HomeMy WebLinkAboutLETTER OF SUPPORT re: Department of Energy Marine Energy Gran JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
FROM: Kate Dean, Commissioner
DATE: August 22, 2022
SUBJECT: Letter of Support for NODC/PNNL grant application
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
The North Olympic Development Council, of which Jefferson County is a member, is included in an
application that the Pacific Northwest National Lab is submitting to the Department of Energy.
This grant, if awarded, would provide funding to PNNL to look at opportunities for leveraging marine
energy technologies into microgrids to support resilience in coastal and island communities. Remote coastal
communities are subject to more frequent weather-driven outages. Marine energy (ME) may be able to
supplement other generation sources in providing resilience for coastal communities by integration into a
microgrid, but there is currently no standardized methodology for valuing the benefits of ME. PNNL will
develop a framework to allow a diverse range of community stakeholders to evaluate potential benefits and
impacts of ME projects and build on existing lab-developed microgrid analysis software to evaluate how
different renewable resources, including ME, can support critical loads under a large range of extreme
weather conditions when disconnected from the larger grid. The NODC will perform outreach to
determine needs and priorities to help evaluate trade-offs between resource options to meet resilience
objectives.
ANALYSIS: This grant would provide important information for our rural communities (and others)to
assess using marine energy to decarbonize their energy use and enhance resilience.
FISCAL IMPACT:
none
RECOMMENDATION: The BOCC will sign and send the letter of support for this grant application in
support of energy innovation and resilience.
REVIEWED BY:
Mark McC ey, County Administra r Dat
Co Mess f Board of County Commissioners
494w�s coy 0t 1820 Jefferson Street
Q' PO Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Kate Dean,District 1 Heidi Eisenhour,District 2 GregBrotherton,District 3
�S�II NG'S.
August 22, 2022
Simon Gore
Technology Manager
Water Power Technologies Office
Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585
SUBJECT: Marine Energy FY22 Lab Call, LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR "Framework for Building Grid
Resiliency of Coastal Communities using MRE-Based Microgrids"
Dear Simon Gore,
Jefferson County, WA is deeply committed to innovation as we prepare for a new energy future. As such,
we are glad to support the efforts of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the North Olympic
Development Council to explore opportunities for marine energy.
As we work toward meeting community goals around energy resilience, decarbonization and economic
development within the Olympic Peninsula we are interested in exploring opportunities for using our
marine resources to help meet our energy needs. Through collaboration with the North Olympic
Development Council and in concert with our on-going regional energy planning activities, we are
pleased to participate in the proposal led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory entitled, "Framework
for Building Resiliency of Coastal Communities using MRE-Based Microgrids"in response to the Marine
Energy FY22 Lab Call.
We will act in an advisory role with the objective of guiding project direction to ensure that the outcomes
provide value to our community.
We look forward to collaborating with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the North Olympic
Development Council, and the Department of Energy in evaluating opportunities for marine energy to
meet our community's energy, resilience and economic goals.
Sincerely,
Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners
Heidi Eisenhour,Chair, District No. 2 Kate Dean, District No. 1 Greg Brotherton, District No. 3
Phone (360) 385-9100 Fax (360) 385-9382 jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us