drink cocktails.
The business produces craft spirits made with Artesian well water from Tumwater. Its products are sold in more than 300 locations across Washington, Oregon, Montana and Wyoming.
So how much has the business raised so far? The StartEngine website shows Olympia Distilling has raised about $180,000 from 136 investors. The minimum cost to invest is $300.
People news
The Olympia Downtown Alliance, a booster, supporter and organizer of downtown events and causes, has hired Morgan Willie as its new downtown project manager. Morgan steps into the role following the promotion of Desiree Freeland to executive director, the organization announced.
Former executive director Todd Cutts is now executive director at the Olympia Tumwater Foundation.
Willie earned her undergraduate degree in communication studies from Gonzaga University in Spokane.
As downtown project manager, she will report directly to the executive director and take a lead role in planning and implementing projects and events that support the alliance’s mission.
If you know of a retailer, restaurant, coffee shop or other business that is opening, closing, expanding, remodeling, or changing its focus, send an email to reporter Rolf Boone at rboone@theolympian.com.
