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Investing in a sustainable future: Solar expands across Bellingham Public Schools

solar celebration 2026

Standing in front of a section of Options High School array, Dana Hickenbottom of Cascadia Renewables explains the expansion of solar arrays in Bellingham Public Schools. 

A man in a black shirt gestures toward a rooftop installation while two people watch, with a town and forested mountains in the background.

Dana Hickenbottom of Cascadia Renewables in front of Options High solar array

A woman and a man stand on a rooftop overlooking solar panels, with a cityscape and distant mountains in the background.

Grace Wang of Western Washington University (left) and Seth Vidana of the City of Bellingham attended the Sustainability Celebration on Sept. 17 at Options HIgh School visit the school's array

A smiling woman in a sun-printed t-shirt and a bearded man in a yellow shirt stand in front of a white whiteboard and a large %22Champions%22 banner.

BPS chief operations officer Jessica Sankey and Cascadia Renewables co-founder/managing partner Markus Virta

A woman gestures while presenting a slide about solar energy in front of a classroom audience.

Jessica Sankey welcomes everyone to the celebration and gathering and shares the news of exciting array expansion projects in the next two year in BPS

A man in a yellow shirt and cap stands in the foreground next to a laptop, with a projection of graphs and aerial photos on a whiteboard in the background.

Markus Virta shares data from the five school arrays installed in summer 2025

A man in a light green polo shirt stands before a whiteboard and a projection of solar panels, with educational posters hanging on the wall behind him.

Western solar representative Evan Bush shared reflections on the summer 2025 project at the Sept. 17 gathering

A smiling woman stands in the foreground next to a large projection screen displaying a presentation from the Washington State Department of Commerce.

Special guest Jill Eikenhorst represented the Washington state Department of Commerce, the funder of the 2025 installations. She is the renewables section manager of the Energy Programs in Communities and shared remarks from her agency.

A yellow school bus is parked on a street in the foreground, while a group of students stands near a tree and a school building in the background.

The attendees toured one of new propane buses in Bellingham Public Schools

A man in a light blue shirt points toward a yellow school bus while a group of people watches in the background.

Transportation operations supervisor invited those gathered to look inside the propane-fueled school bus

Three people are talking in a room with a large window and a white door in the background.
Three smiling women stand close together in the foreground against a background featuring a white whiteboard and a screen displaying the word %22OPTIONS.%22

Former BPS grants writer Gretchen Pflueger, Options principal Bethany Barrett and grantwriter/special projects manager Amelia Vader were part of the sustainabiility celebration on Sept. 17  Pflueger was one of the key coordinators of the BPS Climate Action Plan.

A teal informational sign about green cleaning products and waste receptacles stands in the foreground against a blurred indoor background.

A station focused on facilities and operations related progress of the Climate Action Plan

Two spray bottles, one purple with a red nozzle and one blue with a blue nozzle, sit on a dark countertop next to instructional papers against a plain white wall.

An example of green cleaning products used in Bellingham Public Schools

A man in a cap and vest sits at a desk talking to a standing man in a purple shirt, with another man and a window view of a building in the background.

Northern Heights staff member Kelly Archer-Balzer chats with community member Zach during the sustainability celebration gathering 

A woman in a floral dress and a man in a plaid shirt converse in a room with large windows overlooking a hilly landscape.

Capital projects manage Corey Ayers chats with community member during the gathering

Two men sit and talk in the foreground while other people and office furniture fill the background of the room.

Ty Chang of Ecosolar and Dana Hickenbottom of Cascadia Renewables talk during the gathering

Sunnyland aerial of solar array

Sunnyland Elementary School solar array was installed in summer 2025

Happy Valley solar array

Happy Valley Elementary School's solar array was installed in summer 2025

Alderwood solar array

Alderwood Elementary School's solar array, summer 2025

Shuksan solar array

Shuksan Middle School's solar array, summer 2025

Options High solar array

Options High School's solar array, summer 2025

Sign in table at the Sustainability and Solar Celebration
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Investing in a sustainable future: Solar expands across Bellingham Public Schools

The sun cooperated on the afternoon of the Sustainability and Solar Celebration for Bellingham Public Schools.

Bringing together key government, business and community partners, BPS shared the impactful work that has been accomplished to date on district solar installations during a meeting on Thursday, Sept. 17.

Before the official meeting was underway, attendees toured a new propane bus parked outside Options High School. Three propane buses were added to the district fleet in fall 2025, with 2 more in preparation for operation this school year.  During the tour, transportation operations supervisor John Kwesele shared some of the sustainable reasons to go to propane: near zero emissions, cleaner burning, and overall fuel efficiency (more miles per tank.) According to Blue Bird, the school bus company, the buses can travel 400 miles on one tank of propane.

Once the meeting was underway, staff made frequent reference to the good work across the district as it relates to the Climate Action Plan: Toward a Sustainable and Resilient Bellingham Public Schools, 2023-2028. These include energy efficiency projects like LED lights, new boilers, windows and roofs, as well as the celebrated solar installations. Other sustainability efforts include the push across school cafeterias to recycle and compost, and the concerted efforts to use mostly green cleaning products by district custodians. A station in the meeting room was set up by custodial supervisor Heather Jones-Jennings, which included hand washing systems that reduce waste. Recent data show that 90% of cleaning product purchases were considered green.

The main purpose of the gathering was to celebrate the current and future schools that have or will have rooftop solar arrays and the significant, ongoing cost savings as a result. Some of what was shared is below:

  • Currently eight schools have solar on the roof: the main five installations of 2025 (Alderwood, Happy Valley, and Sunnyland elementary schools, Shuksan Middle School and Options High School), the Sehome High School array added when the school was rebuilt in 2019, and a few panels on the Kulshan Middle School addition which opened in 2024 and a few on Bellingham High School roof installed in 2018 to offset their digital screen inside the school. The arrays added in 2025 were made possible by funding from the WA Department of Commerce through the Washington Climate Commitment Act.
  •  In 2027, additional solar arrays will be installed on the new Community Transitions building, on Squalicum High School, Cordata Elementary School and the District Office, as well as expansions at Sehome High School and Happy Valley Elementary School.  In 2028, arrays will be added to Bellingham High School, Whatcom Middle School, and Birchwood and Parkview elementary schools. These future additions are made possible through $7.4 million in funding from the  Washington State University Community Solar Program and federal tax credits.
  • Once the 14 district array sites are up and running, the annual estimated energy savings will be close to $450,000.
  • The life of these systems is approximately 30 years.  From 2027 to 2056, the cumulative electricity bill savings across these 14 systems is estimated at $25 million, based on 2026 rates.

One special guest at the meeting was Jill Eikenhorst, Renewables Section Manager, Energy Programs In Communities, from the Washington State Department of Commerce. A Department of Commerce grant funded $2.7 million for the installations at five schools in summer 2025. She shared a few remarks about how important it is to invest in our future especially in school projects where the impact is not just in innovative energy but also in its educational value.

A key partner for both projects is Cascadia Renewables, who provided the assessments, intensive planning and construction oversight, as well as measuring the energy savings. At the event, Cascadia Renewables co-founder and managing partner Markus Virta shared the energy use and savings data they analyzed. Western Solar representatives Evan Bush spoke about the collaboration that was required to do the five projects with a quick turnaround.

To follow along with the ongoing sustainability and solar installation work in the district, visit the Sustainability webpage.

These solar arrays were supported 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

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